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Improving (Meta)Cognitive Tutoring by Detecting and Responding to Uncertainty

AAAI Conferences

We hypothesize that enhancing computer tutors to respond to student uncertainty over and above correctness is one method for increasing both student learning and self-monitoring abilities. We explore this hypothesis using data from an experiment with a wizarded spoken tutorial dialogue system, where tutor responses to uncertain and/or incorrect student answers were manipulated. Our results suggest that monitoring and responding to student uncertainty has the potential to improve both cognitive and metacognitive student abilities.


MetaTutor: A MetaCognitive Tool for Enhancing Self-Regulated Learning

AAAI Conferences

Learning about complex and challenging science topics with advanced learning technologies requires students to regulate their learning. The deployment of key cognitive and metacognitive regulatory processes is key to enhancing learning in open-ended learning environments such as hypermedia. In this paper, we propose a metaphor—Computers as MetaCognitive tools—to characterize the complex nature of the learning context, self- regulatory processes, task conditions, and features of advanced learning technologies. We briefly outline the theoretical and conceptual assumptions of self-regulated learning (SRL) underlying MetaTutor, a hypermedia environment designed to train and foster students’ SRL processes in biology. Lastly, we provide preliminary learning outcome and SRL process data on the deployment of SRL processes during learning with MetaTutor.


Issues in the Measurement of Cognitive and Metacognitive Regulatory Processes Used During Hypermedia Learning

AAAI Conferences

The goal of this paper is to present four key assumptions regarding the measurement of cognitive and metacognitive regulatory processes used during learning with hypermedia. First, we assume it is possible to detect, trace, model, and foster SRL processes during learning with hypermedia. Second, understanding the complex nature of the regulatory processes during learning with hypermedia is critical in determining why certain processes are used throughout a learning task. Third, it is assumed that the use of SRL processes can dynamically change over time and that they are cyclical in nature (influenced by internal and external conditions and feedback mechanisms). Fourth, capturing, identifying, and classifying SRL processes used during learning with hypermedia is a rather challenging task.


The Constructor Metacognitive Architecture

AAAI Conferences

The present historical epoch is unique in the sense that now The present work takes a shot at this target. The author's people may have the opportunity to create something equal answer to the first question should be clear from the above to them, if not greater: machines capable of humanlike and can be formulated concisely as follows: the goal is to intellectual and cultural development. The reason is not design a human-level learner. Yet, this statement needs a only that the hardware available today is compatible in its further clarification. Its limited interpretation could be, raw computational capacities with the human brain. The e.g.: "The goal of a human-level learner is to take complex, main reason is the emergent understanding of how the noisy information from multiple modalities and distill this human mind works. It appears that implementing the same experience into a representation that supports prediction principles of the human mind in a machine would not take about and manipulation of the world" (Shrobe et al., 2006, yet unavailable today computer resources.


Invited Speaker Abstracts

AAAI Conferences

Unfortunately, many students stop using these beneficial learning practices as soon Presented by Stephen Grossberg, Department of Cognitive as the metatutoring ceases. Apparently, the metatutors were and Neural Systems, Center for Adaptive Systems, and Center nagging rather than convincing. This talk will present a of Excellence for Learning in Education, Science, and study of Pyrenees, a metatutor that coaches students to focus Technology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215 on learning domain principles rather than solutions to A deep and rational understanding of the factors that influence examples. It was convincing, in that students who were effective education and learning technologies depends taught probability with Pyrenees used principle-based problem on a corresponding understanding of how the brain in health solving on post-test more so than students taught by Andes, and disease controls learned behaviors. There has been a which did not focus students on principles. Moreover, revolution in discovering new computational paradigms, organizational when all students were transferred to Andes for learning principles, mechanisms, and models of how of physics, those who were metatutored used the principlefocused learning processes enable brains to give rise to minds.


Narrative-Centered Learning Environments: A Self-Regulated Learning Perspective

AAAI Conferences

Narrative is emerging as an effective medium for contextualizing learning. Narrative-centered learning environments provide engaging, story-centric virtual spaces that offer guided learning and problem-solving opportunities. Students’ ability to self-regulate learning can significantly impact performance in these environments, and, in general, is critical for academic achievement. This paper explores the relationship between narrative-centered learning and self-regulation. Connections are drawn between the salient characteristics of narrative-centered learning environments and principles for promoting and enhancing self-regulated learning in science education. These relationships are further explicated through an examination of the CRYSTAL ISLAND learning environment. The paper explores the hypothesis that narrative-centered learning environments are particularly well suited for simultaneously promoting learning, engagement, and self-regulation.


DynaLearn - Engaging and Informed Tools for Learning Conceptual System Knowledge

AAAI Conferences

This paper describes the DynaLearn project, which seeks to address contemporary problems in science education by integrating well established, but currently independent technological developments, and utilize the added value that emerges. Specifically, diagrammatic representations are used for learners to articulate, analyse and communicate ideas, and thereby construct their conceptual knowledge. Ontology mapping is used to find and match co-learners working on similar ideas to provide individualised and mutually benefiting learning opportunities. Virtual characters are used to make the interaction engaging and motivating. The development of the workbench is tuned to fit key topics from environmental science curricula, and evaluated and further improved in the context of existing curricula using case studies. Through this approach, the DynaLearn project will deliver an individualised and engaging cognitive tool for acquiring conceptual knowledge that fits the true nature of this expertise.


GnuTutor: An Open Source Intelligent Tutoring System Based on AutoTutor

AAAI Conferences

This paper presents GnuTutor, an open source intelligent tutoring system (ITS) inspired by the AutoTutor ITS. The goal of GnuTutor is to create a freely available, open source ITS platform that can be used by schools and researchers alike. To achieve this goal, significant departures from AutoTutor's current design were made so that GnuTutor would use a smaller, non-proprietary code base but have the major functionality of AutoTutor, including mixed-initiative dialogue, an animated agent, speech act classification, and natural language understanding using latent semantic analysis. This paper describes the GnuTutor system, its components, and the major differences between GnuTutor and AutoTutor.


Evaluations of the LODE Temporal Reasoning Tool with Hearing and Deaf Children

AAAI Conferences

LODE is a web tool for children that are novice readers, and is primarily meant for deaf children. It proposes written stories and interactive games for reasoning, globally, on the stories. In this paper, first, we motivate the rationale of LODE, and explain its reasoning games. Then we briefly describe the design of the web client-server architecture of LODE; the server employs a constraint programming system for creating and solving the LODE games in real time. Finally, we concentrate on two evaluations of the latest prototype of LODE: one with hearing novice readers; another one with deaf readers. We conclude by discussing the results of the evaluations, and their implications for LODE.


A Platform-Independent Tracking and Monitoring Toolkit

AAAI Conferences

Issues concerning students involved with online learning paths, that need to be faced by e-Tutors on their day-to-day activity, most often than not fall into known pedagogical patterns - that are problems and difficulties already occurred in the past and dealt with. These pedagogical patterns belong to e-Tutors' know-how and experience and their resolution are frequently a matter of activating routine processes or giving  pre-factored answers; nevertheless statistical data indicates that these issues consume a considerable slice of tutors' time. While a portion of the scientific community is still devoting much effort in developing artificial tutoring systems - by deploying AI/MAS-enabled technologies - the solution being investigated by our team focuses on enhancing already-available, open source LMS by implementing a general-purpose tracking and monitoring toolkit able to support e-Tutors in recognizing and dealing with pedagogical patterns stored into a decentralised Knowledge Base. The system architecture is designed to house multiple platforms (only one adapter interface needs to be written for each LMS) and is able to perform real-time, as well as scheduled, data collection by means of Jade-based agents and schedulers.  Information obtained from the processed data is then returned to the platform via web services and specific interfaces (instant messaging chatbot). The first deployed prototype is currently being experimented in adult higher education learning paths and is able to track student activity, forum readings and writings and offers a basic chat-based help interface. Our aim is to turn a standard LMS into a knowledge aggregator where information about its users, its contents and interactions between the two can be mined via Knowledge Services; resulting data could then be used to refine users' and groups' profiles, to monitor learners' deviance from expected learning path, and ultimately to adjust the applied pedagogical model.