Stephen Blessing | University of Tampa (original) (raw)
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Social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook have become very popular among college students... more Social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook have become very popular among college students. These sites enable people to be in constant contact and communication. Their value in meeting educational objectives is less clear. We use Twitter ''tweets'' to remind students of psychology topics while they are outside of class. The intervention itself was straightforward: Students received an informative tweet about once per day. Students remembered these topics significantly better in a test situation. The Twitter intervention appears to be an effective way to increase memory for important class concepts.
2008 Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings
Twenty Second International Flairs Conference, 2009
Our past work has investigated the use of the Cognitive Model Software Development Kit (SDK) for ... more Our past work has investigated the use of the Cognitive Model Software Development Kit (SDK) for creating the cognitive models that underlie model-tracing Cognitive Tutors. Though successful at increasing the number of people who could author such a cognitive model, for certain kinds of situations the Cognitive Model SDK proved cumbersome. The present work discusses a new authoring system, xPST, that allows an example-based tutor to be built on top of existing software. 1 xPST-based tutors have been built for two real-world systems that had existing interfaces.
This study addresses the potential of using an intelligent tutoring system (ITS) to tutor on off-... more This study addresses the potential of using an intelligent tutoring system (ITS) to tutor on off-the-shelf (OTS) software. ITSs have been successfully used to tutor on a variety of learning domains, but there has been little research comparing ITS-based training on an OTS application with traditional software training approaches such as books or interactive software simulations. The work presented here includes procedures and results for training and evaluation using three methods: book-based, interactive simulation, and an ITS. We found that there were some associations between the training method and training experiences. Book-based training exhibited higher scores on both task performance and system usability perception, while better times were recorded for the simulation approach. Concept acquisition score was not found to significantly correlate with training method. We concluded that if an ITS is to be a tutor on OTS applications then further refinements are needed.
Proceedings of the 1996 International Conference on Learning Sciences, 1996
... Stephen B. Blessing Department of Psychology Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA 1521 3... more ... Stephen B. Blessing Department of Psychology Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA 1521 3 USA 412-268-7136 blessing+@cmu.edu ... This expert model can be augmented by "buggy rules," which represent incorrect but frequently-attempted strategies. ...
Proceedings of the 27th international conference extended abstracts on Human factors in computing systems - CHI EA '09, 2009
Authoring Tools for Advanced Technology Learning Environments, 2003
Model-tracing tutors have consistently been among the most effective class of intelligent learnin... more Model-tracing tutors have consistently been among the most effective class of intelligent learning environments. Across a number of empirical studies, these tutors have shown students can learn the tutored domain better or in a shorter amount of time than traditionally taught students (Anderson et al., 1990). Unfortunately, the creation of these tutors, particularly the production system component, is a time-intensive task, requiring knowledge that lies outside the tutored domain. This outside knowledge-knowledge of programming and cognitive science-prohibits domain experts from being able to construct effective, model-tracing tutors for their domain of expertise. This paper reports on a system, referred to as Demonstr8 (and pronounced "demonstrate"), which attempts to reduce the outside knowledge required to construct a model-tracing tutor, within the domain of arithmetic. By utilizing programming by demonstration techniques (Cypher, 1993; Myers et al., 1993) coupled with a mechanism for abstracting the underlying productions (the procedures to be used by the tutor and learned by the student), the author can interact with the interface the student will use, and the productions will be inferred by the system. In such a way, a domain expert can create in a short time a model-tracing tutor with the full capabilities implied by such a tutor-a production system that monitors the student's progress at each step in solving the problem and gives feedback when requested or necessary, in either an immediate or delayed manner. Model-tracing tutors have proven extremely effective in the classroom, with the most promising efforts demonstrating more than a standard deviation's improvement over traditional instruction (Anderson et al., 1990; Koedinger & Anderson, 1993a). They are referred to as modeltracing tutors because they contain an expert model which is used to trace the student's responses to ensure that the student's responses are part of an acceptable solution path. The creation of such tutors, particularly the expert models that underlie them, is a time-intensive task, requiring much knowledge outside of the domain being tutored. Anderson (1992) estimated
International Journal of Learning Technology, 2015
ConceptGrid provides a template-style approach to check natural language responses by students us... more ConceptGrid provides a template-style approach to check natural language responses by students using a model-tracing style intelligent tutoring system. The tutor-author creates, using a web-based authoring system, a lattice-style structure that contains the set of required concepts that need to be in a student response. The author can also create just-in-time feedback based on the concepts present or absent in the student's response. ConceptGrid is integrated within the xPST authoring tool and was tested in two experiments, both of which show the efficacy of the technique to check student answers. The first study tested the tutor's effectiveness overall in the domain of statistics. The second study investigated ConceptGrid's use by nonprogrammers and non-cognitive scientists. ConceptGrid extends existing capabilities for authoring of intelligent tutors by using this template-based approach for checking sentencelength natural language input.
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2008
We have been creating an authoring tool, the Cognitive Model SDK, which allows non-cognitive scie... more We have been creating an authoring tool, the Cognitive Model SDK, which allows non-cognitive scientists and non-programmers to produce a cognitive model for model-tracing tutors [1, 2]. The SDK is in use by developers at Carnegie Learning to produce their commercial Cognitive Tutors for math. However, it has never been evaluated with regards to the strong claim that noncognitive scientists and non-programmers could, without much effort, produce useful cognitive models with it. The research presented here shows that this can be done, using a task that past researchers have used [3]. The models are evaluated across several metrics to see what characteristics of either them or their creators may distinguish better models from worse models. The goal of this work is to establish a baseline for future work examining how cognitive modeling can be opened up to a wider class of people.
Abstract. A web-based authoring tool, developed using VaNTH CAPE technology, isused to construct
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2011
We describe a domain-independent authoring tool, ConceptGrid, that helps non-programmers develop ... more We describe a domain-independent authoring tool, ConceptGrid, that helps non-programmers develop intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs) that perform natural language processing. The approach involves the use of a lattice-style table-driven interface to build templates that describe a set of required concepts that are meant to be a part of a student’s response to a question, and a set of incorrect concepts that reflect incorrect understanding by the student. The tool also helps provide customized just-in-time feedback based on the concepts present or absent in the student’s response. This tool has been integrated and tested with a browser-based ITS authoring tool called xPST.
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2011
ABSTRACT Authoring tools enable the more rapid creation of intelligent tutoring systems. Such too... more ABSTRACT Authoring tools enable the more rapid creation of intelligent tutoring systems. Such tools are essential for tutors to become more widespread. In this study we evaluate WebxPST, a browser-based authoring system that enables non-programmers to create model-tracing-like intelligent tutors. Five authors, two course instructors and three undergraduates, created 74 problems suitable for use in an undergraduate statistics curriculum. A subset of these problems was deployed in a classroom. These authors quickly mastered the authoring interface showing the feasibility of the tool.
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2010
Our previous work has demonstrated that the Extensible Problem Specific Tutor (xPST) framework lo... more Our previous work has demonstrated that the Extensible Problem Specific Tutor (xPST) framework lowers the bar for non- programmers to author model tracing intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs) on top of existing software and websites. In this work we extend xPST to enable authoring of tutors in 3D games. This process differs substantially from authoring tutors for traditional GUI software in terms of the inherent domain complexity involved, different types of feedback required and interactions generated by various entities apart from the student. A tutor for a village evacuation task has been constructed in order to demonstrate the capabilities of using the extended xPST system to create a game-based tutor.
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2013
Teaching of Psychology, 2014
Social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook have become very popular among college students... more Social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook have become very popular among college students. These sites enable people to be in constant contact and communication. Their value in meeting educational objectives is less clear. We use Twitter ''tweets'' to remind students of psychology topics while they are outside of class. The intervention itself was straightforward: Students received an informative tweet about once per day. Students remembered these topics significantly better in a test situation. The Twitter intervention appears to be an effective way to increase memory for important class concepts.
2008 Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings
Twenty Second International Flairs Conference, 2009
Our past work has investigated the use of the Cognitive Model Software Development Kit (SDK) for ... more Our past work has investigated the use of the Cognitive Model Software Development Kit (SDK) for creating the cognitive models that underlie model-tracing Cognitive Tutors. Though successful at increasing the number of people who could author such a cognitive model, for certain kinds of situations the Cognitive Model SDK proved cumbersome. The present work discusses a new authoring system, xPST, that allows an example-based tutor to be built on top of existing software. 1 xPST-based tutors have been built for two real-world systems that had existing interfaces.
This study addresses the potential of using an intelligent tutoring system (ITS) to tutor on off-... more This study addresses the potential of using an intelligent tutoring system (ITS) to tutor on off-the-shelf (OTS) software. ITSs have been successfully used to tutor on a variety of learning domains, but there has been little research comparing ITS-based training on an OTS application with traditional software training approaches such as books or interactive software simulations. The work presented here includes procedures and results for training and evaluation using three methods: book-based, interactive simulation, and an ITS. We found that there were some associations between the training method and training experiences. Book-based training exhibited higher scores on both task performance and system usability perception, while better times were recorded for the simulation approach. Concept acquisition score was not found to significantly correlate with training method. We concluded that if an ITS is to be a tutor on OTS applications then further refinements are needed.
Proceedings of the 1996 International Conference on Learning Sciences, 1996
... Stephen B. Blessing Department of Psychology Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA 1521 3... more ... Stephen B. Blessing Department of Psychology Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA 1521 3 USA 412-268-7136 blessing+@cmu.edu ... This expert model can be augmented by "buggy rules," which represent incorrect but frequently-attempted strategies. ...
Proceedings of the 27th international conference extended abstracts on Human factors in computing systems - CHI EA '09, 2009
Authoring Tools for Advanced Technology Learning Environments, 2003
Model-tracing tutors have consistently been among the most effective class of intelligent learnin... more Model-tracing tutors have consistently been among the most effective class of intelligent learning environments. Across a number of empirical studies, these tutors have shown students can learn the tutored domain better or in a shorter amount of time than traditionally taught students (Anderson et al., 1990). Unfortunately, the creation of these tutors, particularly the production system component, is a time-intensive task, requiring knowledge that lies outside the tutored domain. This outside knowledge-knowledge of programming and cognitive science-prohibits domain experts from being able to construct effective, model-tracing tutors for their domain of expertise. This paper reports on a system, referred to as Demonstr8 (and pronounced "demonstrate"), which attempts to reduce the outside knowledge required to construct a model-tracing tutor, within the domain of arithmetic. By utilizing programming by demonstration techniques (Cypher, 1993; Myers et al., 1993) coupled with a mechanism for abstracting the underlying productions (the procedures to be used by the tutor and learned by the student), the author can interact with the interface the student will use, and the productions will be inferred by the system. In such a way, a domain expert can create in a short time a model-tracing tutor with the full capabilities implied by such a tutor-a production system that monitors the student's progress at each step in solving the problem and gives feedback when requested or necessary, in either an immediate or delayed manner. Model-tracing tutors have proven extremely effective in the classroom, with the most promising efforts demonstrating more than a standard deviation's improvement over traditional instruction (Anderson et al., 1990; Koedinger & Anderson, 1993a). They are referred to as modeltracing tutors because they contain an expert model which is used to trace the student's responses to ensure that the student's responses are part of an acceptable solution path. The creation of such tutors, particularly the expert models that underlie them, is a time-intensive task, requiring much knowledge outside of the domain being tutored. Anderson (1992) estimated
International Journal of Learning Technology, 2015
ConceptGrid provides a template-style approach to check natural language responses by students us... more ConceptGrid provides a template-style approach to check natural language responses by students using a model-tracing style intelligent tutoring system. The tutor-author creates, using a web-based authoring system, a lattice-style structure that contains the set of required concepts that need to be in a student response. The author can also create just-in-time feedback based on the concepts present or absent in the student's response. ConceptGrid is integrated within the xPST authoring tool and was tested in two experiments, both of which show the efficacy of the technique to check student answers. The first study tested the tutor's effectiveness overall in the domain of statistics. The second study investigated ConceptGrid's use by nonprogrammers and non-cognitive scientists. ConceptGrid extends existing capabilities for authoring of intelligent tutors by using this template-based approach for checking sentencelength natural language input.
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2008
We have been creating an authoring tool, the Cognitive Model SDK, which allows non-cognitive scie... more We have been creating an authoring tool, the Cognitive Model SDK, which allows non-cognitive scientists and non-programmers to produce a cognitive model for model-tracing tutors [1, 2]. The SDK is in use by developers at Carnegie Learning to produce their commercial Cognitive Tutors for math. However, it has never been evaluated with regards to the strong claim that noncognitive scientists and non-programmers could, without much effort, produce useful cognitive models with it. The research presented here shows that this can be done, using a task that past researchers have used [3]. The models are evaluated across several metrics to see what characteristics of either them or their creators may distinguish better models from worse models. The goal of this work is to establish a baseline for future work examining how cognitive modeling can be opened up to a wider class of people.
Abstract. A web-based authoring tool, developed using VaNTH CAPE technology, isused to construct
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2011
We describe a domain-independent authoring tool, ConceptGrid, that helps non-programmers develop ... more We describe a domain-independent authoring tool, ConceptGrid, that helps non-programmers develop intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs) that perform natural language processing. The approach involves the use of a lattice-style table-driven interface to build templates that describe a set of required concepts that are meant to be a part of a student’s response to a question, and a set of incorrect concepts that reflect incorrect understanding by the student. The tool also helps provide customized just-in-time feedback based on the concepts present or absent in the student’s response. This tool has been integrated and tested with a browser-based ITS authoring tool called xPST.
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2011
ABSTRACT Authoring tools enable the more rapid creation of intelligent tutoring systems. Such too... more ABSTRACT Authoring tools enable the more rapid creation of intelligent tutoring systems. Such tools are essential for tutors to become more widespread. In this study we evaluate WebxPST, a browser-based authoring system that enables non-programmers to create model-tracing-like intelligent tutors. Five authors, two course instructors and three undergraduates, created 74 problems suitable for use in an undergraduate statistics curriculum. A subset of these problems was deployed in a classroom. These authors quickly mastered the authoring interface showing the feasibility of the tool.
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2010
Our previous work has demonstrated that the Extensible Problem Specific Tutor (xPST) framework lo... more Our previous work has demonstrated that the Extensible Problem Specific Tutor (xPST) framework lowers the bar for non- programmers to author model tracing intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs) on top of existing software and websites. In this work we extend xPST to enable authoring of tutors in 3D games. This process differs substantially from authoring tutors for traditional GUI software in terms of the inherent domain complexity involved, different types of feedback required and interactions generated by various entities apart from the student. A tutor for a village evacuation task has been constructed in order to demonstrate the capabilities of using the extended xPST system to create a game-based tutor.
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2013
Teaching of Psychology, 2014