ALT-Pathway: Synthetic Tutors for Probing Student Learning*
Chris M. Nakamura, (cnakamur@ksu.edu) Sytil K. Murphy, Nasser M. Juma, N. Sanjay Rebello, Dean A. Zollman,
Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506;
Mike Christel, Scott Stevens
Carnegie Mellon University
A new web- and research-based synthetic tutoring system addresses students’ questions about physics content and also presents relevant questions to students, using pre-recorded video and a natural language interface. In this manner we create a quasi-Socratic interaction. Combining subjective and objective questions allows us to observe student performance on two time scales. A computer can monitor student responses to objective questions and provide immediate feedback and scaffolding. A more detailed analysis of student understanding can be done later using responses to the subjective questions. The system employs various multimedia including static images, video clips, and java applets. Our research focuses on the impact of each medium on student learning. Complete logging of students’ interactions facilitates this research by allowing us to observe how students interact with the system, and when that interaction produces effective learning.
*This work is supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under grants REC-0632587 and REC-0632657.
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