Enhanced Classroom Dialogue Sequences Analysis with a Hybrid AI Agent: Merging Expert Rule-Base with Large Language Models
This work addresses the gap in classroom dialogue analysis for educators and researchers, offering an incremental improvement by integrating existing methods.
This study tackled the problem of analyzing classroom dialogue sequences by developing a hybrid AI agent that merges expert rule-based systems with a large language model, achieving high precision and reliability in validation against human expert coding.
Classroom dialogue plays a crucial role in fostering student engagement and deeper learning. However, analysing dialogue sequences has traditionally relied on either theoretical frameworks or empirical descriptions of practice, with limited integration between the two. This study addresses this gap by developing a comprehensive rule base of dialogue sequences and an Artificial Intelligence (AI) agent that combines expert-informed rule-based systems with a large language model (LLM). The agent applies expert knowledge while adapting to the complexities of natural language, enabling accurate and flexible categorisation of classroom dialogue sequences. By synthesising findings from over 30 studies, we established a comprehensive framework for dialogue analysis. The agent was validated against human expert coding, achieving high levels of precision and reliability. The results demonstrate that the agent provides theory-grounded and adaptive functions, tremendously enhancing the efficiency and scalability of classroom dialogue analysis, offering significant potential in improving classroom teaching practices and supporting teacher professional development.