Intelligent tutoring system

About: Intelligent tutoring system is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 3472 publications have been published within this topic receiving 58217 citations. The topic is also known as: ITS.

Improving intelligent tutoring systems: using expectation maximization to learn student skill levels

Abstract: This paper describes research to analyze students' initial skill level and to predict their hidden characteristics while working with an intelligent tutor. Based only on pre-test problems, a learned network was able to evaluate a students mastery of twelve geometry skills. This model will be used online by an Intelligent Tutoring System to dynamically determine a policy for individualizing selection of problems/hints, based on a students learning needs. Using Expectation Maximization, we learned the hidden parameters of several Bayesian networks that linked observed student actions with inferences about unobserved features. Bayesian Information Criterion was used to evaluate different skill models. The contribution of this work includes learning the parameters of the best network, whereas in previous work, the structure of a student model was fixed.

Adaptive Support versus Alternating Worked Examples and Tutored Problems: Which Leads to Better Learning?

Abstract: Learning from worked examples has been shown to be superior to unsupported problem solving when first learning in a new domain. Several studies have found that learning from examples results in faster learning in comparison to tutored problem solving in Intelligent Tutoring Systems. We present a study that compares a fixed sequence of alternating worked examples and tutored problem solving with a strategy that adaptively decides how much assistance the student needs. The adaptive strategy determines the type of task (a worked example, a faded example or a problem to be solved) based on how much assistance the student received in the previous problem. The results show that students in the adaptive condition learnt significantly more than their peers who were presented with a fixed sequence of worked examples and problems.

Cluster Analysis in Personalized E-Learning Systems

Abstract: Personalized e-learning system should be tailored into student needs, which usually differ even among learners, who attend the same course and have similar technical skills. In the chapter, it is proposed the system architecture, in which teaching paths as well as proper layouts are adjusted to groups of students with similar preferences, created by application of clustering techniques. Learner models are based on dominant learning style dimensions, according to which students focus on different types of information and show different performances in educational process. Extension of the model by including usability preferences is investigated. There are examined different clustering techniques to obtain groups of the best quality. It is presented the algorithm that will fulfill tutor requirements especially concerning the choice of parameters. Some experimental results for real groups of students and different algorithms are described and discussed.

Example-based feedback provision using structured solution spaces

Abstract: Intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs) typically rely on a formalised model of the underlying domain knowledge in order to provide feedback to learners adaptively to their needs. This approach implies two general drawbacks: the formalisation of a domain-specific model usually requires a huge effort, and in some domains it is not possible at all. In this paper, we propose feedback provision strategies in absence of a formalised domain model, motivated by example-based learning approaches. We demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of these strategies in several studies with experts and students. We discuss how, in a set of solutions, appropriate examples can be automatically identified and assigned to given student solutions via machine learning techniques in conjunction with an underlying dissimilarity metric. The plausibility of such an automatic selection is evaluated in an expert survey, while possible choices for domain-agnostic dissimilarity measures are tested in the context of real solution sets of Java programs. The quantitative evidence suggests that the proposed feedback strategies and automatic example assignment are viable in principle, further user studies in large-scale learning environments being the subject of future research.