Use of Time Information in Models behind Adaptive System for Building Fluency in Mathematics

ABSTRACT In this work we introduce the system for adaptive practice of foundations of mathematics. Adaptivity of the system is primarily provided by selection of suitable tasks, which uses information from a domain model and a student model. The domain model does not use prerequisites but works with splitting skills to more concrete sub-skills. The student model builds on variation of Elo rating system which provide good accuracy and easy application in online system. The main feature of the student model is use of response times which can carry useful information about mastery

Comparing Elo, Glicko, IRT, and Bayesian IRT Statistical Models for Educational and Gaming Data

Statistical models used for estimating skill or ability levels often vary by field, however their underlying mathematical models can be very similar. Differences in the underlying models can be due to the need to accommodate data with different underlying formats and structure. As the models from varying fields increase in complexity, their ability to be applied to different types of data may have the ability to increase. Models that are applied to educational or psychological data have advanced to accommodate a wide range of data formats, including increased estimation accuracy with sparsely populated data matrices. Conversely, the field of online gaming has expanded over the last two decades to include the use of more complex statistical models to provide real-time game matching based on ability estimates. It can be useful to see how statistical models from educational and gaming fields compare as different datasets may benefit from different ability estimation procedures. This study compared statistical models typically used in game match making systems (Elo, Glicko) to models used in psychometric modeling (item response theory and Bayesian item response theory) using both simulated data and real data under a variety of conditions. Results indicated that conditions with small numbers of items or matches had the most accurate skill estimates using the Bayesian IRT (item response theory) one-parameter logistic (1PL) model, regardless of whether educational or gaming data were used. This held true for all sample sizes with small numbers of items. However, the Elo and the non-Bayesian IRT 1PL models were close to the Bayesian IRT 1PL model’s estimations for both gaming and educational data. While the 2PL models were not shown to be accurate for the gaming study conditions, the IRT 2PL and Bayesian IRT 2PL models outperformed the 1PL models when 2PL educational data were generated with the larger sample size and item condition. Overall, the Bayesian IRT 1PL model seemed to be the best choice across the smaller sample and match size conditions

Energy Deposition Study of Low-Energy Cosmic Radiation at Sea Level

In this dissertation work, a computer simulation model based on the Geant4 simulation package has been designed and developed to study the energy deposition and track structures of cosmic muons and their secondary electrons in tissue-like materials. The particle interactions in a cubic water volume were first simulated. To analyze the energy deposition and tracks in small structures, with the intention of studying the energy localization in nanometric structures such as DNA, the chamber was sliced in three dimentions. Validation studies have been performed by comparing the results with experimental, theoretical, and other simulation results to test the accuracy of the simulation model. A human body phantom in sea-level muon environment was modeled to measure the yearly dose to a human from cosmic muons. The yearly dose in this phantom is about 22 millirems. This is close to the accepted value for the yearly dose from cosmic radiation at sea level. Shielding cosmic muons with a concrete slab from 0 to 2 meters increased the dose received by the body. This dissertation presents an extensive study on the interactions of secondary electrons created by muons in water

Theoretical Characterization of Non-Covalent Weakly Bound Clusters Through the Application of Sophisticated Computational Quantum Chemistry Methodologies and the Development of Integrated Fragmentation Techniques

Non-covalent, weakly bound clusters have been and remain of significant interest to many researchers. However, with computational studies, accurate description of these interactions requires sophisticated electronic structure methods employing large basis sets. This methodology becomes extremely computationally demanding as the size of the system increases. This work presents benchmark data and explores methods for obtaining highly accurate ab initio results for larger systems at greatly reduced computational costs. CCSD(T) complete basis set limit interaction energies are presented for a variety of parallel-slipped π...π dimers and low-lying isomers of (h2o)6. The calibration of a 2-body:Many-body fragmentation method for computing interaction energies of several (H2O)n clusters with n ranging from 3-10 is performed. As a result, 2-body:Many-body QM:QM approach is extended to a 3-body:Many-body technique. In addition to calculating the energetics, the 2-body:Many-body fragmentation method, which is cast within the ONIOM framework, is used for the determination of Cartesian analytic gradients for the purpose of geometry optimizations

Computer simulations of structural and hopping conduction properties of disordered solids

1. Introduction 2. Molecular dynamics simulation of amorphous carbon structures 3. Atomistic simulation of the bombardment process during the BEN phase of diamond CVD 4. Growth of amorphous silicon 5. One-dimensional hopping in disordered organic solidsComment: PhD thesis, 107 pages +45 figures, LaTeX, some color figures availble on the web (see details in the text

Designing a Virtual Embedded Scenario-Based Military Simulation Training Program using Educational and Design Instructional Strategies

The purpose of this dissertation in practice was to develop and implement a new training program for designers of military intelligence simulation scenarios used to train soldiers. The use of education and design instructional strategies assisted in the ability for designers to gain mastery skills in creating realistic, high-fidelity scenarios that are applied in the training process. The use of simulation scenarios to train adult learners has increased significantly with improvements in technology and its fidelity to engage learners in a realistic way. Despite these advances, the lack of effective design, implementation and analysis of military simulation training programs in the military intelligence community has led to a decrease in simulation utilization, as in the case of the organization examined in this problem of practice. The current training program\u27s increasing difficulties with consistent use by military intelligence simulation scenario designers were discovered in the results of a gap analysis conducted in 2014, prompting this design. This simulation design aimed to examine: (1) a research-based design methodology to match training requirements for the designers, (2) formative assessment of performance and (3) a research-based evaluation framework to determine the effectiveness of the new training program. For the organization\u27s training program, a Simulation-Based Embedded Training (SBET) solution using scenarios was conceived based on research grounded in cognitive theory and instructional design considerations for simulations. As a structured framework for how to design and implement an effective and sustained training program, the educational instructional design model, ADDIE, was used. This model allowed for continual flexibility in each phase to evaluate and implement changes iteratively. The instructional model and its techniques were used with fidelity, specifically for training the designers of the simulation system. Industries will continue to increase the use of simulation as advances in technologies offer more realistic, safe, and complex training environments. A detailed strategy was provided specific to the organization using a research-based instructional approach integrated into program requirements set forth by the government. This proposed solution, supported by research in the application of instructional strategies, is specific to this organization; however, the training program design differs from other high-fidelity military simulator training programs through its use of dispersed training to the simulation scenario designers using realistic scenarios to mimic the tasks that the designers themselves must create. The difference in the solution in this dissertation in practice is: 1) that the simulation scenarios are designed without the help of subject matter experts by using the embedded instructional strategies and 2) the design is to the fidelity of realism required for military intelligence training exercises

Σύστημα Υπολογισμού Προσωποποιημένης Δυσκολίας Ασκήσεων

Στα πλαίσια αυτής της εργασίας αναπτύχθηκε μια διαδικτυακή εφαρμογή, στην οποία γίνεται εφαρμογή τεχνικών εξόρυξης δεδομένων στον παρεμφερή τομέα της εξόρυξης εκπαιδευτικών δεδομένων. Η εφαρμογή αφορά την επίλυση Ασκήσεων από Χρήστες και τη βαθμολογία της δυσκολίας κάθε επιλυόμενης Άσκησης από τον Χρήστη που την έλυσε. Οι τεχνικές, στις οποίες έγινε αναφορά παραπάνω, χρησιμοποιούνται για τη διαχείριση των δοθέντων βαθμολογιών σε μια Άσκηση, ώστε, όταν ένας καινούριος Χρήστης επιχειρήσει την επίλυση της, να παρουσιαστεί μια εξατομικευμένη δυσκολία, συναρτήσει και των πληροφοριών των οποίων έχει στη διάθεση του το σύστημα για τον Χρήστη αυτόν.For the purposes of this thesis a web application was developed, in which data mining techniques are applied to the related area of educational data mining. The developed application provides a set of Exercises, which a User can solve and then submit a Rating according to how difficult he or she found the Exercise. The techniques mentioned above use the Ratings given in order to determine the expected difficulty of an Exercise, when another User attempts to solve it, using this User's available data, regarding Exercises solved by him or her in the past. This way a personalized difficulty is provided for every Exercise

University of Maine Bulletin, 1997-1998 Undergraduate Catalog, part 2

The second part (of two) of the University of Maine catalog for the 1997-98 academic year includes information on university-wide programs, interdisciplinary studies, course descriptions, contacts for correspondence with the university, a list of the University of Maine System Board of Trustees, professors / faculty members, alumni association representatives, award recipients, and an index

Further Details on Predicting IRT Difficulty

This supplementary material serves as technical appendix of the paper When AI Difficulty is Easy: The Explanatory Power of Predicting IRT Difficulty (Martínez-Plumed et al. 2022), published in The Thirty-Sixth AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI-22). The following sections give detailed information about 1) data gathering for benchmarks; 2) IRT properties and methodology followed; 3) learning models configuration and hyperparameter setting; 4) differences between difficulty prediction and class prediction; 5) the deployment and results of alternative approaches for difficulty estimation; 6) specifics and results using a generic difficulty metric in different applications and 7) extended IRT applications.Martínez Plumed, F.; Castellano Falcón, D.; Monserrat Aranda, C.; Hernández Orallo, J. (2022). Further Details on Predicting IRT Difficulty. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/18133