Skip to main content

Using expert tutor knowledge to design a Self-Improving intelligent tutoring system

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS 1992)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 608))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

What knowledge does an intelligent tutoring system need to learn from its experiences with students and improve its tutoring, and what are the necessary learning mechanisms? I address these in discussing (1) SIFT, a Self-Improving Fractions Tutor and (2) my study of an expert tutor on whose knowledge SIFT is based. SIFT is a production system with a tutor and a learning module which learns from its interactions with the students who use it. The students who use it are models of problem solvers, and the input transcripts are simulations of interactions. After augmenting its knowledge, SIFT evaluates its modifications and updates its rule probabilities using the Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence—a domain-independent modification. Thus its choice of which rule to fire is determined by the empirical effects of the changes it makes to its tutorial knowledge.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. J. R. Anderson, C. F. Boyle, G. Yost: The geometry tutor. Proceedings of the Ninth IJCAI Conference, Los Angeles, CA, 1985

    Google Scholar 

  2. Y. Anzai, H. A. Simon: The theory of learning by doing. Psy. Review, 86 (2), 1979

    Google Scholar 

  3. J. S. Brown, R. R. Burton: Diagnostic models for procedural bugs in basic mathematical skills. Cognitive Science 2, 155–192, 1979

    Google Scholar 

  4. R. R. Burton: Diagnosing bugs in a simple procedural skill. In D. Sleeman & J. S. Brown (Eds.), Intelligent tutoring systems, London: Academic Press, 1982

    Google Scholar 

  5. J. G. Carbonell, Y. Gil: Learning by experimentation. Proc. of the 4th International Machine Learning Workshop, University of California, Irvine, 1987

    Google Scholar 

  6. T. P. Carpenter, J. M. Moser: The acquisition of addition and subtraction concepts. In R. Lesh & M. Landau (eds.), Acquisition of mathematics concepts and processes, New York: Academic Press, 1983

    Google Scholar 

  7. P. Dillenbourg: Self-improving tutoring systems. International Journal of Educational Research, 12, 851–862, 1988

    Google Scholar 

  8. P. Dillenbourg, P. Goodyear: Towards reflective tutoring systems: self-representation and self-improvement. In D. Bierman, J. Breuker, & J. Sandberg (Eds.), Proc. of the 4th International Conference on AI and Education, Amsterdam: IOS, 1989

    Google Scholar 

  9. E. Fennema, T. P. Carpenter, P. Peterson: Learning mathematics with understanding. In J. Brophy (Ed.), Advances in research on teaching, Vol. 1, Greenwich, CN: JAI Press, 1989

    Google Scholar 

  10. J. Gordon, E. H. Shortliffe: The Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence. In B. Buchanan & E. Shortliffe (Eds.), Rule-based expert systems: The MYCIN experiments, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1984

    Google Scholar 

  11. E. Gutstein: Learning from students to improve an intelligent tutoring system. Machine Learning Research Group Working Paper 92–1, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1992

    Google Scholar 

  12. E. Gutstein: SIFT: A self-improving fractions tutor. PhD thesis, in preparation, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1992

    Google Scholar 

  13. R. Kimble: A self-improving tutor for symbolic integration. In D. Sleeman & J. S. Brown (Eds.), Intelligent tutoring systems, London: Academic Press, 1982

    Google Scholar 

  14. P. Langley: Data-driven discovery of physical laws. Cognitive Science, 5(1), 1981

    Google Scholar 

  15. D. B. Lenat: The ubiquity of discovery. Artificial Intelligence, 9, 257–285, 1977

    Google Scholar 

  16. M. W. Lewis, D. McArthur, C. Stasz, M. Zmuidzinas: Discovery-based tutoring in mathematics. Proc. of the AAAI Symposium on Knowledge-Based Environments for Learning and Teaching, Stanford, CA, 1990

    Google Scholar 

  17. N. K. Mack: Learning fractions with understanding. PhD thesis, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1987

    Google Scholar 

  18. N. K. Mack: Learning fractions with understanding: Building on informal knowledge. Journal of Research in Mathematics Education, 21 (1), 1990

    Google Scholar 

  19. D. McArthur, C. Stasz, M. Zmuidzinas: Tutoring techniques in algebra. Cognition and Instruction, 7(3), 1990

    Google Scholar 

  20. T. O'Shea: A self-improving quadratics tutor. In D. Sleeman & J. S. Brown (Eds.), Intelligent Tutoring Systems, London: Academic Press, 1982

    Google Scholar 

  21. R. T. Putnam: Structuring and adjusting content for students: A study of live and simulated tutoring of addition. American Educational Research Journal, 24(1), 1987

    Google Scholar 

  22. J. R. Quinlan: Induction of decision trees, Machine Learning, 1 (1), 1986

    Google Scholar 

  23. S. A. Rajamoney, G. A. DeJong: The classification, detection, and handling of imperfect theory problems. Proc. of the 10th IJCAI Conf., Milan, Italy, 1987

    Google Scholar 

  24. W. Shen: Learning from the environment based on percepts and actions. PhD thesis, Carnegie-Mellon University, 1989

    Google Scholar 

  25. J. Self: Bypassing the intractable problem of student modeling. Proc.of the ITS Conference, Montreal, PQ, 1988

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Claude Frasson Gilles Gauthier Gordon I. McCalla

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1992 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this paper

Cite this paper

Gutstein, E. (1992). Using expert tutor knowledge to design a Self-Improving intelligent tutoring system. In: Frasson, C., Gauthier, G., McCalla, G.I. (eds) Intelligent Tutoring Systems. ITS 1992. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 608. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-55606-0_72

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-55606-0_72

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-55606-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-47254-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics