Prior research suggests students can sometimes learn more effectively by explaining and correctin... more Prior research suggests students can sometimes learn more effectively by explaining and correcting example problems that have been solved incorrectly, compared to problem-solving practice or studying correct solutions. It remains unclear, however, what role students' affect might play in the process of learning from erroneous examples. Specifically, it may be that students experience greater confusion and frustration while studying erroneous examples, but that their confusion and frustration lead to greater learning. We analyzed student log data from previously published research comparing erroneous example instruction of decimal number mathematics to problem-solving instruction in a computer-based intelligent tutoring system. We created and applied affect detectors for a combination of confusion and frustration ("confrustion") and compared the role of confrustion across conditions. As predicted, students in the erroneous example condition experienced greater confrustion while working through the instructional materials. However, contrary to predictions, confrustion was negatively correlated with posttest and delayed posttest performance across conditions, though less so for the erroneous example condition. Given that students in the erroneous example condition performed better on the delayed posttest than students in the problem-solving condition, it appears they learned more despite also experiencing greater confrustion rather than because of it. Results suggest that learning from erroneous examples may be an inherently more confusing and frustrating process than traditional problem solving. More generally, this research demonstrates that logging student actions at a step-by-step problem-solving level and analyzing those logs to infer affect can be a powerful way to investigate learning.
While intelligent tutoring has been applied to collaborative learning environments, it has met wi... more While intelligent tutoring has been applied to collaborative learning environments, it has met with little success so far because of the complexity involved in adding a tutoring component to a collaborative environment. We propose to tackle this problem by using Cognitive Tutors as the basis for our approach and by applying a technique we call Bootstrapping Novice Data (BND). The BND approach involves feeding student log files from a problem-solving tool into tutor development software to create the beginnings of a tutor for the tool. We describe an initial implementation of our approach in which Cool Modes, a collaborative software tool, is integrated with the Behavior Recorder, tutor-authoring software that supports development by demonstration. We show how our initial implementation provides a foundation for an intelligent tutor for collaboration but also discuss some of the challenges ahead.
Even though Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) have been shown to help students learn, little res... more Even though Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) have been shown to help students learn, little research has investigated how a dashboard could help teachers help their students. In this paper, we explore how a dashboard prototype designed for an ITS affects teachers’ knowledge about their students, their classroom lesson plans and class sessions. We conducted a quasi-experimental classroom study with 5 middle school teachers and 8 classes. We found that the dashboard influences what teachers know about their students, which in turn influences the lesson plans they prepare, which then guides what teachers cover in a class session. We believe this is the first study that explores how a dashboard for an ITS affects teacher’s knowledge, decision-making and actions in the classroom.
Research has shown that the construction of visual representations may have a positive effect on ... more Research has shown that the construction of visual representations may have a positive effect on cognitive skills, including argumentation. In this paper we present a study on learning argumentation through computer-supported argument diagramming. We specifically focus on whether students, when provided with an argument-diagramming tool, create better diagrams, are more motivated, and learn more when working with other students or on their own. We use learning analytics to evaluate a variety of student activities: pre and post questionnaires to explore motivational changes; the argument diagrams created by students to evaluate richness, complexity and completion; and pre and post knowledge tests to evaluate learning gains.
an essential complex competence for the Internet Age Yang Yang, University of Exeter, UK, y.yang@... more an essential complex competence for the Internet Age Yang Yang, University of Exeter, UK, [email protected] Rupert Wegerif, University of Exeter, UK, [email protected] Toby Dragon, Saarland University, Germany, [email protected] Manolis Mavrikis, London Knowledge Lab, UK, [email protected] Bruce M. McLaren, Saarland Univeristy, Germany, [email protected] Abstract: Learning to learn together (L2L2) is a complex competence requiring that all the group members are able to coordinate, regulate and plan the learning task by balancing issues of individual ability, motivation and expectations through constant dialogue. In this paper we report on a project to define the complex competence of L2L2 and to support it with a set of web-based tools and associated pedagogy, the Metafora Project. The system we develop embodies our theory of L2L2 and the results of our design-based research suggest that this system can succeed in making key elements of L2L2 explicit in the talk a...
Among other applications of educational data mining, evaluation of student models is essential fo... more Among other applications of educational data mining, evaluation of student models is essential for an adaptive educational system. This paper describes the evaluation of a Bayesian model of student misconceptions in the domain of decimals. The Bayesian model supports a remote adaptation service for an Intelligent Tutoring System within a project focused on adaptively presenting erroneous examples to students. We have evaluated the accuracy of the student model by comparing its predictions to the outcomes of students’ logged interactions from a study with 255 school children. Students’ logs were used for retrospective training of the Bayesian network parameters. The accuracy of the student model was evaluated from three different perspectives: its ability to predict the outcome of an individual student’s answer, the correctness of the answer, and the presence of a particular misconception. The results show that the model’s predictions reach a high level of precision, especially in pr...
Collaboration in complex learning scenarios does not succeed automatically without structuring th... more Collaboration in complex learning scenarios does not succeed automatically without structuring the learning process. The Metafora project (http://www.metforaproject.org) is designing a pedagogy and a platform of web-based software to support learning to learn together (L2L2) in the context of math and science. The platform serves both as a toolbox of various learning tools and as a communication architecture to support cross-tool interoperability. The central tool in the Metafora system is a web-based application offering a visual language for planning, enacting and reflecting on learning activities. In the demonstration we will present our pedagogical approach for supporting L2L2 activities and the platform developed on the basis of this understanding. In particular we will demonstrate how the platform can be integrated in successive activities. Learning to Learn Together and the Metafora tool Most knowledge creation is conducted by teams and not by individuals. In addition, learni...
Extended Abstracts of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
This paper describes a "data-driven educational game design" CHI workshop. The intent of the work... more This paper describes a "data-driven educational game design" CHI workshop. The intent of the workshop is to bring together experts from CHI, educational games, learning science and data analytics to discuss how game playing works for learning and how games can be better designed to lead to engagement and learning. The outcome of the workshop will be a journal paper that summarizes the current state-of-the-art in data-driven educational game design and provides recommendations for the way forward for educational game designers and developers.
In this paper, two computational models of ethical reasoning, one that compares pairs of truth-te... more In this paper, two computational models of ethical reasoning, one that compares pairs of truth-telling cases and one that retrieves relevant past cases and principles when presented with an ethical dilemma, are described and discussed. Lessons learned from developing and experimenting with the two systems, as well as challenges of building programs that reason about ethics, are discussed. Finally, plans for developing an intelligent tutor for ethics using one of the computational models as a basis is presented.
Scripting collaborative argumentation can be effective in helping students understand multiple pe... more Scripting collaborative argumentation can be effective in helping students understand multiple perspectives in complex, ill-defined domains. We have developed a web-based collaborative learning environment and a collaboration script to support students in discussing and analyzing controversial texts. We present a study in which we varied one element of the script to support critical, elaborative interactions, namely whether or not students take a proponent and/or critic role. Our results suggest that roles have a positive effect on the extent of knowledge elaboration in student discussions.
For many practical learning scenarios, the integrated use of more than one learning tool is educa... more For many practical learning scenarios, the integrated use of more than one learning tool is educationally beneficial. In these cases, interoperability between learning tools-getting the pieces to talk-is a crucial requirement that is often hard to achieve. This paper describes an architecture that aims at the integration of independent learning tools into one collaborative learning scenario.
Times of Convergence. Technologies Across Learning Contexts, 2008
Educational researchers need to exchange and compare their learnerinteraction data in order to be... more Educational researchers need to exchange and compare their learnerinteraction data in order to benefit the learning science community as a whole. In order to support this, we propose accessing data in different repositories via a mediator component that maps generic queries to the specific format of a target repository. This approach is supported by a common ontology, and we illustrate the beginnings of such an ontology. We are in the early stages of developing this concept but show its promise by discussing how it can be applied to repositories of disparate educational data, such as collaborative learning interactions and cognitive tutor data.
Proceedings of the 9th international conference on Computer supported collaborative learning - CSCL'09, 2009
Many approaches to analyzing online argumentation focus on explicit reasoning and overlook the cr... more Many approaches to analyzing online argumentation focus on explicit reasoning and overlook the creative emergence of new ideas. The value of a dialogic analytic framework including creative emergence was tested through applying it to the coding and analysis of undergraduate synchronous e-discussions using a graphical interface within the EU funded project ARGUNAUT. Qualitative analysis found that critical reasoning functioned to 'deepen' the graph through unpacking assumptions whilst creative emergence of new perspectives produced 'widening' moves. This distinction between deepening and widening was successfully used as the basis for an artificial intelligence (AI) graph-matching algorithm. Given examples of deepening and widening from real e-discussions, the AI algorithm was able to successfully find other occurrences of such moves within new e-discussions. This supports our claim to distinguish between these two aspects of shared thinking and has the potential to provide awareness indicators as a support for e-moderation.
ABSTRACT Learning from worked examples has been shown to be superior to unsupported problem solvi... more 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.
Argumentation is omnipresent in our lives and therefore an important skill to learn. While classi... more Argumentation is omnipresent in our lives and therefore an important skill to learn. While classic face-to-face argumentation and debate has advantages in helping people learn to argue better, it does not scale up, limited by teacher time and availability. Computer-supported argumentation (CSA) is a viable alternative in learning to argue, currently increasing in popularity. In this paper, we present results from a survey we conducted with experts on argumentation learning systems, one which provides a glimpse on future directions.
We propose to present a poster based on a research project we are conducting within the Pittsburg... more We propose to present a poster based on a research project we are conducting within the Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center, one of three NSF-funded learning science centers in the United States. The project commenced in January 2005. On the poster we present the project idea, describe the collaboration scripts we have developed, and give a short description of the empirical work that is in progress. While we have some preliminary results on our script approaches, the main empirical studies are not yet completed. However, we think that the project idea is very innovative and of substantial interest to the CSCL community, particularly since the theme of this years' CSCL conference is "The next ten years!" Project Description A number of studies have shown that instruction with Cognitive Tutors, developed by Anderson, Corbett, Koedinger, & Pelletier (1995) can improve student learning in the domain of algebra. For instance, use of the Algebra Cognitive Tutor has been shown to improve learning by about one standard deviation over traditional classroom instruction on measures of algebra understanding (Koedinger, Anderson, Hadley, & Mark, 1997; Koedinger, Corbett, Ritter, & Shapiro, 2000). A Cognitive Tutor is a particular type of intelligent tutor (Wenger, 1987) that supports "guided learning by doing"-a pedagogical approach in which students try to solve problems while a tutor "watches" and intervenes as requested by the user or as deemed necessary by the Tutor. In particular, a Cognitive Tutor compares a student's actions during problem solving to a model of correct problem solving steps and provides context-sensitive hints, error feedback, and individualized problem selection. Up until now, Cognitive Tutors have been used exclusively in one-on-one instructional scenarios; that is, a computer tutor assisting a single student. However, Carnegie Learning, the company spawned from the research and development of Cognitive Tutors, explicitly provides Algebra Cognitive Tutors for what is termed the "Collaborative Classroom" (Carnegie Learning, 2003). In such a classroom, the setting in which the Algebra I Cognitive Tutor 1 is situated is distinctly cooperative and multi-party. In these Collaborative Classrooms, the teachers act more as facilitators than as lecturers, and students are encouraged to work together in groups to solve algebra problems.
Many approaches to analyzing online argumentation focus on explicit reasoning and overlook the cr... more Many approaches to analyzing online argumentation focus on explicit reasoning and overlook the creative emergence of new ideas. The value of a dialogic analytic framework including creative emergence was tested through applying it to the coding and analysis of undergraduate synchronous e-discussions using a graphical interface within the EU funded project ARGUNAUT. Qualitative analysis found that critical reasoning functioned to 'deepen' the graph through unpacking assumptions whilst creative emergence of new perspectives produced 'widening' moves. This distinction between deepening and widening was successfully used as the basis for an artificial intelligence (AI) graph-matching algorithm. Given examples of deepening and widening from real e-discussions, the AI algorithm was able to successfully find other occurrences of such moves within new e-discussions. This supports our claim to distinguish between these two aspects of shared thinking and has the potential to provide awareness indicators as a support for e-moderation.
... Joshua D. Summers Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Clemson University Clemson, SC 29634-0921 ... more ... Joshua D. Summers Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Clemson University Clemson, SC 29634-0921 [email protected] Bruce M. McLaren Human-Computer Interaction Institute Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA 15213 [email protected] ...
Abstract: Computer-mediated environments provide an arena for learning to argue. We investigate t... more Abstract: Computer-mediated environments provide an arena for learning to argue. We investigate to what extent student dyads' online argumentation can be facilitated with collaboration scripts that (1) prompt learners to prepare individually,(2) create conflict, and (3) encourage productive collaboration and argumentation. A process analysis of the chats of the dyads showed that the scripted treatment group used significantly more words and broadened and deepened their discussions significantly more than the unscripted group. ...
Prior research suggests students can sometimes learn more effectively by explaining and correctin... more Prior research suggests students can sometimes learn more effectively by explaining and correcting example problems that have been solved incorrectly, compared to problem-solving practice or studying correct solutions. It remains unclear, however, what role students' affect might play in the process of learning from erroneous examples. Specifically, it may be that students experience greater confusion and frustration while studying erroneous examples, but that their confusion and frustration lead to greater learning. We analyzed student log data from previously published research comparing erroneous example instruction of decimal number mathematics to problem-solving instruction in a computer-based intelligent tutoring system. We created and applied affect detectors for a combination of confusion and frustration ("confrustion") and compared the role of confrustion across conditions. As predicted, students in the erroneous example condition experienced greater confrustion while working through the instructional materials. However, contrary to predictions, confrustion was negatively correlated with posttest and delayed posttest performance across conditions, though less so for the erroneous example condition. Given that students in the erroneous example condition performed better on the delayed posttest than students in the problem-solving condition, it appears they learned more despite also experiencing greater confrustion rather than because of it. Results suggest that learning from erroneous examples may be an inherently more confusing and frustrating process than traditional problem solving. More generally, this research demonstrates that logging student actions at a step-by-step problem-solving level and analyzing those logs to infer affect can be a powerful way to investigate learning.
While intelligent tutoring has been applied to collaborative learning environments, it has met wi... more While intelligent tutoring has been applied to collaborative learning environments, it has met with little success so far because of the complexity involved in adding a tutoring component to a collaborative environment. We propose to tackle this problem by using Cognitive Tutors as the basis for our approach and by applying a technique we call Bootstrapping Novice Data (BND). The BND approach involves feeding student log files from a problem-solving tool into tutor development software to create the beginnings of a tutor for the tool. We describe an initial implementation of our approach in which Cool Modes, a collaborative software tool, is integrated with the Behavior Recorder, tutor-authoring software that supports development by demonstration. We show how our initial implementation provides a foundation for an intelligent tutor for collaboration but also discuss some of the challenges ahead.
Even though Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) have been shown to help students learn, little res... more Even though Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) have been shown to help students learn, little research has investigated how a dashboard could help teachers help their students. In this paper, we explore how a dashboard prototype designed for an ITS affects teachers’ knowledge about their students, their classroom lesson plans and class sessions. We conducted a quasi-experimental classroom study with 5 middle school teachers and 8 classes. We found that the dashboard influences what teachers know about their students, which in turn influences the lesson plans they prepare, which then guides what teachers cover in a class session. We believe this is the first study that explores how a dashboard for an ITS affects teacher’s knowledge, decision-making and actions in the classroom.
Research has shown that the construction of visual representations may have a positive effect on ... more Research has shown that the construction of visual representations may have a positive effect on cognitive skills, including argumentation. In this paper we present a study on learning argumentation through computer-supported argument diagramming. We specifically focus on whether students, when provided with an argument-diagramming tool, create better diagrams, are more motivated, and learn more when working with other students or on their own. We use learning analytics to evaluate a variety of student activities: pre and post questionnaires to explore motivational changes; the argument diagrams created by students to evaluate richness, complexity and completion; and pre and post knowledge tests to evaluate learning gains.
an essential complex competence for the Internet Age Yang Yang, University of Exeter, UK, y.yang@... more an essential complex competence for the Internet Age Yang Yang, University of Exeter, UK, [email protected] Rupert Wegerif, University of Exeter, UK, [email protected] Toby Dragon, Saarland University, Germany, [email protected] Manolis Mavrikis, London Knowledge Lab, UK, [email protected] Bruce M. McLaren, Saarland Univeristy, Germany, [email protected] Abstract: Learning to learn together (L2L2) is a complex competence requiring that all the group members are able to coordinate, regulate and plan the learning task by balancing issues of individual ability, motivation and expectations through constant dialogue. In this paper we report on a project to define the complex competence of L2L2 and to support it with a set of web-based tools and associated pedagogy, the Metafora Project. The system we develop embodies our theory of L2L2 and the results of our design-based research suggest that this system can succeed in making key elements of L2L2 explicit in the talk a...
Among other applications of educational data mining, evaluation of student models is essential fo... more Among other applications of educational data mining, evaluation of student models is essential for an adaptive educational system. This paper describes the evaluation of a Bayesian model of student misconceptions in the domain of decimals. The Bayesian model supports a remote adaptation service for an Intelligent Tutoring System within a project focused on adaptively presenting erroneous examples to students. We have evaluated the accuracy of the student model by comparing its predictions to the outcomes of students’ logged interactions from a study with 255 school children. Students’ logs were used for retrospective training of the Bayesian network parameters. The accuracy of the student model was evaluated from three different perspectives: its ability to predict the outcome of an individual student’s answer, the correctness of the answer, and the presence of a particular misconception. The results show that the model’s predictions reach a high level of precision, especially in pr...
Collaboration in complex learning scenarios does not succeed automatically without structuring th... more Collaboration in complex learning scenarios does not succeed automatically without structuring the learning process. The Metafora project (http://www.metforaproject.org) is designing a pedagogy and a platform of web-based software to support learning to learn together (L2L2) in the context of math and science. The platform serves both as a toolbox of various learning tools and as a communication architecture to support cross-tool interoperability. The central tool in the Metafora system is a web-based application offering a visual language for planning, enacting and reflecting on learning activities. In the demonstration we will present our pedagogical approach for supporting L2L2 activities and the platform developed on the basis of this understanding. In particular we will demonstrate how the platform can be integrated in successive activities. Learning to Learn Together and the Metafora tool Most knowledge creation is conducted by teams and not by individuals. In addition, learni...
Extended Abstracts of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
This paper describes a "data-driven educational game design" CHI workshop. The intent of the work... more This paper describes a "data-driven educational game design" CHI workshop. The intent of the workshop is to bring together experts from CHI, educational games, learning science and data analytics to discuss how game playing works for learning and how games can be better designed to lead to engagement and learning. The outcome of the workshop will be a journal paper that summarizes the current state-of-the-art in data-driven educational game design and provides recommendations for the way forward for educational game designers and developers.
In this paper, two computational models of ethical reasoning, one that compares pairs of truth-te... more In this paper, two computational models of ethical reasoning, one that compares pairs of truth-telling cases and one that retrieves relevant past cases and principles when presented with an ethical dilemma, are described and discussed. Lessons learned from developing and experimenting with the two systems, as well as challenges of building programs that reason about ethics, are discussed. Finally, plans for developing an intelligent tutor for ethics using one of the computational models as a basis is presented.
Scripting collaborative argumentation can be effective in helping students understand multiple pe... more Scripting collaborative argumentation can be effective in helping students understand multiple perspectives in complex, ill-defined domains. We have developed a web-based collaborative learning environment and a collaboration script to support students in discussing and analyzing controversial texts. We present a study in which we varied one element of the script to support critical, elaborative interactions, namely whether or not students take a proponent and/or critic role. Our results suggest that roles have a positive effect on the extent of knowledge elaboration in student discussions.
For many practical learning scenarios, the integrated use of more than one learning tool is educa... more For many practical learning scenarios, the integrated use of more than one learning tool is educationally beneficial. In these cases, interoperability between learning tools-getting the pieces to talk-is a crucial requirement that is often hard to achieve. This paper describes an architecture that aims at the integration of independent learning tools into one collaborative learning scenario.
Times of Convergence. Technologies Across Learning Contexts, 2008
Educational researchers need to exchange and compare their learnerinteraction data in order to be... more Educational researchers need to exchange and compare their learnerinteraction data in order to benefit the learning science community as a whole. In order to support this, we propose accessing data in different repositories via a mediator component that maps generic queries to the specific format of a target repository. This approach is supported by a common ontology, and we illustrate the beginnings of such an ontology. We are in the early stages of developing this concept but show its promise by discussing how it can be applied to repositories of disparate educational data, such as collaborative learning interactions and cognitive tutor data.
Proceedings of the 9th international conference on Computer supported collaborative learning - CSCL'09, 2009
Many approaches to analyzing online argumentation focus on explicit reasoning and overlook the cr... more Many approaches to analyzing online argumentation focus on explicit reasoning and overlook the creative emergence of new ideas. The value of a dialogic analytic framework including creative emergence was tested through applying it to the coding and analysis of undergraduate synchronous e-discussions using a graphical interface within the EU funded project ARGUNAUT. Qualitative analysis found that critical reasoning functioned to 'deepen' the graph through unpacking assumptions whilst creative emergence of new perspectives produced 'widening' moves. This distinction between deepening and widening was successfully used as the basis for an artificial intelligence (AI) graph-matching algorithm. Given examples of deepening and widening from real e-discussions, the AI algorithm was able to successfully find other occurrences of such moves within new e-discussions. This supports our claim to distinguish between these two aspects of shared thinking and has the potential to provide awareness indicators as a support for e-moderation.
ABSTRACT Learning from worked examples has been shown to be superior to unsupported problem solvi... more 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.
Argumentation is omnipresent in our lives and therefore an important skill to learn. While classi... more Argumentation is omnipresent in our lives and therefore an important skill to learn. While classic face-to-face argumentation and debate has advantages in helping people learn to argue better, it does not scale up, limited by teacher time and availability. Computer-supported argumentation (CSA) is a viable alternative in learning to argue, currently increasing in popularity. In this paper, we present results from a survey we conducted with experts on argumentation learning systems, one which provides a glimpse on future directions.
We propose to present a poster based on a research project we are conducting within the Pittsburg... more We propose to present a poster based on a research project we are conducting within the Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center, one of three NSF-funded learning science centers in the United States. The project commenced in January 2005. On the poster we present the project idea, describe the collaboration scripts we have developed, and give a short description of the empirical work that is in progress. While we have some preliminary results on our script approaches, the main empirical studies are not yet completed. However, we think that the project idea is very innovative and of substantial interest to the CSCL community, particularly since the theme of this years' CSCL conference is "The next ten years!" Project Description A number of studies have shown that instruction with Cognitive Tutors, developed by Anderson, Corbett, Koedinger, & Pelletier (1995) can improve student learning in the domain of algebra. For instance, use of the Algebra Cognitive Tutor has been shown to improve learning by about one standard deviation over traditional classroom instruction on measures of algebra understanding (Koedinger, Anderson, Hadley, & Mark, 1997; Koedinger, Corbett, Ritter, & Shapiro, 2000). A Cognitive Tutor is a particular type of intelligent tutor (Wenger, 1987) that supports "guided learning by doing"-a pedagogical approach in which students try to solve problems while a tutor "watches" and intervenes as requested by the user or as deemed necessary by the Tutor. In particular, a Cognitive Tutor compares a student's actions during problem solving to a model of correct problem solving steps and provides context-sensitive hints, error feedback, and individualized problem selection. Up until now, Cognitive Tutors have been used exclusively in one-on-one instructional scenarios; that is, a computer tutor assisting a single student. However, Carnegie Learning, the company spawned from the research and development of Cognitive Tutors, explicitly provides Algebra Cognitive Tutors for what is termed the "Collaborative Classroom" (Carnegie Learning, 2003). In such a classroom, the setting in which the Algebra I Cognitive Tutor 1 is situated is distinctly cooperative and multi-party. In these Collaborative Classrooms, the teachers act more as facilitators than as lecturers, and students are encouraged to work together in groups to solve algebra problems.
Many approaches to analyzing online argumentation focus on explicit reasoning and overlook the cr... more Many approaches to analyzing online argumentation focus on explicit reasoning and overlook the creative emergence of new ideas. The value of a dialogic analytic framework including creative emergence was tested through applying it to the coding and analysis of undergraduate synchronous e-discussions using a graphical interface within the EU funded project ARGUNAUT. Qualitative analysis found that critical reasoning functioned to 'deepen' the graph through unpacking assumptions whilst creative emergence of new perspectives produced 'widening' moves. This distinction between deepening and widening was successfully used as the basis for an artificial intelligence (AI) graph-matching algorithm. Given examples of deepening and widening from real e-discussions, the AI algorithm was able to successfully find other occurrences of such moves within new e-discussions. This supports our claim to distinguish between these two aspects of shared thinking and has the potential to provide awareness indicators as a support for e-moderation.
... Joshua D. Summers Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Clemson University Clemson, SC 29634-0921 ... more ... Joshua D. Summers Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Clemson University Clemson, SC 29634-0921 [email protected] Bruce M. McLaren Human-Computer Interaction Institute Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA 15213 [email protected] ...
Abstract: Computer-mediated environments provide an arena for learning to argue. We investigate t... more Abstract: Computer-mediated environments provide an arena for learning to argue. We investigate to what extent student dyads' online argumentation can be facilitated with collaboration scripts that (1) prompt learners to prepare individually,(2) create conflict, and (3) encourage productive collaboration and argumentation. A process analysis of the chats of the dyads showed that the scripted treatment group used significantly more words and broadened and deepened their discussions significantly more than the unscripted group. ...
Uploads
Papers by Bruce McLaren