Interpersonal skills are difficult to assess with surveys alone. Our research explores simulations that assess skills from what people actually do and say.
Our foundational work focused on the Teamwork Skill Simulator, a rule-based simulation developed and validated through multiple studies. That research laid the groundwork for our current work with AI-powered interpersonal skill simulations.
What we’ve learned
- Algorithmic assessment can approach human expert ratings. Our research found that simulation-based scoring can assess teamwork skills with accuracy comparable to human experts.
- Authenticity matters. Students respond more positively when simulation scenarios and virtual teammates feel realistic.
- AI feedback can be well received. In our research, carefully designed AI feedback narrowed the gap with human feedback in how students perceived and responded to it.
- Context matters too. Cross-country differences can influence how students experience and respond to simulation-based assessments.
Our current research extends this work to AI-powered simulations for practicing, assessing, and developing interpersonal skills, including how different simulation and feedback designs affect learning, engagement, and the student experience.
Selected publications
- Kotlyar, I., & Krasman, J. (2025). Student reactions to AI versus human feedback in teamwork skills assessment. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education 22 (57). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-025-00555-9
- Kotlyar, I., Pearse, N. J., & Krasman, J. (2024). Understanding cross-country differences in assessment simulations: insights from South African and Canadian students. Discover Education, 3(1), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44217-024-00125-7
- Kotlyar, I., Sharifi, T. & Fiksenbaum, L. (2023). Assessing Teamwork Skills: Can a Computer Algorithm Match Human Experts?. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 33(4), 955-991. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40593-022-00318-x
- Kotlyar, I., & Krasman, J. (2022). Virtual simulation: New method for assessing teamwork skills. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 30(3), 344-360. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsa.12368
- Kotlyar, I., Krasman, J., & Fiksenbaum, L. (2021). Virtual high-fidelity simulation assessment of teamwork skills: How do students react?, Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 53:3, 333-352, DOI: 10.1080/15391523.2020.1783401
Our research has been supported by
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Insight Development Grant, “Exploring Methods for Evaluating Interpersonal (Teamwork) Skills”
- Teaching Innovation Fund (TIF), Ontario Tech University
- Career Ready Fund, Ontario Tech University
SKILL SIMULATOR 