  This work explores a group learning scenario with an autonomous empathic
robot. We address two research questions: (1) Can an autonomous robot designed
with empathic competencies foster collaborative learning in a group context?
(2) Can an empathic robot sustain positive educational outcomes in long-term
collaborative learning interactions with groups of students? To answer these
questions, we developed an autonomous robot with empathic competencies that is
able to interact with a group of students in a learning activity about
sustainable development. Two studies were conducted. The first study compares
learning outcomes in children across 3 conditions: learning with an empathic
robot; learning with a robot without empathic capabilities; and learning
without a robot. The results show that the autonomous robot with empathy
fosters meaningful discussions about sustainability, which is a learning
outcome in sustainability education. The second study features groups of
students who interact with the robot in a school classroom for two months. The
long-term educational interaction did not seem to provide significant learning
gains, although there was a change in game-actions to achieve more
sustainability during game-play. This result reflects the need to perform more
long-term research in the field of educational robots for group learning.
