A programmed instruction tutoring system for Java™: consideration of learning performance and software self-efficacy

An undergraduate (n=23) and a graduate (n=23) class of information systems majors used a Web-based tutoring system during the first 3-h session of a 14-week course in interface design and implementation. The tutoring system taught a simple Java™ applet as the first technical training exercise, and the instructional design was based upon programmed instruction, which is a competency-based tutoring system. Software self-efficacy was assessed prior to using the tutor and at the end of the 3-h period. Students’ interactive performances (errors and help selections) were recorded for all interfaces in the tutor. The results showed that the undergraduate students made more input and test errors than did the graduate students, but the number of students in each class who completed all eight tutor stages (18 undergraduates and 17 graduates) was almost equivalent. Forty-four of the 46 students completed the fourth tutor stage, which presented frames of information explaining the items in the program. Students who did not complete all eight stages showed more errors on the initial four stages, in comparison to students who did complete all stages. Software self-efficacy increased from pre-tutor to post-tutor occasions for both classes and for both completers and non-completers. No significant relationship was found between software self-efficacy changes and tutor learning performance. Neither was gender related to software self-efficacy changes or learning performance. Evaluations of the tutor were favorable by almost all learners. A competency-based tutoring system may produce both skill and earned self-efficacy at the level of the individual learner, without regard to variations in the learning process leading to mastery.     

Incorporating tutoring principles into interactive knowledge acquisition

This paper argues that interactive knowledge acquisition systems would benefit from a tighter and more thorough incorporation of tutoring and learning principles. Current acquisition systems learn from users in a passive manner, and could instead be designed to incorporate the proactive capabilities that one expects of a good student. We first describe our analysis of the literature on teacher–student interaction and present a compilation of tutoring and learning principles that are relevant to interactive knowledge acquisition systems. We then point out what tutoring and learning principles have been used to date in the acquisition literature, though unintentionally and implicitly, and discuss how a more thorough and explicit representation of these principles would help improve how computers learn from users. We present our design and an initial implementation of an acquisition dialogue system called SLICK that represents acquisition principles and goals explicitly and declaratively, making the system actively reason about various acquisition tasks and generate its interactions dynamically. Finally, we discuss promising directions in designing acquisition systems by structuring interactions with users according to tutoring and learning principles.     

Web-based programmed instruction: evidence of rule-governed learning

Seventeen graduate students in two classes worked on a web-based programmed instruction tutoring system as the first technical exercise in a Java^TM programming course. The system taught a simple Java applet to display a text string in a browser window on the world wide web. Students completed tests of near transfer and far transfer before and after using the tutor and again after a lecture on the material. The results showed that performance improved over pre-tutor baseline on all assessments, to include the far transfer test, which required integrating information in the tutor into a rule to apply to solve a novel programming problem not explicitly taught in the tutor. Software self-efficacy also increased across four assessment occasions. These data show that programmed instruction can produce problem solving skills and can foster student confidence, based upon the documented mastery of fundamental material in a technical domain. An investigative approach that follows systematic replication, rather than null hypothesis refutation, may be best suited to assess the impact and dependability of competency-based instructional systems.     

Gesture recognition and sensorimotor learning‐by‐doing of motor skills in manual professions: A case study in the wheel‐throwing art of pottery

This paper presents a methodological framework for the use of gesture recognition technologies in the learning/mastery of the gestural skills required in wheel‐throwing pottery. In the case of self‐instruction or training, learners face difficulties due to the absence of the teacher/expert and the consequent lack of guidance. Motion capture technologies, machine learning, and gesture recognition may provide a way of overcoming such issues. The proposed methodology is used to record and model expert gestures and then to compare this model in real time with the gestures performed by the learner. Differences in kinematic aspects such as hand distances are detected, and optical/sonic sensorimotor feedback is provided to the learner by the system, alerting him/her when errors occur and guiding him/her to achieve better results. In the case described here, the system was evaluated with 11 learners. With the use of our system, the gestural performance of learners during self‐training has been improved in comparison to cases of self‐training without computer assistance.     

The learning value of computer-based instruction of early reading skills

Abstract This study examined the unique contribution of computer-based instruction when compared with more conventional modes of instruction (i.e. teacher instruction with textbooks) to early reading skills acquisition, as well as the effects of specific features of computer technology on early reading skills performance. Forty-six pre-school children (aged 5–6), at high risk for learning disabilities, participated in the study. They were assigned to one of three study groups that received different treatments. Three dependent variables were defined, i.e. children's phonological awareness, word recognition and letter recognition skills measured prior and after the treatment. Results clearly indicated that children at high risk who received the reading intervention program with computer materials significantly improved their phonological awareness, word recognition, and letter naming skills relative to their peers who received a reading intervention program with only printed materials and those who received no formal reading intervention program. The results are discussed in detail, with reference to the features of the computer-based materials that contributed to the acquisition of critical early reading skills.     

Improving computer-based problem solving training: The role of the teacher as mediator

A number of studies have examined computer games in the classroom in the context of characteristics of the learner and characteristics of the learning environment. The present article examined the role of the teacher in computer-based problem solving. Rocky's Boots (RB) was used as an environment for analyzing the importance and role of the teacher in computer-based problem solving training. The present study provided a systematic examination of the ways in which a teacher might augment the RB program to incorporate a metacognitive emphasis into the training. Specifically examined were: (1) the level of problem solving that sixth grade children could reach in RB without teacher assistance; and (2) the amount and type of help necessary to advance their problem solving performance. Results indicated that all children reached a plateau in this performance. Children were advanced beyond that plateau by teacher intervention. Results are discussed in terms of suggestions for improving RB tutorials and advancing the potential role of the teacher as a critical element in computer-based training.     

Searching for the two sigma advantage: Evaluating algebra intelligent tutors

This study evaluated 2 off-the-shelf, computer-based, mathematics intelligent-tutoring systems that provide instruction in algebra during a remedial mathematics summer program. The majority of the enrolled high school students failed to pass algebra in the previous semester. Students were randomly assigned in approximately equal proportions to work with the Carnegie Learning Algebra Cognitive Tutor or the ALEKS Algebra Course. Using the tutoring system exclusively, the students completed a 4-h-a-day, 14-day summer school high school algebra class for credit. The results revealed that both tutoring systems produced statistically and practically meaningful learning gains on measures of arithmetic and algebra knowledge.     

Managing programmed instruction and collaborative peer tutoring in the classroom: Applications in teaching Java™

To fulfill part of the course requirements, 34 undergraduate students in two courses completed an online programmed instruction tutor as the first technical training exercise in a Java™ programming course designed for information systems majors. The tutor taught a simple JApplet program to display a text string within a browser window on the Web. Students in the first course next participated in a collaborative peer tutoring session, based on the JApplet program, followed by a lecture on the program and by successfully running the program on the Web. For the second course, the peer tutoring session was scheduled after the lecture and after successfully running the program. Students in both courses completed tests of far transfer (“meaningful learning”) and software self-efficacy before using the tutor and on several subsequent occasions following that initial learning. Students in the second course also completed a 4-item scale to assess the development of classification and functionality knowledge regarding elements of the program. Students in both courses showed progressive improvement in all performance measures across the several assessment occasions. Students’ positive ratings of the effectiveness of both the tutor and the collaborative peer tutoring supported the value of these learning experiences in a technical knowledge domain. The results of this study, based on student performance observed within the context of the classroom, show the importance of providing a range of synergistic learning experiences that culminate in a level of skill and confidence that prepares and motivates all students for advanced instruction in Java. They also show how to manage the instructional techniques in the classroom to accomplish that educational outcome.     

Education, training and knowledge base design

Abstract: Knowledge based systems offer considerable potential for the creation of new learning environments. In education such environments can be used with the mediation of a teacher and limits to the interpretation of the knowledge do not necessarily present problems. Intelligent tutoring systems cannot rely on human mediation and all interpretation of learner understanding is restricted to semantics of the knowledge representation. Thus the choice of representation is fundamental to the design of an intelligent tutoring system. Experience from an engineering context suggests that the success of a few intelligent tutoring systems depends on the formal nature of the topics considered. Typical topics for education and training require the integration of a formal understanding with an informal interpretation of considerable complexity. A new approach to the use of knowledge based systems, firmly centred on experience of applications actively used in education and/or training, will be required to solve this problem.     

Learning to teach with worked-out examples: a computer-based learning environment for teachers

Abstract   Learning from worked-out examples has been shown to be very effective in initial cognitive skill acquisition. In order to fully exploit the potential of example-based learning, teachers should, however, know how to effectively employ such examples in classroom instruction. Therefore, we have designed a computer-based learning environment in which mathematics and science teachers learn how to effectively employ worked-out examples. The learning environment was developed according to approved design criteria. The topics that are addressed in the learning environment were chosen in response to the results of a needs assessment that analysed schoolbooks and classroom videos, and took interviews with teachers into account. In experiments as well as in several teacher trainings on example-based learning, the computer-based learning environment was evaluated and improved accordingly. On a more general level, our research and development project showed that a computer-based learning programme could be a sensible tool that supports follow-up work in teacher training contexts.     

Developing and Assessing Erp Competencies: Basic and Complex Knowledge

This research studies the influence of individual knowledge mastery of competency task performance of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) learners. The research design involved the assessment of participants' ERP competency, each of whom participated in four games of a computer-based simulation, ERPsim. ERP knowledge was assessed using a validated questionnaire, which included questions with different complexity levels. Results indicate that although reported student grade point average is not a predictor of ERP competency, ERP knowledge mastery (particularly complex knowledge) does predict ERP competence. While mastering basic ERP knowledge does not predict the competency of the participants, these results can provide useful guidelines with respect to teaching and assessment practices, as well as the development of ERP curricula. To effectively prepare learners to be able to perform in authentic learning contexts, instructors could emphasize the mastery of complex knowledge and consequently use complex knowledge test questions as a component of the instruction.     

Role of relativistic knowledge in intelligent tutoring

Understanding complex cognitive behavior necessarily involves interaction between two (or more) individuals. The teaching-learning process is just a special case. From the standpoint of an intelligent tutor (or human teacher) all student/learner knowledge is either assumed to be available or is judged relative to the teacher's model(s) of the content and/or skills to be acquired. In this regard, learner models play a central role in most contemporary approaches to intelligent tutoring. These models typically assign to the learner certain capabilities which are assumed by the intelligent tutor in administering instruction. If too much is assumed, however, it is impossible to determine where the student is going wrong, or how to correct the problem—unless the tutor model is enhanced to incorporate the assumed capabilities and these capabilities correspondingly are eliminated from the learner model. Research associated with the Structural Learning Theory shows that a common “goal switching” control mechanism is all that may safely be assumed with confidence. Maximum flexibility is achieved by assuming only this mechanism, along with basic encoding and decoding capabilities.     

Programmed instruction and interteaching applications to teaching Java™: A systematic replication

Students in a Java computer programming course completed a programmed instruction tutor and an interteaching session to learn a Java computer program as the first technical training exercise. The program presented a text string in a browser window. Prior to the interteaching session, students completed a tutorial that included exemplars of a test of rule-governed performance that was administered on three different occasions during this initial learning. Students showed progressive improvements in test performance and software self confidence, although the gains observed during interteaching did not always transfer to a subsequent quiz. The reported backgrounds of the students were found to relate to the knowledge acquired from the several instructional tactics. The replication shows the value of using several different instructional media successively to help students achieve skill and confidence.     

计算机应用基础教学方法研究

计算机应用基础教学,是学生在进行计算机学习时所接触到的第一门基础性的计算机课程,而这一学科主要的教学目的则是使学生能够掌握到计算机方面最基本的知识,从而激发学生对计算机知识学习的兴趣,培养学生在计算机方面的学习能力,从而为今后的计算机知识学习打下坚实的基础。本人结合自己在计算机教学中的一些实践经验,对计算机应用基础的教学做一些探索。     

基于Web的IP网络管理实现

提出了一个基于Web的IP网络管理系统模型，该系统由3部分组成：可以运行浏览器的管理站，运行Servlet的网管服务器及数据服务器组成；这个应用系统的软件主要采用Java实现，通过Java Applet与Servlet问的相互协作，实现IP网的故障管理、性能管理、拓扑显示等管理功能。     

Comparing alternate teaching styles to teach computing skills to girls in their English classes

Low female participation rates in computing are a current concern of the education sector. To address this problem an intervention was developed — computing skills were introduced to girls in their English classes using three different teaching styles: peer tutoring, cross-age tutoring and teacher instruction (control). The sample comprised 136 girls from Years 8 and 10 from a single-sex government school. A pre-test post-test quantitative design was used. To describe the students perspectives, qualitative data were collected from six focus groups conducted with 8–10 students — one from each of the six classes. It was predicted that cross-age tutoring would yield more positive effects than peer tutoring which, in turn, would yield more positive effects than traditional teacher instruction as assessed by achievement on class tasks and attitudes towards computing. The hypothesis was not supported by the quantitative analysis, however in the qualitative data cross-age tutoring was appraised more favourably than peer tutoring or teacher instruction. The latter was the least preferred condition due to: (1) inefficiency; (2) difficulty understanding teachers' explanations; and (3) lack of teacher knowledge. Problems with the implementation of the intervention identified in the focus groups were teacher differences, system failures, missed classes, lack of communication, and selection of computing activities. Practical suggestions were provided relevant to the introduction of cross-age tutoring and the use of computers within secondary level English classes.     

Student modeling approaches: A literature review for the last decade

This paper constitutes a literature review on student modeling for the last decade. The review aims at answering three basic questions on student modeling: what to model, how and why. The prevailing student modeling approaches that have been used in the past 10 years are described, the aspects of students’ characteristics that were taken into consideration are presented and how a student model can be used in order to provide adaptivity and personalisation in computer-based educational software is highlighted. This paper aims to provide important information to researchers, educators and software developers of computer-based educational software ranging from e-learning and mobile learning systems to educational games including stand alone educational applications and intelligent tutoring systems. In addition, this paper can be used as a guide for making decisions about the techniques that should be adopted when designing a student model for an adaptive tutoring system. One significant conclusion is that the most preferred technique for representing the student’s mastery of knowledge is the overlay approach. Also, stereotyping seems to be ideal for modeling students’ learning styles and preferences. Furthermore, affective student modeling has had a rapid growth over the past years, while it has been noticed an increase in the adoption of fuzzy techniques and Bayesian networks in order to deal the uncertainty of student modeling.     

A web-based tutoring system with styles-matching strategy for spatial geometric transformation

It has been a major objective for researchers to develop computer systems that can effectively deliver instruction to learners. Therefore, how to incorporate instructional strategies in computer-assisted learning systems in a systematic manner deserves further investigation. In this paper, a style-matching strategy that attempts to match learning materials' styles to learners' latent traits is proposed and realized in a web-based tutoring system, called CooTutor. The mechanism of adaptive material selection takes learners' different spatial ability and learning styles as an integral learning profile into account, and performs traits-based personalization of learning experience. This system is specifically designed to conquer the difficulty of tutoring the topic on fundamental spatial geometry in conventional curriculums. By conducting empirical evaluation with a small group of students, it is found that CooTutor is generally beneficial to learning the domain, but the effect of the styles-matching mechanism remains inconclusive. The work aims to contribute to the community of adaptive hypermedia in providing an explorative example adopting the concern of individual difference for personalization. The system design, a usage scenario, and an exploratory evaluation are presented in this paper as implications for further studies.     

Nurturing reflective teaching during critical-thinking instruction in a computer simulation program

Nurturing reflective teaching and improving critical-thinking instruction are two important goals in teacher education, but these are only achievable when teachers-in-training are provided with opportunities for building professional knowledge and for exhibiting reflective teaching practices. A computer simulation program (CS-TGCTS) was therefore developed here, and its effectiveness is explained in this study. From 149 preservice teachers participating in this study, a pretest–posttest control group design was defined by four student groups and two treatments. The central hypothesis was that increasing participants' self-awareness of teacher behaviors and enhancing mindful learning in professional knowledge would provoke reflective teaching and further bring about improvements in teacher behaviors. The findings support the hypothesis and suggest that the CS-TGCTS simulation is an effective vehicle for improving preservice teachers' reflective teaching in critical-thinking instruction.