In a related study (Atkinson, 2002), students learned to solve proportionality word problems by seeing worked-out examples presented via a computer screen. For some students, an on-screen agent spoke to them, giving a step-bystep
explanation for the solution (agent group). For other students, the same explanation was printed as on-screen text without any image or voice of an agent (no-agent group). On a subsequent transfer test involving different word problems, the agent group generated 30 percent more correct solutions than the no-agent group. Although these results are preliminary, they suggest that it might be worthwhile to consider the role of animated pedagogical agents as aids to learning.