Modelling human teaching tactics and strategies for tutoring systems

One of the promises of ITSs and ILEs is that they will teach and assist learning in an intelligent manner. Historically this has tended to mean concentrating on the interface, on the representation of the domain and on the representation of the student’s knowledge. So systems have attempted to provide students with reifications both of what is to be learned and of the learning process, as well as optimally sequencing and adjusting activities, problems and feedback to best help them learn that domain. We now have embodied (and disembodied) teaching agents and computer-based peers, and the field demonstrates a much greater interest in metacognition and in collaborative activities and tools to support that collaboration. Nevertheless the issue of the teaching competence of ITSs and ILEs is still important, as well as the more specific question as to whether systems can and should mimic human teachers. Indeed increasing interest in embodied agents has thrown the spotlight back on how such agents should behave with respect to learners. In the mid 1980s Ohlsson and others offered critiques of ITSs and ILEs in terms of the limited range and adaptability of their teaching actions as compared to the wealth of tactics and strategies employed by human expert teachers. So are we in any better position in modelling teaching than we were in the 80s? Are these criticisms still as valid today as they were then? This paper reviews progress in understanding certain aspects of human expert teaching and in developing tutoring systems that implement those human teaching strategies and tactics. It concentrates particularly on how systems have dealt with student answers and how they have dealt with motivational issues, referring particularly to work carried out at Sussex: for example, on responding effectively to the student’s motivational state, on contingent and Vygotskian inspired teaching strategies and on the plausibility problem. This latter is concerned with whether tactics that are effectively applied by human teachers can be as effective when embodied in machine teachers

Theoretical and Conceptual Approaches to Co-Regulation: A Theoretical Review

During the last two decades, interpersonal regulation in natural and digital learning environments has gained importance. Ever since the first conceptual and methodological precisions regarding collaborative learning were made, educational psychology has focused its interest on analyzing collective regulation of motivation, cognition, and behavior. Despite the fact that the body of research on co-regulation has grown, emerging epistemological frameworks evidence a lack of conceptual and theoretical clarity. In response to this situation, the authors propose a conceptual approach in order to address interpersonal regulation in four aspects: first, they describe three learning theories which have been used to study co-regulation. Second, the authors recommend a conceptual delimitation of terms regarding the learning theories on social regulation. Third, they highlight diffuse boundaries between theoretical approaches and terms used in the literature on co-regulation. Finally, the authors suggest some challenges the researchers in this field face

Structured computer-based training in the interpretation of neuroradiological images

Computer-based systems may be able to address a recognised need throughout the medical profession for a more structured approach to training. We describe a combined training system for neuroradiology, the MR Tutor that differs from previous approaches to computer-assisted training in radiology in that it provides case-based tuition whereby the system and user communicate in terms of a well-founded Image Description Language. The system implements a novel method of visualisation and interaction with a library of fully described cases utilising statistical models of similarity, typicality and disease categorisation of cases. We describe the rationale, knowledge representation and design of the system, and provide a formative evaluation of its usability and effectiveness

Invisible Intelligent Authoring Tools

Imagine that you, an expert in technology and in the learning sciences, have decided to help your colleagues pass on their expertise to others by helping them build intelligent tutors systems (ITSs). Your expert colleagues can be in only one place at a time, and an ITS would multiply the impact of their expertise better than an online video, since an ITS can personalize the instruction. ITSs have demonstrated significant learning gains in a variety of disciplines, after all (Anderson, 1989; Koedinger, 1997; Lesgold, Lajoie, Bunzo & Eggan, 1992; Ritter, Kulikowich, Lei, McGuire & Morgan, 2007; VanLehn, et al., 2005), so this approach makes sense

A data-assisted approach to supporting instructional interventions in technology enhanced learning environments

The design of intelligent learning environments requires significant up-front resources and expertise. These environments generally maintain complex and comprehensive knowledge bases describing pedagogical approaches, learner traits, and content models. This has limited the influence of these technologies in higher education, which instead largely uses learning content management systems in order to deliver non-classroom instruction to learners. This dissertation puts forth a data-assisted approach to embedding intelligence within learning environments. In this approach, instructional experts are provided with summaries of the activities of learners who interact with technology enhanced learning tools. These experts, which may include instructors, instructional designers, educational technologists, and others, use this data to gain insight into the activities of their learners. These insights lead experts to form instructional interventions which can be used to enhance the learning experience. The novel aspect of this approach is that the actions of the intelligent learning environment are now not just those of the learners and software constructs, but also those of the educational experts who may be supporting the learning process. The kinds of insights and interventions that come from application of the data-assisted approach vary with the domain being taught, the epistemology and pedagogical techniques being employed, and the particulars of the cohort being instructed. In this dissertation, three investigations using the data-assisted approach are described. The first of these demonstrates the effects of making available to instructors novel sociogram-based visualizations of online asynchronous discourse. By making instructors aware of the discussion habits of both themselves and learners, the instructors are better able to measure the effect of their teaching practice. This enables them to change their activities in response to the social networks that form between their learners, allowing them to react to deficiencies in the learning environment. Through these visualizations it is demonstrated that instructors can effectively change their pedagogy based on seeing data of their students’ interactions. The second investigation described in this dissertation is the application of unsupervised machine learning to the viewing habits of learners using lecture capture facilities. By clustering learners into groups based on behaviour and correlating groups with academic outcome, a model of positive learning activity can be described. This is particularly useful for instructional designers who are evaluating the role of learning technologies in programs as it contextualizes how technologies enable success in learners. Through this investigation it is demonstrated that the viewership data of learners can be used to assist designers in building higher level models of learning that can be used for evaluating the use of specific tools in blended learning situations. Finally, the results of applying supervised machine learning to the indexing of lecture video is described. Usage data collected from software is increasingly being used by software engineers to make technologies that are more customizable and adaptable. In this dissertation, it is demonstrated that supervised machine learning can provide human-like indexing of lecture videos that is more accurate than current techniques. Further, these indices can be customized for groups of learners, increasing the level of personalization in the learning environment. This investigation demonstrates that the data-assisted approach can also be used by application developers who are building software features for personalization into intelligent learning environments. Through this work, it is shown that a data-assisted approach to supporting instructional interventions in technology enhanced learning environments is both possible and can positively impact the teaching and learning process. By making available to instructional experts the online activities of learners, experts can better understand and react to patterns of use that develop, making for a more effective and personalized learning environment. This approach differs from traditional methods of building intelligent learning environments, which apply learning theories a priori to instructional design, and do not leverage the in situ data collected about learners

E/Valuating new media in language development

This paper addresses the need for a new approach to the educational evaluation of software that falls under the rubric "new media" or "multimedia" as distinct from previous generations of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) software. The authors argue that present approaches to CALL software evaluation are not appropriate for a new genre of CALL software distinguished by its shared assumptions about language learning and teaching as well as by its technical design. The paper sketches a research-based program called "E/Valuation" that aims to assist language educators to answer questions about the educational effectiveness of recent multimedia language learning software. The authors suggest that such program needs to take into account not only the nature of the new media and its potential to promote language learning in novel ways, but also current professional knowledge about language learning and teaching

The Unified Software Development Process and Framework Development

Uygulama iskelet yapıları çok umut vaadeden bir yeniden kullanım yazılım teknolojisidir. Uygulama iskelet yapılarının geliştirilmesi karmaşık bir süreci gerektirir. Bu karmaşık süreci minimize etmek amacıyla birçok yöntem ve yaklaşım önerilmiştir. Birleşik Yazılım Geliştirme Süreci bugünkü yazılım uygulamalarındaki karmaşıklık engelini direkt olarak hedefleyen bir yöntemdir. Bu yazıda uygulama iskelet yapılarındaki karmaşıklığın yönetimi konusunda Birleşik Yazılım Geliştirme Süreci'nin rolü yaygın olarak kullanılan bir CASE (Bilgisayar Destekli Yazılım Mühendisliği) aracı olan "Rational Rose" ile birlikte araştırılmaya çalışılmıştır.Application frameworks are a very promising software reuse technology. The development of application frameworks is a complex process. Many methodologies and approaches have been proposed with the purpose of minimizing the complexities. The Unified Software Development Process directly addresses the complexity challenge of today's software applications. In this paper, we explore the role of the Unified Software Development Process together with a popular CASE tool: Rational Rose, in managing the complexity of developing application frameworks

The Unified Software Development Process and Framework Development

Uygulama iskelet yapıları çok umut vaadeden bir yeniden kullanım yazılım teknolojisidir. Uygulama iskelet yapılarının geliştirilmesi karmaşık bir süreci gerektirir. Bu karmaşık süreci minimize etmek amacıyla birçok yöntem ve yaklaşım önerilmiştir. Birleşik Yazılım Geliştirme Süreci bugünkü yazılım uygulamalarındaki karmaşıklık engelini direkt olarak hedefleyen bir yöntemdir. Bu yazıda uygulama iskelet yapılarındaki karmaşıklığın yönetimi konusunda Birleşik Yazılım Geliştirme Süreci'nin rolü yaygın olarak kullanılan bir CASE (Bilgisayar Destekli Yazılım Mühendisliği) aracı olan "Rational Rose" ile birlikte araştırılmaya çalışılmıştır.Application frameworks are a very promising software reuse technology. The development of application frameworks is a complex process. Many methodologies and approaches have been proposed with the purpose of minimizing the complexities. The Unified Software Development Process directly addresses the complexity challenge of today's software applications. In this paper, we explore the role of the Unified Software Development Process together with a popular CASE tool: Rational Rose, in managing the complexity of developing application frameworks

Instruction based on computer simulations

Excerpts available at Google Books. For integral text, see publisher's website : http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415804615/"Introduction : In the scientific debate on what is the best approach to teaching and learning, a recurring question concerns who should lead the learning process, the teacher or the learner (see e.g., Tobias & Duffy, 2009) ? Poistions takens vary from a preference for direct, expository, teacher-led instruction (Kirschner, Sweller, & Clark, 2006) to fully open student-centered approaches that can be called pure discovery methods (e.g., Papert, 1980), with intermediate positions represented by more or less guided discovery methods (e.g., Mayer, 2004). This discussion also is a recurring theme in this chapter." (http://books.google.fr/books?id=cCD_thHjuxEC&pg=PA446&lpg=PA446&dq=Instruction+based+on+computer+simulations+de+jong&source=bl&ots=tOJ7FdkZow&sig=s8W6OnyU3H7iRLm7wqISfu6CAYE&hl=fr&ei=AZGATviHDMuV0QXewI3KCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Instruction%20based%20on%20computer%20simulations%20de%20jong&f=false