The effect of multiple knowledge sources on learning and teaching

Current paradigms for machine-based learning and teaching tend to perform their task in isolation from a rich context of existing knowledge. In contrast, the research project presented here takes the view that bringing multiple sources of knowledge to bear is of central importance to learning in complex domains. As a consequence teaching must both take advantage of and beware of interactions between new and existing knowledge. The central process which connects learning to its context is reasoning by analogy, a primary concern of this research. In teaching, the connection is provided by the explicit use of a learning model to reason about the choice of teaching actions. In this learning paradigm, new concepts are incrementally refined and integrated into a body of expertise, rather than being evaluated against a static notion of correctness. The domain chosen for this experimentation is that of learning to solve "algebra story problems." A model of acquiring problem solving skills in this domain is described, including: representational structures for background knowledge, a problem solving architecture, learning mechanisms, and the role of analogies in applying existing problem solving abilities to novel problems. Examples of learning are given for representative instances of algebra story problems. After relating our views to the psychological literature, we outline the design of a teaching system. Finally, we insist on the interdependence of learning and teaching and on the synergistic effects of conducting both research efforts in parallel

A Project Based Approach to Statistics and Data Science

In an increasingly data-driven world, facility with statistics is more important than ever for our students. At institutions without a statistician, it often falls to the mathematics faculty to teach statistics courses. This paper presents a model that a mathematician asked to teach statistics can follow. This model entails connecting with faculty from numerous departments on campus to develop a list of topics, building a repository of real-world datasets from these faculty, and creating projects where students interface with these datasets to write lab reports aimed at consumers of statistics in other disciplines. The end result is students who are well prepared for interdisciplinary research, who are accustomed to coping with the idiosyncrasies of real data, and who have sharpened their technical writing and speaking skills

An interdisciplinary approach to classical and quantum random walk: an activity with secondary school students

The thesis is a follow up of the “I SEE project” (Inclusive STEM Education to Enhance the capacity to aspire and imagine future careers), a triennial ERASMUS+ project, started in 2016 and ended in September 2019, coordinated by the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Bologna (https://iseeproject.eu/). The main aim of the project is to design of teaching modules on advanced interdisciplinary STEM topics, such as climate change, quantum computers or artificial intelligence, for secondary school students. The approach developed toward these STEM topics reflects the need of updating Science Education and preparing students to address the socio-scientific challenges that the world compels us to face. The work of this thesis concerns the design and the development of an activity on classical and quantum random walk that aims to: i. carry out the intrinsic interdisciplinarity of the topic, ii. highlight the differences between the logic at the basis of the classical and quantum computers. It is designed in the light of a follow-up of the I SEE project, the IDENTITIES project (https://identitiesproject.eu/). IDENTITIES (Integrate Disciplines to Elaborate Novel Teaching approaches to InTerdisciplinarity and Innovate pre-service teacher Education for STEM challenges) is an ERASMUS+ project, started in September 2019 and coordinated by the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Bologna. This project, more focused on interdisciplinary themes, provides a lens to explore the random walk as a context in which we can investigate, on one hand, the peculiarities of the disciplines involved and, on the other, their intertwining. A future-oriented part, my main contribution to the activity, is carried out in order to foster students to explore the wide range of application and implication that random walk hides and to show them the variety of STEM carriers that can be involved

Projective simulation for artificial intelligence

We propose a model of a learning agent whose interaction with the environment is governed by a simulation-based projection, which allows the agent to project itself into future situations before it takes real action. Projective simulation is based on a random walk through a network of clips, which are elementary patches of episodic memory. The network of clips changes dynamically, both due to new perceptual input and due to certain compositional principles of the simulation process. During simulation, the clips are screened for specific features which trigger factual action of the agent. The scheme is different from other, computational, notions of simulation, and it provides a new element in an embodied cognitive science approach to intelligent action and learning. Our model provides a natural route for generalization to quantum-mechanical operation and connects the fields of reinforcement learning and quantum computation.Comment: 22 pages, 18 figures. Close to published version, with footnotes retaine

Quantum Computing and IS - Harnessing the Opportunities of Emerging Technologies

Emerging technologies have high potential for impact and are worthy of attention by the Information Systems (IS) community. To date, IS has not been able to lead the research and teaching of emerging technologies in their early stages, arguably because: (1) IS researchers often lack knowledge of the foundational principles of such emerging technologies, and (2) during the emerging phase, there is insufficient data on adoption, use, and impact of these technologies. To overcome these challenges, the IS discipline must be willing to break its own disciplinary research boundaries to go beyond software applications and their related management issues and start studying emerging technologies before they are massively adopted by industry. In this paper, we use quantum computing as an exemplar emerging technology and outline a research and education agenda for IS to harness its opportunities. We propose that IS researchers may conduct rigorous research in emergent technologies through collaboration with researchers from other disciplines. We also see a role for IS researchers in the scholarship of emerging technologies that is of introducing emerging technology in IS curricula

Interpersonal Styles and Labor Market Outcomes

This paper develops a framework to understand the role of interpersonal interactions in the labor market including task assignment and wages. Effective interpersonal interactions involve caring, to establish cooperation, and at the same time directness, to communicate in an unambiguous way. The ability to perform these tasks varies with personality and the importance of these tasks varies across jobs. An assignment model shows that people are most productive in jobs that match their style and earn less when they have to shift to other jobs. An oversupply of one attribute relative to the other reduces wages for people who are better with the attribute in greater supply. We present evidence that youth sociability affects job assignment in adulthood. The returns to interpersonal interactions are consistent with the assignment model.Interpersonal Interactions, Wage Level, Wage Structure

Examining the Role of Linguistic Flexibility in the Text Production Process

abstract: A commonly held belief among educators, researchers, and students is that high-quality texts are easier to read than low-quality texts, as they contain more engaging narrative and story-like elements. Interestingly, these assumptions have typically failed to be supported by the writing literature. Research suggests that higher quality writing is typically associated with decreased levels of text narrativity and readability. Although narrative elements may sometimes be associated with high-quality writing, the majority of research suggests that higher quality writing is associated with decreased levels of text narrativity, and measures of readability in general. One potential explanation for this conflicting evidence lies in the situational influence of text elements on writing quality. In other words, it is possible that the frequency of specific linguistic or rhetorical text elements alone is not consistently indicative of essay quality. Rather, these effects may be largely driven by individual differences in students' ability to leverage the benefits of these elements in appropriate contexts. This dissertation presents the hypothesis that writing proficiency is associated with an individual's flexible use of text properties, rather than simply the consistent use of a particular set of properties. Across three experiments, this dissertation relies on a combination of natural language processing and dynamic methodologies to examine the role of linguistic flexibility in the text production process. Overall, the studies included in this dissertation provide important insights into the role of flexibility in writing skill and develop a strong foundation on which to conduct future research and educational interventions.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Psychology 201

Intramural, collaborative learning systems

This thesis focuses on three related concepts: problem-based collaborative learning; the use of multimedia tools in learning systems; and participatory design as a software engineering methodology to create multimedia tools to be used in learning systems. A literature review of the three areas is followed by an overview of the pedagogical, technological, and business trends that affect the direction of innovation in education, including problem-based learning. A discussion of a software engineering project to develop a multimedia application that enhances the learning of geography skills and puts the programming, interface design and multimedia systems capabilities of college students into action ensues. The project results are presented, and suggestions for future research are proposed

Multiplayer Serious Games Supporting Programming Learning

Computational thinking (CT) is crucial in education for providing a multifaceted approach to problem-solving. However, challenges exist such as supporting teachers' knowledge of CT and students' desire to learn it, particularly for non-technical students. To combat these challenges, Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) has been introduced in classrooms and implemented using a variety of technologies, including serious games, which have been adopted across several domains aiming to appeal to various demographics and skill levels. This research focuses on a Collaborative Multiplayer Serious Game (MSG) for CT skill training. The architecture is aimed at young students and is designed to aid in the learning of programming and the development of CT skills. The purpose of this research is to conduct an empirical study to assess the multiplayer game gameplay mechanics for collaborative CT learning. The proposed game leverages a card game structure and contains complex multi-team multi-player processes, allowing students to communicate and absorb sequential and conditional logics as well as graph routing in a 2D environment. A preliminary experiment was conducted with four fourth-graders and eight sixth-graders from a French school in Morocco who have varying levels of understanding of CT. Participants were split into three groups each with two teams and were required to complete a 16-question multiple-choice quiz before and after playing the same game to assess their initial structural programming logics and the effectiveness of the MSG. Questionnaires were collected along with an interview to gather feedback on their gaming experiences and the game’s role in teaching and learning. The results demonstrate that the proposed MSG had a favourable effect on the participants’ test scores as the scores of 4 of the teams increased and 1 remained the same. All students performed well on the sequential and conditional logics, which was significantly better than the achievement of the Bebras test of the graph routing. Furthermore, according to the participants, the game provides an appealing environment that allows players to immerse themselves in the game and the competitive aspect of the game adds to its appeal and helps develop teamwork, coordination, and communication skills