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Methodologies and Intelligent Systems for Technology Enhanced Learning pp 113–120Cite as

Effectiveness and Usability of TERENCE Adaptive Learning System: The First Pilot Study with Children with Special Educational Needs

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Part of the book series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ((AISC,volume 478))

Abstract

Early school leaving (ESL) is caused by a number of factors, including learning difficulties, social exclusion, lack of motivation, and scarce guidance and support from the school system. However, in Italy some progress was made to improve school quality and outcomes. In this context, we have run a project in an Italian primary and secondary school to test the psycho-pedagogical effectiveness and the usability of a compensatory technological tool, i.e., the TERENCE software, to support the learning process of students with Special Educational Needs (SENs), i.e., students that need particular attention due to biological, social and/or environmental factors. Specifically, we tested the TERENCE software to improve reading comprehension skills and stimulate learning motivation of 16 Italian students with SENs due to cultural, linguistic and socio-economic factors. Children used TERENCE in 8 interactive sessions, for 2.5 hours per session. Their comprehension skills were analyzed via MT standardized test at the beginning and at the end of the stimulation plan. Also usability data was gathered by adopting user-based methods like observational evaluation and semi-structured interviews. The results of the experiment were: (i) students’ reading comprehension skills were significantly improved, (ii) students were highly involved and motivated and they learned how to interact with TERENCE very quickly. The pilot study with students with SENs suggested that TERENCE can be easily and effectively used to improve the learning experience of learners with SENs.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy

    Maria Rosita Cecilia & Ferdinando di Orio

Authors
  1. Maria Rosita Cecilia
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  2. Ferdinando di Orio
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maria Rosita Cecilia .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science, Linnaeus University Department of Computer Science, Växjö, Sweden

    Mauro Caporuscio

  2. Departamento de Informática y Automática, Universidad de Salamanca Departamento de Informática y Automática, Salamanca, Spain

    Fernando De la Prieta

  3. Dip. di Ingegneria e Sci. del.info.mat, Università degli Studi dell'Aquila Dip. di Ingegneria e Sci. del.info.mat, 67100, Italy

    Tania Di Mascio

  4. Computer Science Faculty, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano Computer Science Faculty, Bolzano, Italy

    Rosella Gennari

  5. ETS Ingeniería Informática, University of Sevilla ETS Ingeniería Informática, Sevilla, Spain

    Javier Gutiérrez Rodríguez

  6. Med cli, San pub,Sci.del vita e del amb, Università degli Studi dell'Aquila Med cli, San pub,Sci.del vita e del amb, L'Aquila fraz. Coppito, Italy

    Pierpaolo Vittorini

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Cecilia, M.R., di Orio, F. (2016). Effectiveness and Usability of TERENCE Adaptive Learning System: The First Pilot Study with Children with Special Educational Needs. In: Caporuscio, M., De la Prieta, F., Di Mascio, T., Gennari, R., Gutiérrez Rodríguez, J., Vittorini, P. (eds) Methodologies and Intelligent Systems for Technology Enhanced Learning . Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 478. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40165-2_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40165-2_12

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-40164-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-40165-2

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

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