Role-Based Specification of the Behaviour of an Agent for the Interactive Resolution of Mathematical Problems

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-30139-4_18Proceedings of 7th International Conference, ITS 2004, Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil, August 30 - September 3, 2004In this paper we describe how a computer system, which includes an authoring tool for teachers and an execution tool for students, is able to generate interactive dialogs in a Mathematics teaching application. This application is named ConsMath, and allows students to learn how to solve problems of Mathematics that involve symbolic calculations. This is done by means of an agent that is in charge of delivering the dialogs to students. The design process entails the dynamic generation of the user interface intended for learners with the insertion of decision points. During the execution, a tracking agent matches students’ actions with the ones previously associated to decision points by the designer, thereby activating dynamic modifications in the interface by using a hierarchy of production rules. Students can use ConsMath both at their own pace or in a collaborative setting.The work described in this paper is part of the Ensenada and Arcadia projects, funded by the National Plan of Research and Development of Spain, projects TIC 2001-0685-C02-01 and TIC2002-01948 respectivel