{"ID":2878784,"CreatedAt":"2026-06-01T04:54:23.091178241Z","UpdatedAt":"2026-06-01T04:54:23.091178241Z","DeletedAt":null,"paper_url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.18545","arxiv_id":"2508.18545","title":"Beyond prior knowledge: The predictive role of knowledge-building in Tutor Learning","abstract":"When adopting the role of a teacher in learning-by-teaching environments, students often struggle to engage in knowledge-building activities, such as providing explanations and addressing misconceptions. Instead, they frequently default to knowledge-telling behaviors, where they simply dictate what they already know or what to do without deeper reflection, thereby limiting learning. Teachable agents, particularly those capable of posing persistent follow-up questions, have been shown to encourage students (tutors) to shift from knowledge-telling to knowledge-building and enhance tutor learning. Tutor learning encompasses two interrelated types of knowledge: conceptual and procedural knowledge. Research has established a bidirectional relationship between these knowledge types, where improvements in one reinforce the other. This study investigates the role of knowledge-building in mediating the bidirectional relationship between procedural and conceptual learning. Our findings revealed a stable bidirectional relationship between procedural and conceptual knowledge, with higher post-test scores observed among students who engaged in knowledge-building, regardless of their procedural and conceptual pre-test performance. This suggests that knowledge-building serves as a crucial mechanism bridging the gap between students with low prior knowledge and higher conceptual and procedural learning gain.","short_abstract":"When adopting the role of a teacher in learning-by-teaching environments, students often struggle to engage in knowledge-building activities, such as providing explanations and addressing misconceptions. Instead, they frequently default to knowledge-telling behaviors, where they simply dictate what they already know or...","url_abs":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.18545","url_pdf":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2508.18545v1","authors":"[\"Tasmia Shahriar\",\"Mia Ameen\",\"Aditi Mallavarapu\",\"Shiyan Jiang\",\"Noboru Matsuda\"]","published":"2025-08-25T22:45:04Z","proceeding":"cs.HC","tasks":"[\"cs.HC\",\"cs.AI\"]","methods":"[]","has_code":false}