Publications
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21.
Davis, Dan M; Young, Nancy L H; Davis, Mark C; Carolina, North
Enhancements for Homeschooling and ADL: Virtual Humans, Technologies and Insights Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of MODSIM World 2019, pp. 12, Norfolk, VA, 2019.
@inproceedings{davis_enhancements_2019,
title = {Enhancements for Homeschooling and ADL: Virtual Humans, Technologies and Insights},
author = {Dan M Davis and Nancy L H Young and Mark C Davis and North Carolina},
url = {http://www.modsimworld.org/conference-papers/2019},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-04-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of MODSIM World 2019},
pages = {12},
address = {Norfolk, VA},
abstract = {Homeschooling and DoD Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) have many goals in common, so increasing the collaborative research and collegial information exchange between their respective communities would be mutually advantageous. The emerging capabilities of virtual humans provide a useful prototype of how both homeschooling and ADL can benefit from emerging technological advances. This paper begins with an examination of the home schooling movement in the United States, including a review of its foundations, demographics, results and trends. In examining the goals of homeschooling parents, the four major reasons cited by at least half of those parents are considered and explicated: desire to find environment most compatible to users, provision of ethics foundations, inclusion of accountability instruction and dissatisfaction with other pedagogical approaches. Also meriting review are the hurdles faced by homeschool teachers and students, followed by an item-by-item comparison with analogous challenges for ADL provisioners and learners. A short analysis of the constraints on the two communities focuses on similarities and differences between family limitations and defense organization restrictions. The authors then present data on the current scope, instantiations, and achievements of the two efforts. Many of the technologies currently in use are reviewed and discussed, concentrating on computer-aided education and distributed learning. Emerging technologies based on artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and virtual humans are described and considered. Their uses in various contexts provide sufficient data to quantify the impact on subjects and the authors adduce findings from research to support their thesis that increased use of these technologies would be beneficial both to homeschooled students and to DoD Learners. The paper closes with an evaluation of the arc of current research, the recognition of prenascent capabilities (e.g. quantum computing), the burgeoning needs of both communities, and the need to nurture a synergistic exchange between homeschool advocates and ADL architects.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Homeschooling and DoD Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) have many goals in common, so increasing the collaborative research and collegial information exchange between their respective communities would be mutually advantageous. The emerging capabilities of virtual humans provide a useful prototype of how both homeschooling and ADL can benefit from emerging technological advances. This paper begins with an examination of the home schooling movement in the United States, including a review of its foundations, demographics, results and trends. In examining the goals of homeschooling parents, the four major reasons cited by at least half of those parents are considered and explicated: desire to find environment most compatible to users, provision of ethics foundations, inclusion of accountability instruction and dissatisfaction with other pedagogical approaches. Also meriting review are the hurdles faced by homeschool teachers and students, followed by an item-by-item comparison with analogous challenges for ADL provisioners and learners. A short analysis of the constraints on the two communities focuses on similarities and differences between family limitations and defense organization restrictions. The authors then present data on the current scope, instantiations, and achievements of the two efforts. Many of the technologies currently in use are reviewed and discussed, concentrating on computer-aided education and distributed learning. Emerging technologies based on artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and virtual humans are described and considered. Their uses in various contexts provide sufficient data to quantify the impact on subjects and the authors adduce findings from research to support their thesis that increased use of these technologies would be beneficial both to homeschooled students and to DoD Learners. The paper closes with an evaluation of the arc of current research, the recognition of prenascent capabilities (e.g. quantum computing), the burgeoning needs of both communities, and the need to nurture a synergistic exchange between homeschool advocates and ADL architects.
22.
Goldberg, Benjamin; Nye, Benjamin; Lane, H Chad; Guadagnoli, Mark
Team Assessment and Pedagogy as Informed by Sports Coaching and Assessment Book Section
In: Design Recommendations for Intelligent Tutoring Systems: Volume 6-Team Modeling, pp. 105–119, US Army Research Laboratory (ARL), Orlando, Florida, 2018, ISBN: 978-0-9977257-4-2.
@incollection{goldberg_team_2018,
title = {Team Assessment and Pedagogy as Informed by Sports Coaching and Assessment},
author = {Benjamin Goldberg and Benjamin Nye and H Chad Lane and Mark Guadagnoli},
url = {https://gifttutoring.org/attachments/download/3029/Design%20Recommendations%20for%20ITS_Volume%206%20-%20Team%20Tutoring_final.pdf},
isbn = {978-0-9977257-4-2},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-08-01},
booktitle = {Design Recommendations for Intelligent Tutoring Systems: Volume 6-Team Modeling},
pages = {105–119},
publisher = {US Army Research Laboratory (ARL)},
address = {Orlando, Florida},
abstract = {In this chapter, we consider pedagogical insights offered by three different sources of information from sports coaching and assessment: published reports of sports training, first-hand accounts of team training, and a review of assessment approaches for measuring team performance. These issues are considered in the context of an integrated taxonomy of feedback that considers when feedback was given, who it was given to (e.g., individual vs. team), the type of feedback (e.g., positive vs. negative), and the specificity of feedback (e.g., detailed issues vs. brief note). The goal of this work is to consider how these patterns might generalize to a wider range of learning tasks, to improve both learning and assessment of team performance.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
In this chapter, we consider pedagogical insights offered by three different sources of information from sports coaching and assessment: published reports of sports training, first-hand accounts of team training, and a review of assessment approaches for measuring team performance. These issues are considered in the context of an integrated taxonomy of feedback that considers when feedback was given, who it was given to (e.g., individual vs. team), the type of feedback (e.g., positive vs. negative), and the specificity of feedback (e.g., detailed issues vs. brief note). The goal of this work is to consider how these patterns might generalize to a wider range of learning tasks, to improve both learning and assessment of team performance.
23.
Nye, Benjamin D.; Karumbaiah, Shamya; Tokel, S. Tugba; Core, Mark G.; Stratou, Giota; Auerbach, Daniel; Georgila, Kallirroi
Engaging with the Scenario: Affect and Facial Patterns from a Scenario-Based Intelligent Tutoring System Proceedings Article
In: Proceeding of the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education, pp. 352–366, Springer International Publishing, London, UK, 2018, ISBN: 978-3-319-93842-4 978-3-319-93843-1.
@inproceedings{nye_engaging_2018,
title = {Engaging with the Scenario: Affect and Facial Patterns from a Scenario-Based Intelligent Tutoring System},
author = {Benjamin D. Nye and Shamya Karumbaiah and S. Tugba Tokel and Mark G. Core and Giota Stratou and Daniel Auerbach and Kallirroi Georgila},
url = {http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-93843-1_26},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-93843-1_26},
isbn = {978-3-319-93842-4 978-3-319-93843-1},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-06-01},
booktitle = {Proceeding of the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education},
volume = {10947},
pages = {352–366},
publisher = {Springer International Publishing},
address = {London, UK},
abstract = {Facial expression trackers output measures for facial action units (AUs), and are increasingly being used in learning technologies. In this paper, we compile patterns of AUs seen in related work as well as use factor analysis to search for categories implicit in our corpus. Although there was some overlap between the factors in our data and previous work, we also identified factors seen in the broader literature but not previously reported in the context of learning environments. In a correlational analysis, we found evidence for relationships between factors and self-reported traits such as academic effort, study habits, and interest in the subject. In addition, we saw differences in average levels of factors between a video watching activity, and a decision making activity. However, in this analysis, we were not able to isolate any facial expressions having a significant positive or negative relationship with either learning gain, or performance once question difficulty and related factors were also considered. Given the overall low levels of facial affect in the corpus, further research will explore different populations and learning tasks to test the possible hypothesis that learners may have been in a pattern of “Over-Flow” in which they were engaged with the system, but not deeply thinking about the content or their errors.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Facial expression trackers output measures for facial action units (AUs), and are increasingly being used in learning technologies. In this paper, we compile patterns of AUs seen in related work as well as use factor analysis to search for categories implicit in our corpus. Although there was some overlap between the factors in our data and previous work, we also identified factors seen in the broader literature but not previously reported in the context of learning environments. In a correlational analysis, we found evidence for relationships between factors and self-reported traits such as academic effort, study habits, and interest in the subject. In addition, we saw differences in average levels of factors between a video watching activity, and a decision making activity. However, in this analysis, we were not able to isolate any facial expressions having a significant positive or negative relationship with either learning gain, or performance once question difficulty and related factors were also considered. Given the overall low levels of facial affect in the corpus, further research will explore different populations and learning tasks to test the possible hypothesis that learners may have been in a pattern of “Over-Flow” in which they were engaged with the system, but not deeply thinking about the content or their errors.
24.
Hampton, Andrew J.; Nye, Benjamin D.; Pavlik, Philip I.; Swartout, William R.; Graesser, Arthur C.; Gunderson, Joseph
Mitigating Knowledge Decay from Instruction with Voluntary Use of an Adaptive Learning System Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education, pp. 119–133, Springer International Publishing, London, UK, 2018, ISBN: 978-3-319-93845-5 978-3-319-93846-2.
@inproceedings{hampton_mitigating_2018,
title = {Mitigating Knowledge Decay from Instruction with Voluntary Use of an Adaptive Learning System},
author = {Andrew J. Hampton and Benjamin D. Nye and Philip I. Pavlik and William R. Swartout and Arthur C. Graesser and Joseph Gunderson},
url = {http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-93846-2_23},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-93846-2_23},
isbn = {978-3-319-93845-5 978-3-319-93846-2},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-06-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education},
volume = {10948},
pages = {119–133},
publisher = {Springer International Publishing},
address = {London, UK},
abstract = {Knowledge decays across breaks in instruction. Learners lack the metacognition to self-assess their knowledge decay and effectively self-direct review, as well as lacking interactive exercises appropriate to their individual knowledge level. Adaptive learning systems offer the potential to mitigate these issues, by providing open learner models to facilitate learner’s understanding of their knowledge levels and by presenting personalized practice exercises. The current study analyzes differences in knowledge decay between learners randomly assigned to an intervention where they could use an adaptive system during a long gap between courses, compared with a control condition. The experimental condition used the Personal Assistant for Life-Long Learning (PAL3), a tablet-based adaptive learning system integrating multiple intelligent tutoring systems and conventional learning resources. It contained electronics content relevant to the experiment participants, Navy sailors who graduated from apprentice electronics courses (A-School) awaiting assignment to their next training (C-School). The study was conducted over one month, collecting performance data with a counterbalanced pre-, mid-, and post-test. The control condition exhibited the expected decay. The PAL3 condition showed a significant difference from the control, with no significant knowledge decay in their overall knowledge, despite substantial variance in usage for PAL3 (e.g., most of overall use in the first week, with fewer participants engaging as time went on). Interestingly, while overall decay was mitigated in PAL3, this result was primarily through gains in some knowledge offsetting losses in other knowledge. Overall, these results indicate that adaptive study tools can help prevent knowledge decay, even with voluntary usage.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Knowledge decays across breaks in instruction. Learners lack the metacognition to self-assess their knowledge decay and effectively self-direct review, as well as lacking interactive exercises appropriate to their individual knowledge level. Adaptive learning systems offer the potential to mitigate these issues, by providing open learner models to facilitate learner’s understanding of their knowledge levels and by presenting personalized practice exercises. The current study analyzes differences in knowledge decay between learners randomly assigned to an intervention where they could use an adaptive system during a long gap between courses, compared with a control condition. The experimental condition used the Personal Assistant for Life-Long Learning (PAL3), a tablet-based adaptive learning system integrating multiple intelligent tutoring systems and conventional learning resources. It contained electronics content relevant to the experiment participants, Navy sailors who graduated from apprentice electronics courses (A-School) awaiting assignment to their next training (C-School). The study was conducted over one month, collecting performance data with a counterbalanced pre-, mid-, and post-test. The control condition exhibited the expected decay. The PAL3 condition showed a significant difference from the control, with no significant knowledge decay in their overall knowledge, despite substantial variance in usage for PAL3 (e.g., most of overall use in the first week, with fewer participants engaging as time went on). Interestingly, while overall decay was mitigated in PAL3, this result was primarily through gains in some knowledge offsetting losses in other knowledge. Overall, these results indicate that adaptive study tools can help prevent knowledge decay, even with voluntary usage.
25.
Nye, Benjamin D; Kaimakis, Nicholas J; Krishnamachari, Madhusudhan; Swartout, William; Campbell, Julia; Anderson, Clinton; Davis, Dan M
MentorPal: Interactive Virtual Mentors Based on Real-Life STEM Professionals Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) 2017, a2z, Inc., Orlando, Florida, 2017.
@inproceedings{nye_mentorpal_2017,
title = {MentorPal: Interactive Virtual Mentors Based on Real-Life STEM Professionals},
author = {Benjamin D Nye and Nicholas J Kaimakis and Madhusudhan Krishnamachari and William Swartout and Julia Campbell and Clinton Anderson and Dan M Davis},
url = {http://www.iitsecdocs.com/search},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-11-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) 2017},
publisher = {a2z, Inc.},
address = {Orlando, Florida},
abstract = {In an ideal world, all students could meet STEM role models as they explore different careers. However, events such as career fairs do not scale well: professionals have limited time and effective mentors are not readily available in all fields. The result is that students’ understanding is minimal about what professionals in STEM fields do every day, what education is needed, and even what STEM fields exist. Moreover, since in-person interactions rely on finding people engaged in current STEM careers, students may form career goals for stagnant fields rather than growing fields (e.g., projected workforce needs). To address this problem, we are designing a scalable tablet-based app that gives students the opportunity to converse with interactive recordings of real-life STEM professionals. These conversational virtual agents will emulate a question-and-answer session with STEM professionals who have Navy ties and who are engaging, enthusiastic, and effective mentors. These interactions will allow students to have a lifelike informational interview with a virtual agent whose responses are directly drawn from a specific real professional’s video-recorded interview. This work differs from prior research on career guides by capturing the experiences of a collection of unique mentors, which should be more authentic and engaging than a generic agent or resource which speaks only about the average experience. This paper will discuss the process of creating the first such virtual STEM mentor prototype, including the development of an extensive mentoring question bank (approximately 500 questions); key mentoring topics that intersect STEM, DoD, and civilian life; techniques for cost-effective recording of remote mentors; and the process of training and verifying a natural language dialogue model for answering and suggesting career questions. Finally, we conclude with implications, strengths, and drawbacks of virtualizing the experience of talking with specific mentors, from the perspectives of efficacy, scalability, and maintainability.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
In an ideal world, all students could meet STEM role models as they explore different careers. However, events such as career fairs do not scale well: professionals have limited time and effective mentors are not readily available in all fields. The result is that students’ understanding is minimal about what professionals in STEM fields do every day, what education is needed, and even what STEM fields exist. Moreover, since in-person interactions rely on finding people engaged in current STEM careers, students may form career goals for stagnant fields rather than growing fields (e.g., projected workforce needs). To address this problem, we are designing a scalable tablet-based app that gives students the opportunity to converse with interactive recordings of real-life STEM professionals. These conversational virtual agents will emulate a question-and-answer session with STEM professionals who have Navy ties and who are engaging, enthusiastic, and effective mentors. These interactions will allow students to have a lifelike informational interview with a virtual agent whose responses are directly drawn from a specific real professional’s video-recorded interview. This work differs from prior research on career guides by capturing the experiences of a collection of unique mentors, which should be more authentic and engaging than a generic agent or resource which speaks only about the average experience. This paper will discuss the process of creating the first such virtual STEM mentor prototype, including the development of an extensive mentoring question bank (approximately 500 questions); key mentoring topics that intersect STEM, DoD, and civilian life; techniques for cost-effective recording of remote mentors; and the process of training and verifying a natural language dialogue model for answering and suggesting career questions. Finally, we conclude with implications, strengths, and drawbacks of virtualizing the experience of talking with specific mentors, from the perspectives of efficacy, scalability, and maintainability.
26.
Nye, Benjamin D.; Mitros, Piotr; Schunn, Christian; Foltz, Peter W.; Gasevic, Dragan; Katz, Irvin R.
Why Assess? The Role of Assessment in Learning Science and Society Book Section
In: Design Recommendations for Intelligent Tutoring Systems: Volume 5- Assessment, vol. 5, pp. 189–202, US Army Research Laboratory, Orlando, FL, 2017, ISBN: 978-0-9977257-2-8.
@incollection{benjamin_d_nye_why_2017,
title = {Why Assess? The Role of Assessment in Learning Science and Society},
author = {Benjamin D. Nye and Piotr Mitros and Christian Schunn and Peter W. Foltz and Dragan Gasevic and Irvin R. Katz},
url = {https://books.google.com/books?id=5tsyDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA189&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4#v=onepage&q&f=false},
isbn = {978-0-9977257-2-8},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-08-01},
booktitle = {Design Recommendations for Intelligent Tutoring Systems: Volume 5- Assessment},
volume = {5},
pages = {189–202},
publisher = {US Army Research Laboratory},
address = {Orlando, FL},
abstract = {Even though assessment often is imperfect, it provides valuable input to the process of teaching, learning, and educational resource design. However, narrow assessment, especially used in high-stakes settings, can lead to worse educational outcomes (e.g., performance in later courses, workplace, or social settings; Hout & Elliott, 2011). Teachers may have a strong incentive to teach to the test, leading to a strong focus on memorization and rote procedural knowledge, while compromising key skills such as empathy, groupwork, mathematical maturity, and analytical reasoning. These are thorny problems – education shapes the skills1 that shape society, so these questions have broad implications. With that said, by constraining the discussion to the kinds of constructs considered when building learning experiences, the goals of assessment become more tractable.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
Even though assessment often is imperfect, it provides valuable input to the process of teaching, learning, and educational resource design. However, narrow assessment, especially used in high-stakes settings, can lead to worse educational outcomes (e.g., performance in later courses, workplace, or social settings; Hout & Elliott, 2011). Teachers may have a strong incentive to teach to the test, leading to a strong focus on memorization and rote procedural knowledge, while compromising key skills such as empathy, groupwork, mathematical maturity, and analytical reasoning. These are thorny problems – education shapes the skills1 that shape society, so these questions have broad implications. With that said, by constraining the discussion to the kinds of constructs considered when building learning experiences, the goals of assessment become more tractable.
27.
Fang, Ying; Xu, Yonghong Jade; Nye, Benjamin; Graesser, Arthur; Pavlik, Philip; Hu, Xiangen
Online Learning Persistence and Academic Achievement Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of Educational Data Mining (EDM) 2017, pp. 312 – 317, EDM 2017, Wuhan, China, 2017.
@inproceedings{fang_online_2017,
title = {Online Learning Persistence and Academic Achievement},
author = {Ying Fang and Yonghong Jade Xu and Benjamin Nye and Arthur Graesser and Philip Pavlik and Xiangen Hu},
url = {http://educationaldatamining.org/EDM2017/proc_files/papers/paper_114.pdf},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-06-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of Educational Data Mining (EDM) 2017},
pages = {312 – 317},
publisher = {EDM 2017},
address = {Wuhan, China},
abstract = {Student persistence in online learning environments has typically been studied at the macro-level (e.g., completion of an online course, number of academic terms completed, etc.). The current examines student persistence in an adaptive learning environment, ALEKS (Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces). Specifically, the study explores the relationship between students' academic achievement and their persistence during learning. By using archived data that included their math learning log data and performance on two standardized tests, we first explored student learning behavior patterns with regard to their persistence during learning. Clustering analysis identified three distinctive patterns of persistence-related learning behaviors: (1) High persistence and rare topic shifting; (2) Low persistence and frequent topic shifting; and (3) Moderate persistence and moderate topic shifting. We further explored the association between persistence and academic achievement. No significant differences were observed between academic achievement and the different learning patterns. We interpret this result in addition to a preliminary exploration of topic mastery trends, to suggest that wheel-spinning" behaviors coexist with persistence, and is ultimately not beneficial to learning.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Student persistence in online learning environments has typically been studied at the macro-level (e.g., completion of an online course, number of academic terms completed, etc.). The current examines student persistence in an adaptive learning environment, ALEKS (Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces). Specifically, the study explores the relationship between students' academic achievement and their persistence during learning. By using archived data that included their math learning log data and performance on two standardized tests, we first explored student learning behavior patterns with regard to their persistence during learning. Clustering analysis identified three distinctive patterns of persistence-related learning behaviors: (1) High persistence and rare topic shifting; (2) Low persistence and frequent topic shifting; and (3) Moderate persistence and moderate topic shifting. We further explored the association between persistence and academic achievement. No significant differences were observed between academic achievement and the different learning patterns. We interpret this result in addition to a preliminary exploration of topic mastery trends, to suggest that wheel-spinning" behaviors coexist with persistence, and is ultimately not beneficial to learning.
28.
Nye, Benjamin; Karumbaiah, Shamya; Tokel, S. Tugba; Core, Mark G.; Stratou, Giota; Auerbach, Daniel; Georgila, Kallirroi
Analyzing Learner Affect in a Scenario-Based Intelligent Tutoring System Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education, pp. 544–547, Springer, Wuhan, China, 2017, ISBN: 978-3-319-61425-0.
@inproceedings{nye_analyzing_2017,
title = {Analyzing Learner Affect in a Scenario-Based Intelligent Tutoring System},
author = {Benjamin Nye and Shamya Karumbaiah and S. Tugba Tokel and Mark G. Core and Giota Stratou and Daniel Auerbach and Kallirroi Georgila},
url = {https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-61425-0_60},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61425-0_60},
isbn = {978-3-319-61425-0},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-06-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education},
pages = {544–547},
publisher = {Springer},
address = {Wuhan, China},
abstract = {Scenario-based tutoring systems influence affective states due to two distinct mechanisms during learning: 1) reactions to performance feedback and 2) responses to the scenario context or events. To explore the role of affect and engagement, a scenario-based ITS was instrumented to support unobtrusive facial affect detection. Results from a sample of university students showed relatively few traditional academic affective states such as confusion or frustration, even at decision points and after poor performance (e.g., incorrect responses). This may show evidence of "over-flow," with a high level of engagement and interest but insufficient confusion/disequilibrium for optimal learning.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Scenario-based tutoring systems influence affective states due to two distinct mechanisms during learning: 1) reactions to performance feedback and 2) responses to the scenario context or events. To explore the role of affect and engagement, a scenario-based ITS was instrumented to support unobtrusive facial affect detection. Results from a sample of university students showed relatively few traditional academic affective states such as confusion or frustration, even at decision points and after poor performance (e.g., incorrect responses). This may show evidence of "over-flow," with a high level of engagement and interest but insufficient confusion/disequilibrium for optimal learning.
29.
Nye, Benjamin D.; Auerbach, Daniel; Mehta, Tirth R.; Hartholt, Arno
Building a Backbone for Multi-Agent Tutoring in GIFT (Work in Progress) Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the GIFTSym5, pp. 23–35, ARL, Orlando, Florida, 2017.
@inproceedings{nye_building_2017,
title = {Building a Backbone for Multi-Agent Tutoring in GIFT (Work in Progress)},
author = {Benjamin D. Nye and Daniel Auerbach and Tirth R. Mehta and Arno Hartholt},
url = {https://books.google.com/books?id=PwMtDwAAQBAJ&printsec=copyright&source=gbs_pub_info_r#v=onepage&q&f=false},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-05-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the GIFTSym5},
pages = {23–35},
publisher = {ARL},
address = {Orlando, Florida},
abstract = {As intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) increasingly need to interoperate and co-exist, emerging systems have transitioned toward service-oriented designs to enable modularity and composability of tutoring components made and/or maintained by different research and development groups. However, as a research community, we have still not reached a point where it is trivial for a new service to be added into a system like the Generalized Intelligent Framework for Tutoring (GIFT; Sottilare, Goldberg, Brawner, & Holden, 2012). In an early paper considering this issue with respect to the GIFT architecture (Nye & Morrison, 2013), we proposed addressing this issue by building toward a lightweight multi-agent archi-tecture where certain services act as autonomous agents: “a system situated within and a part of an environment that senses that environment and acts on it, over time, in pursuit of its own agenda and so as to affect what it senses in the future” (Franklin & Graesser, 1997; p. 25). In our work in progress described here, we discuss how we are approaching the opportunity to build such capabilities into GIFT. The high level goals of our work are targeting two core goals for GIFT: A) to be a lightweight framework that will expand access to and use of ITS and B) to help GIFT to increase the intelligence and effectiveness of its services based on data over time. We are currently targeting the first goal, which will underpin the second goal. However, what does it mean to be a lightweight framework? In this context, a “lightweight framework” is framed as minimizing the following criteria: (1) hardware requirements, (2) software expertise to design services, (3) software expertise to use existing services, (4) software expertise to stand up the message-passing layer between agents, and (5) a minimal working message ontology (Nye & Morrison, 2013). Since our original paper four years ago, GIFT has made significant strides in reducing barriers related to hardware by building a cloud-based version and software expertise to use GIFT services through authoring tools. It has also developed a growing ontology of messages (e.g., https://gifttutoring.org/projects/gift/wiki/Interface_Control_Document_2016-1). With that said, despite now-extensive documentation, designing new services for GIFT is still not trivial and strong expertise is required to pass messages between GIFT modules and agents (either internal or external). To address these issues, the Building a Backbone project is working toward agent-oriented designs that build on GIFT's existing service-oriented framework. By moving from services toward agents, modules will be able to act more autonomously, enabling capabilities such as plug-and-play, hotswapping, and selecting between multiple services providing the same capabilities. These new capabilities are intended to reduce barriers to building new GIFT-compatible services and also to integrating GIFT with other service-oriented ecosystems. The first steps toward these capabilities are an ontology mapping service and an initial integration that combines GIFT, the Virtual Human Toolkit core framework for agents, and the SuperGLU framework for adding agent-oriented capabilities for coordinating services. This paper reports on work to date, with an emphasis on target capabilities, design decisions, challenges, and open research questions for this work.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
As intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) increasingly need to interoperate and co-exist, emerging systems have transitioned toward service-oriented designs to enable modularity and composability of tutoring components made and/or maintained by different research and development groups. However, as a research community, we have still not reached a point where it is trivial for a new service to be added into a system like the Generalized Intelligent Framework for Tutoring (GIFT; Sottilare, Goldberg, Brawner, & Holden, 2012). In an early paper considering this issue with respect to the GIFT architecture (Nye & Morrison, 2013), we proposed addressing this issue by building toward a lightweight multi-agent archi-tecture where certain services act as autonomous agents: “a system situated within and a part of an environment that senses that environment and acts on it, over time, in pursuit of its own agenda and so as to affect what it senses in the future” (Franklin & Graesser, 1997; p. 25). In our work in progress described here, we discuss how we are approaching the opportunity to build such capabilities into GIFT. The high level goals of our work are targeting two core goals for GIFT: A) to be a lightweight framework that will expand access to and use of ITS and B) to help GIFT to increase the intelligence and effectiveness of its services based on data over time. We are currently targeting the first goal, which will underpin the second goal. However, what does it mean to be a lightweight framework? In this context, a “lightweight framework” is framed as minimizing the following criteria: (1) hardware requirements, (2) software expertise to design services, (3) software expertise to use existing services, (4) software expertise to stand up the message-passing layer between agents, and (5) a minimal working message ontology (Nye & Morrison, 2013). Since our original paper four years ago, GIFT has made significant strides in reducing barriers related to hardware by building a cloud-based version and software expertise to use GIFT services through authoring tools. It has also developed a growing ontology of messages (e.g., https://gifttutoring.org/projects/gift/wiki/Interface_Control_Document_2016-1). With that said, despite now-extensive documentation, designing new services for GIFT is still not trivial and strong expertise is required to pass messages between GIFT modules and agents (either internal or external). To address these issues, the Building a Backbone project is working toward agent-oriented designs that build on GIFT's existing service-oriented framework. By moving from services toward agents, modules will be able to act more autonomously, enabling capabilities such as plug-and-play, hotswapping, and selecting between multiple services providing the same capabilities. These new capabilities are intended to reduce barriers to building new GIFT-compatible services and also to integrating GIFT with other service-oriented ecosystems. The first steps toward these capabilities are an ontology mapping service and an initial integration that combines GIFT, the Virtual Human Toolkit core framework for agents, and the SuperGLU framework for adding agent-oriented capabilities for coordinating services. This paper reports on work to date, with an emphasis on target capabilities, design decisions, challenges, and open research questions for this work.
30.
Core, Mark G.; Georgila, Kallirroi; Nye, Benjamin D.; Auerbach, Daniel; Liu, Zhi Fei; DiNinni, Richard
Learning, Adaptive Support, Student Traits, and Engagement in Scenario-Based Learning Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings from the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) 2016, National Training and Simulation Association, Orlando, FL, 2016.
@inproceedings{core_learning_2016,
title = {Learning, Adaptive Support, Student Traits, and Engagement in Scenario-Based Learning},
author = {Mark G. Core and Kallirroi Georgila and Benjamin D. Nye and Daniel Auerbach and Zhi Fei Liu and Richard DiNinni},
url = {http://www.iitsecdocs.com/search},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-11-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings from the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) 2016},
publisher = {National Training and Simulation Association},
address = {Orlando, FL},
abstract = {Scenario-based training systems pose an especially difficult challenge for an intelligent tutoring system (ITS). In addition to the basic problems of deciding when to intervene and what guidance to provide, the ITS must decide whether to give guidance directly (e.g., a hint message), indirectly through positive/negative results in the scenario, or to delay guidance until a post-scenario review session. There are a number of factors that an adaptive ITS should consider and we use self-report survey instruments to investigate the relationship between traits, learning strategies, expectations, learner behaviors derived from log files, post-use perceptions of the system, and pre-test and post-test results. We use the ELITE Lite Counseling training system as a testbed for our experiments. This system uses virtual role players to allow learners to practice leadership counseling skills, and is in use at the United States Military Academy (USMA). This paper analyzes two data sets. We collected data from local university students, a non-military population of roughly the same age as USMA Cadets using the system. For these local participants, we could administer surveys and pre-tests and post-tests, and collect log files recording clicks made while using ELITE Lite. The second data set comes from USMA itself but is limited to log files. In both populations, the ITS’s hints are effective at boosting scenario performance, and for the university students, the overall experience promoted learning, and survey results suggest that higher levels of organization in study habits may lead to greater learning with ELITE Lite. For the USMA Cadets, ELITE Lite is part of their Military Leadership course rather than an experiment, which could explain why we found higher scenario performance on average than the non-military population, and more use of the post-scenario review feature.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Scenario-based training systems pose an especially difficult challenge for an intelligent tutoring system (ITS). In addition to the basic problems of deciding when to intervene and what guidance to provide, the ITS must decide whether to give guidance directly (e.g., a hint message), indirectly through positive/negative results in the scenario, or to delay guidance until a post-scenario review session. There are a number of factors that an adaptive ITS should consider and we use self-report survey instruments to investigate the relationship between traits, learning strategies, expectations, learner behaviors derived from log files, post-use perceptions of the system, and pre-test and post-test results. We use the ELITE Lite Counseling training system as a testbed for our experiments. This system uses virtual role players to allow learners to practice leadership counseling skills, and is in use at the United States Military Academy (USMA). This paper analyzes two data sets. We collected data from local university students, a non-military population of roughly the same age as USMA Cadets using the system. For these local participants, we could administer surveys and pre-tests and post-tests, and collect log files recording clicks made while using ELITE Lite. The second data set comes from USMA itself but is limited to log files. In both populations, the ITS’s hints are effective at boosting scenario performance, and for the university students, the overall experience promoted learning, and survey results suggest that higher levels of organization in study habits may lead to greater learning with ELITE Lite. For the USMA Cadets, ELITE Lite is part of their Military Leadership course rather than an experiment, which could explain why we found higher scenario performance on average than the non-military population, and more use of the post-scenario review feature.
31.
McAlinden, Ryan; Kang, Sin-Hwa; Nye, Benjamin; Phillips, Artemisa; Campbell, Julia; Goldberg, Stephan L.
Cost-Effective Strategies for Producing Engaging Online Courseware Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings from the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) 2016, National Training and Simulation Association, Orlando, FL, 2016.
@inproceedings{mcalinden_cost-effective_2016,
title = {Cost-Effective Strategies for Producing Engaging Online Courseware},
author = {Ryan McAlinden and Sin-Hwa Kang and Benjamin Nye and Artemisa Phillips and Julia Campbell and Stephan L. Goldberg},
url = {http://www.iitsecdocs.com/search},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-11-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings from the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) 2016},
publisher = {National Training and Simulation Association},
address = {Orlando, FL},
abstract = {As distributed learning (dL) and computer-based training (CBT) continue to proliferate, the methods of delivery often remain unengaging and bland for participants. Though many of the leaders in commercial online learning have improved their delivery style and quality in recent years, they continue to fall short in terms of user engagement and satisfaction. PowerPoint regurgitation and video lectures are commonplace and leave end users uninspired and wanting more. This paper discusses results from an ongoing research project, Captivating Virtual Instruction for Training (CVIT), which is aimed at understanding and improving dL through a series of recommendations and best practices for promoting and enhancing student engagement online. Though the central focus is on engagement, and how that translates to learning potential, a third variable (cost) has been examined to understand the financial and resource impacts on making content more interesting (i.e. the return on investment, or ROI). The paper presents findings from a 3-year long experiment comparing existing dL methods and techniques both within and outside of the Army. The project developed two dL versions of an existing Army course (Advanced Situational Awareness-Basic (ASA-B)) – the first was designed around producing material that was as engaging and as immersive as possible within a target budget; the second was a scaled-down version using more traditional, yet contemporary dL techniques (PowerPoint recital, video lectures). The two were then compared along three dimensions– engagement, learning and cost. The findings show that improved engagement in distributed courseware is possible without breaking the bank, though the returns on learning with these progressive approaches remain inconclusive. More importantly, it was determined that the quality and experience of the designers, production staff, writers, animators, programmers, and others cannot be underestimated, and that the familiar phrase – ‘you get what you pay for’ is as true with online learning as it is with other areas of content design and software development.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
As distributed learning (dL) and computer-based training (CBT) continue to proliferate, the methods of delivery often remain unengaging and bland for participants. Though many of the leaders in commercial online learning have improved their delivery style and quality in recent years, they continue to fall short in terms of user engagement and satisfaction. PowerPoint regurgitation and video lectures are commonplace and leave end users uninspired and wanting more. This paper discusses results from an ongoing research project, Captivating Virtual Instruction for Training (CVIT), which is aimed at understanding and improving dL through a series of recommendations and best practices for promoting and enhancing student engagement online. Though the central focus is on engagement, and how that translates to learning potential, a third variable (cost) has been examined to understand the financial and resource impacts on making content more interesting (i.e. the return on investment, or ROI). The paper presents findings from a 3-year long experiment comparing existing dL methods and techniques both within and outside of the Army. The project developed two dL versions of an existing Army course (Advanced Situational Awareness-Basic (ASA-B)) – the first was designed around producing material that was as engaging and as immersive as possible within a target budget; the second was a scaled-down version using more traditional, yet contemporary dL techniques (PowerPoint recital, video lectures). The two were then compared along three dimensions– engagement, learning and cost. The findings show that improved engagement in distributed courseware is possible without breaking the bank, though the returns on learning with these progressive approaches remain inconclusive. More importantly, it was determined that the quality and experience of the designers, production staff, writers, animators, programmers, and others cannot be underestimated, and that the familiar phrase – ‘you get what you pay for’ is as true with online learning as it is with other areas of content design and software development.
32.
Sottilare, Robert A.; Graesser, Arthur C.; Hu, Xiangen; Olney, Andrew; Nye, Benjamin; Sinatra, Anna M.
Design Recommendations for Intelligent Tutoring Systems: Volume 4-Domain Modeling Book
US Army Research Laboratory, Orlando, FL, 2016.
@book{sottilare_design_2016,
title = {Design Recommendations for Intelligent Tutoring Systems: Volume 4-Domain Modeling},
author = {Robert A. Sottilare and Arthur C. Graesser and Xiangen Hu and Andrew Olney and Benjamin Nye and Anna M. Sinatra},
url = {http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=0suvDAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=%22Barnes,+Behrooz+Mostafavi,+and+Michael+J.%22+%22A.+Sottilare+and+Joseph%22+%2214+%E2%80%93+Exploring+the+Diversity+of+Domain+Modeling+for+Training%22+%2213+%E2%80%92+Mining+Expertise:+Learning+New+Tricks+from+an+Old%22+&ots=6MJgp2XEWV&sig=7CHZvZIllN3Xk8uFbMHmxN7gfLw},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-07-01},
volume = {4},
publisher = {US Army Research Laboratory},
address = {Orlando, FL},
abstract = {Design Recommendations for Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs) explores the impact of intelligent tutoring system design on education and training. Specifically, this volume examines “Authoring Tools and Expert Modeling Techniques”. The “Design Recommendations book series examines tools and methods to reduce the time and skill required to develop Intelligent Tutoring Systems with the goal of improving the Generalized Intelligent Framework for Tutoring (GIFT). GIFT is a modular, service-oriented architecture developed to capture simplified authoring techniques, promote reuse and standardization of ITSs along with automated instructional techniques and effectiveness evaluation capabilities for adaptive tutoring tools and methods.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {book}
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Design Recommendations for Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs) explores the impact of intelligent tutoring system design on education and training. Specifically, this volume examines “Authoring Tools and Expert Modeling Techniques”. The “Design Recommendations book series examines tools and methods to reduce the time and skill required to develop Intelligent Tutoring Systems with the goal of improving the Generalized Intelligent Framework for Tutoring (GIFT). GIFT is a modular, service-oriented architecture developed to capture simplified authoring techniques, promote reuse and standardization of ITSs along with automated instructional techniques and effectiveness evaluation capabilities for adaptive tutoring tools and methods.
33.
Nye, Benjamin D.; Boyce, Michael W.; Sottilare, Robert
Defining the Ill-Defined: From Abstract Principles to Applied Pedagogy Book Section
In: Design Recommendations for Intelligent Tutoring Systems: Volume 4-Domain Modeling, vol. 4, pp. 19–37, US Army Research Laboratory, Orlando, FL, 2016, ISBN: 978-0-9893923-9-6.
@incollection{nye_defining_2016,
title = {Defining the Ill-Defined: From Abstract Principles to Applied Pedagogy},
author = {Benjamin D. Nye and Michael W. Boyce and Robert Sottilare},
url = {https://gifttutoring.org/attachments/download/1736/Design%20Recommendations%20for%20ITS_Volume%204%20-%20Domain%20Modeling%20Book_web%20version_final.pdf},
isbn = {978-0-9893923-9-6},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-07-01},
booktitle = {Design Recommendations for Intelligent Tutoring Systems: Volume 4-Domain Modeling},
volume = {4},
pages = {19–37},
publisher = {US Army Research Laboratory},
address = {Orlando, FL},
abstract = {Attempts to define ill-defined domains in intelligent tutoring system (ITS) research has been approached a number of times (Fournier-Viger, Nkambou, & Nguifo, 2010; Lynch, Ashley, Pinkwart, & Aleven, 2009; Mitrovic & Weerasinghe, 2009; Jacovina, Snow, Dai, & McNamara, 2015; Woods, Stensrud, Wray, Haley, & Jones, 2015). Related research has tried to determine levels of ill-definedness for a domain (Le, Loll, & Pinkwart, 2013). Despite such attempts, the field has not yet converged on common guidelines to distinguish between well-defined versus ill-defined domains. We argue that such guidelines struggle to converge because a domain is too large to meaningfully categorize: every domain contains a mixture of well-defined and ill-defined tasks. While the co-existence of well-defined and ill-defined tasks in a single domain is nearly universally-agreed upon by researchers; this key point is often quickly buried by an extensive discussion about what makes certain domain tasks ill-defined (e.g., disagreement about ideal solutions, multiple solution paths). In this chapter, we first take a step back to consider what is meant by a domain in the context of learning. Next, based on this definition for a domain, we map out the components that are in a learning domain, since each component may have ill-defined parts. This leads into a discussion about the strategies that have been used to make ill-defined domains tractable for certain types of pedagogy. Examples of ITS research that applies these strategies are noted. Finally, we conclude with practical how-to considerations and open research questions for approaching ill-defined domains. This chapter should be considered a companion piece to our chapter in the prior volume of this series (Nye, Goldberg, & Hu, 2015). This chapter focuses on how to understand and transform ill-defined parts of domains, while the prior chapter discusses commonly-used learning tasks and authoring approaches for both well-defined and ill-defined tasks. As such, this chapter is intended to help the learner understand if and how different parts of the domain are ill-defined (and what to do about them). The companion piece in the authoring tools volume discusses different categories of well and ill-defined tasks, from the standpoint of attempting to author and maintain an ITS.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
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}
Attempts to define ill-defined domains in intelligent tutoring system (ITS) research has been approached a number of times (Fournier-Viger, Nkambou, & Nguifo, 2010; Lynch, Ashley, Pinkwart, & Aleven, 2009; Mitrovic & Weerasinghe, 2009; Jacovina, Snow, Dai, & McNamara, 2015; Woods, Stensrud, Wray, Haley, & Jones, 2015). Related research has tried to determine levels of ill-definedness for a domain (Le, Loll, & Pinkwart, 2013). Despite such attempts, the field has not yet converged on common guidelines to distinguish between well-defined versus ill-defined domains. We argue that such guidelines struggle to converge because a domain is too large to meaningfully categorize: every domain contains a mixture of well-defined and ill-defined tasks. While the co-existence of well-defined and ill-defined tasks in a single domain is nearly universally-agreed upon by researchers; this key point is often quickly buried by an extensive discussion about what makes certain domain tasks ill-defined (e.g., disagreement about ideal solutions, multiple solution paths). In this chapter, we first take a step back to consider what is meant by a domain in the context of learning. Next, based on this definition for a domain, we map out the components that are in a learning domain, since each component may have ill-defined parts. This leads into a discussion about the strategies that have been used to make ill-defined domains tractable for certain types of pedagogy. Examples of ITS research that applies these strategies are noted. Finally, we conclude with practical how-to considerations and open research questions for approaching ill-defined domains. This chapter should be considered a companion piece to our chapter in the prior volume of this series (Nye, Goldberg, & Hu, 2015). This chapter focuses on how to understand and transform ill-defined parts of domains, while the prior chapter discusses commonly-used learning tasks and authoring approaches for both well-defined and ill-defined tasks. As such, this chapter is intended to help the learner understand if and how different parts of the domain are ill-defined (and what to do about them). The companion piece in the authoring tools volume discusses different categories of well and ill-defined tasks, from the standpoint of attempting to author and maintain an ITS.
34.
Nye, Benjamin D.; Hu, Xiangen
Conceptualizing and Representing Domains to Guide Tutoring Book Section
In: Design Recommendations for Intelligent Tutoring Systems: Volume 4-Domain Modeling, vol. 4, pp. 15–18, US Army Research Laboratory, Orlando, FL, 2016.
@incollection{nye_conceptualizing_2016,
title = {Conceptualizing and Representing Domains to Guide Tutoring},
author = {Benjamin D. Nye and Xiangen Hu},
url = {http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=0suvDAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA15&dq=%22data.+This+chapter+presents+an+excellent+overview+of+current+research+on+Q-matrices%22+%22edge+work+on+ensemble+methods+that+achieve+state+of+the+art+performance+by+combining%22+&ots=6MJhm1XHVV&sig=i14eJyin69Cy-jms2lWIFF4K3CU},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-07-01},
booktitle = {Design Recommendations for Intelligent Tutoring Systems: Volume 4-Domain Modeling},
volume = {4},
pages = {15–18},
publisher = {US Army Research Laboratory},
address = {Orlando, FL},
abstract = {Any discussion about how intelligent tutoring system (ITS) domains must begin with considering how ITS conceptualize and represent domains. This process requires building formal, mathematically-specifiable operationalization of the often implicit knowledge about learning domains and their pedagogy. Across different domains and pedagogical approaches, a wide variety of methods have been taken: a scope that would be better-covered by an encyclopedia rather than a single book. Since this section could not possibly cover every possible approach to domain modeling, the chapters within this section were instead chosen to cover a representative range of fundamentally-different approaches to domain modeling.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
Any discussion about how intelligent tutoring system (ITS) domains must begin with considering how ITS conceptualize and represent domains. This process requires building formal, mathematically-specifiable operationalization of the often implicit knowledge about learning domains and their pedagogy. Across different domains and pedagogical approaches, a wide variety of methods have been taken: a scope that would be better-covered by an encyclopedia rather than a single book. Since this section could not possibly cover every possible approach to domain modeling, the chapters within this section were instead chosen to cover a representative range of fundamentally-different approaches to domain modeling.
35.
Nye, Benjamin D.
ITS, The End of the World as We Know It: Transitioning AIED into a Service-Oriented Ecosystem Journal Article
In: International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 756–770, 2016, ISSN: 1560-4292, 1560-4306.
@article{nye_its_2016,
title = {ITS, The End of the World as We Know It: Transitioning AIED into a Service-Oriented Ecosystem},
author = {Benjamin D. Nye},
url = {http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s40593-016-0098-8},
doi = {10.1007/s40593-016-0098-8},
issn = {1560-4292, 1560-4306},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-06-01},
journal = {International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education},
volume = {26},
number = {2},
pages = {756–770},
abstract = {Advanced learning technologies are reaching a new phase of their evolution where they are finally entering mainstream educational contexts, with persistent user bases. However, as AIED scales, it will need to follow recent trends in service-oriented and ubiquitous computing: breaking AIED platforms into distinct services that can be composed for different platforms (web, mobile, etc.) and distributed across multiple systems. This will represent a move from learning platforms to an ecosystem of interacting learning tools. Such tools will enable new opportunities for both user-adaptation and experimentation. Traditional macro-adaptation (problem selection) and step-based adaptation (hints and feedback) will be extended by meta-adaptation (adaptive system selection) and micro-adaptation (event-level optimization). The existence of persistent and widely-used systems will also support new paradigms for experimentation in education, allowing researchers to understand interactions and boundary conditions for learning principles. New central research questions for the field will also need to be answered due to these changes in the AIED landscape.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Advanced learning technologies are reaching a new phase of their evolution where they are finally entering mainstream educational contexts, with persistent user bases. However, as AIED scales, it will need to follow recent trends in service-oriented and ubiquitous computing: breaking AIED platforms into distinct services that can be composed for different platforms (web, mobile, etc.) and distributed across multiple systems. This will represent a move from learning platforms to an ecosystem of interacting learning tools. Such tools will enable new opportunities for both user-adaptation and experimentation. Traditional macro-adaptation (problem selection) and step-based adaptation (hints and feedback) will be extended by meta-adaptation (adaptive system selection) and micro-adaptation (event-level optimization). The existence of persistent and widely-used systems will also support new paradigms for experimentation in education, allowing researchers to understand interactions and boundary conditions for learning principles. New central research questions for the field will also need to be answered due to these changes in the AIED landscape.
36.
Swartout, William; Nye, Benjamin D.; Hartholt, Arno; Reilly, Adam; Graesser, Arthur C.; VanLehn, Kurt; Wetzel, Jon; Liewer, Matt; Morbini, Fabrizio; Morgan, Brent; Wang, Lijia; Benn, Grace; Rosenberg, Milton
Designing a Personal Assistant for Life-Long Learning (PAL3) Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of The Twenty-Ninth International Flairs Conference, pp. 491–496, AAAI Press, Key Largo, FL, 2016, ISBN: 978-1-57735-756-8.
@inproceedings{swartout_designing_2016,
title = {Designing a Personal Assistant for Life-Long Learning (PAL3)},
author = {William Swartout and Benjamin D. Nye and Arno Hartholt and Adam Reilly and Arthur C. Graesser and Kurt VanLehn and Jon Wetzel and Matt Liewer and Fabrizio Morbini and Brent Morgan and Lijia Wang and Grace Benn and Milton Rosenberg},
url = {http://www.aaai.org/ocs/index.php/FLAIRS/FLAIRS16/paper/view/12793},
isbn = {978-1-57735-756-8},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-05-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of The Twenty-Ninth International Flairs Conference},
pages = {491–496},
publisher = {AAAI Press},
address = {Key Largo, FL},
abstract = {Learners’ skills decay during gaps in instruction, since they lack the structure and motivation to continue studying. To meet this challenge, the PAL3 system was designed to accompany a learner throughout their career and mentor them to build and maintain skills through: 1) the use of an embodied pedagogical agent (Pal), 2) a persistent learning record that drives a student model which estimates forgetting, 3) an adaptive recommendation engine linking to both intelligent tutors and traditional learning resources, and 4) game-like mechanisms to promote engagement (e.g., leaderboards, effort-based point rewards, unlocking customizations). The design process for PAL3 is discussed, from the perspective of insights and revisions based on a series of formative feedback and evaluation sessions.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Learners’ skills decay during gaps in instruction, since they lack the structure and motivation to continue studying. To meet this challenge, the PAL3 system was designed to accompany a learner throughout their career and mentor them to build and maintain skills through: 1) the use of an embodied pedagogical agent (Pal), 2) a persistent learning record that drives a student model which estimates forgetting, 3) an adaptive recommendation engine linking to both intelligent tutors and traditional learning resources, and 4) game-like mechanisms to promote engagement (e.g., leaderboards, effort-based point rewards, unlocking customizations). The design process for PAL3 is discussed, from the perspective of insights and revisions based on a series of formative feedback and evaluation sessions.
37.
Graesser, Arthur C; Hu, Xiangen; Nye, Benjamin D.; Sottilare, Robert A.
Intelligent Tutoring Systems, Serious Games, and the Generalized Intelligent Framework for Tutoring (GIFT) Book Section
In: Using Games and Simulations for Teaching and Assessment, pp. 58–79, Routledge, New York, NY, 2016, ISBN: 978-0-415-73787-6.
@incollection{graesser_intelligent_2016,
title = {Intelligent Tutoring Systems, Serious Games, and the Generalized Intelligent Framework for Tutoring (GIFT)},
author = {Arthur C Graesser and Xiangen Hu and Benjamin D. Nye and Robert A. Sottilare},
url = {https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304013322_Intelligent_Tutoring_Systems_Serious_Games_and_the_Generalized_Intelligent_Framework_for_Tutoring_GIFT},
isbn = {978-0-415-73787-6},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-01-01},
booktitle = {Using Games and Simulations for Teaching and Assessment},
pages = {58–79},
publisher = {Routledge},
address = {New York, NY},
abstract = {This chapter explores the prospects of integrating games with intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs). The hope is that there can be learning environments that optimize both motivation through games and deep learning through ITS technologies. Deep learning refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, strategies, and reasoning processes at the higher levels of Bloom’s (1956) taxonomy or the Knowledge-Learning-Instruction (KLI) framework (Koedinger, Corbett, & Perfetti, 2012), such as the application of knowledge to new cases, knowledge analysis and synthesis, problem solving, critical thinking, and other difficult cognitive processes. In contrast, shallow learning involves perceptual learning, memorization of explicit material, and mastery of simple rigid procedures. Shallow knowledge may be adequate for near transfer tests of knowledge/skills but not far transfer tests to new situations that have some modicum of complexity.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
This chapter explores the prospects of integrating games with intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs). The hope is that there can be learning environments that optimize both motivation through games and deep learning through ITS technologies. Deep learning refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, strategies, and reasoning processes at the higher levels of Bloom’s (1956) taxonomy or the Knowledge-Learning-Instruction (KLI) framework (Koedinger, Corbett, & Perfetti, 2012), such as the application of knowledge to new cases, knowledge analysis and synthesis, problem solving, critical thinking, and other difficult cognitive processes. In contrast, shallow learning involves perceptual learning, memorization of explicit material, and mastery of simple rigid procedures. Shallow knowledge may be adequate for near transfer tests of knowledge/skills but not far transfer tests to new situations that have some modicum of complexity.
38.
Lane, H. Chad; Core, Mark G.; Goldberg, Benjamin S.
Lowering the Technical Skill Requirements for Building Intelligent Tutors: A Review of Authoring Tools Book Section
In: Design Recommendations for Intelligent Tutoring Systems, vol. 3, pp. 303 – 318, U.S. Army Research Laboratory, 2015.
@incollection{lane_lowering_2015,
title = {Lowering the Technical Skill Requirements for Building Intelligent Tutors: A Review of Authoring Tools},
author = {H. Chad Lane and Mark G. Core and Benjamin S. Goldberg},
url = {http://ict.usc.edu/pubs/Lowering%20the%20Technical%20Skill%20Requirements%20for%20Building%20Intelligent%20Tutors-A%20Review%20of%20Authoring%20Tools.pdf},
year = {2015},
date = {2015-06-01},
booktitle = {Design Recommendations for Intelligent Tutoring Systems},
volume = {3},
pages = {303 – 318},
publisher = {U.S. Army Research Laboratory},
abstract = {In this chapter, we focus on intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs), an instance of educational technology that is often criticized for not reaching its full potential (Nye, 2013). Researchers have debated why, given such strong empirical evidence in their favor (Anderson, Corbett, Koedinger & Pelletier, 1995; D’Mello & Graesser, 2012; VanLehn et al., 2005; Woolf, 2009), intelligent tutors are not in every classroom, on every device, providing educators with fine-grained assessment information about their students. Although many factors contribute to a lack of adoption (Nye, 2014), one widely agreed upon reason behind slow adoption and poor scalability of ITSs is that the engineering demands are simply too great. This is no surprise given that the effectiveness of ITSs is often attributable to the use of rich knowledge representations and cognitively plausible models of domain knowledge (Mark & Greer, 1995; Valerie J. Shute & Psotka, 1996; VanLehn, 2006; Woolf, 2009), which are inherently burdensome to build. To put it another way: the features that tend to make ITSs effective are also the hardest to build. The heavy reliance on cognitive scientists and artificial intelligence (AI) software engineers seems to be a bottleneck.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
In this chapter, we focus on intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs), an instance of educational technology that is often criticized for not reaching its full potential (Nye, 2013). Researchers have debated why, given such strong empirical evidence in their favor (Anderson, Corbett, Koedinger & Pelletier, 1995; D’Mello & Graesser, 2012; VanLehn et al., 2005; Woolf, 2009), intelligent tutors are not in every classroom, on every device, providing educators with fine-grained assessment information about their students. Although many factors contribute to a lack of adoption (Nye, 2014), one widely agreed upon reason behind slow adoption and poor scalability of ITSs is that the engineering demands are simply too great. This is no surprise given that the effectiveness of ITSs is often attributable to the use of rich knowledge representations and cognitively plausible models of domain knowledge (Mark & Greer, 1995; Valerie J. Shute & Psotka, 1996; VanLehn, 2006; Woolf, 2009), which are inherently burdensome to build. To put it another way: the features that tend to make ITSs effective are also the hardest to build. The heavy reliance on cognitive scientists and artificial intelligence (AI) software engineers seems to be a bottleneck.
39.
Lane, H. Chad; Core, Mark G.; Hays, Matthew J.; Auerbach, Daniel; Rosenberg, Milton
Situated Pedagogical Authoring: Authoring Intelligent Tutors from a Student’s Perspective Proceedings Article
In: Artificial Intelligence in Education, pp. 195–204, Springer International Publishing, Madrid, Spain, 2015, ISBN: 978-3-319-19772-2 978-3-319-19773-9.
@inproceedings{chad_lane_situated_2015,
title = {Situated Pedagogical Authoring: Authoring Intelligent Tutors from a Student’s Perspective},
author = {H. Chad Lane and Mark G. Core and Matthew J. Hays and Daniel Auerbach and Milton Rosenberg},
url = {http://ict.usc.edu/pubs/Situated%20Pedagogical%20Authoring-Authoring%20Intelligent.pdf},
isbn = {978-3-319-19772-2 978-3-319-19773-9},
year = {2015},
date = {2015-06-01},
booktitle = {Artificial Intelligence in Education},
volume = {9112},
pages = {195–204},
publisher = {Springer International Publishing},
address = {Madrid, Spain},
abstract = {We describe the Situated Pedagogical Authoring (SitPed) system that seeks to allow non-technical authors to create ITS content for soft-skills training, such as counseling skills. SitPed is built on the assertion that authoring tools should use the learner’s perspective to the greatest extent possible. SitPed provides tools for creating tasks lists, authoring assessment knowledge, and creating tutor messages. We present preliminary findings of a two-phase study comparing authoring in SitPed to an ablated version of the same system and a spreadsheet-based control. Findings suggest modest advantages for SitPed in terms of the quality of the authored content and student learning.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
We describe the Situated Pedagogical Authoring (SitPed) system that seeks to allow non-technical authors to create ITS content for soft-skills training, such as counseling skills. SitPed is built on the assertion that authoring tools should use the learner’s perspective to the greatest extent possible. SitPed provides tools for creating tasks lists, authoring assessment knowledge, and creating tutor messages. We present preliminary findings of a two-phase study comparing authoring in SitPed to an ablated version of the same system and a spreadsheet-based control. Findings suggest modest advantages for SitPed in terms of the quality of the authored content and student learning.
40.
Nye, Benjamin D.; Morrison, Donald M.; Samei, Borhan
Automated Session-Quality Assessment for Human Tutoring Based on Expert Ratings of Tutoring Success Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of Educational Data Mining (EDM) 2015, pp. 195–202, Springer, Madrid, Spain, 2015.
@inproceedings{nye_automated_2015,
title = {Automated Session-Quality Assessment for Human Tutoring Based on Expert Ratings of Tutoring Success},
author = {Benjamin D. Nye and Donald M. Morrison and Borhan Samei},
url = {http://ict.usc.edu/pubs/Automated%20Session-Quality%20Assessment%20for%20Human%20Tutoring%20Based%20on%20Expert%20Ratings%20of%20Tutoring%20Success.pdf},
year = {2015},
date = {2015-06-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of Educational Data Mining (EDM) 2015},
pages = {195–202},
publisher = {Springer},
address = {Madrid, Spain},
abstract = {Archived transcripts from tens of millions of online human tutoring sessions potentially contain important knowledge about how online tutors help, or fail to help, students learn. However, without ways of automatically analyzing these large corpora, any knowledge in this data will remain buried. One way to approach this issue is to train an estimator for the learning e⬚ectiveness of an online tutoring interaction. While significant work has been done on automated assessment of student responses and artifacts (e.g., essays), automated assessment has not traditionally automated assessments of human-to-human tutoring sessions. In this work, we trained a model for estimating tutoring session quality based on a corpus of 1438 online tutoring sessions rated by expert tutors. Each session was rated for evidence of learning (outcomes) and educational soundness (process). Session features for this model included dialog act classifcations, mode classifcations (e.g., Scaffolding), statistically distinctive subsequences of such classifcations, dialog initiative (e.g., statements by tutor vs. student), and session length. The model correlated more highly with evidence of learning than educational soundness ratings, in part due to the greater difficulty of classifying tutoring modes. This model was then applied to a corpus of 242k online tutoring sessions, to examine the relationships between automated assessments and other available metadata (e.g., the tutor's self-assessment). On this large corpus, the automated assessments followed similar patterns as the expert rater's assessments, but with lower overall correlation strength. Based on the analyses presented, the assessment model for online tutoring sessions emulates the ratings of expert human tutors for session quality ratings with a reasonable degree of accuracy.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Archived transcripts from tens of millions of online human tutoring sessions potentially contain important knowledge about how online tutors help, or fail to help, students learn. However, without ways of automatically analyzing these large corpora, any knowledge in this data will remain buried. One way to approach this issue is to train an estimator for the learning e⬚ectiveness of an online tutoring interaction. While significant work has been done on automated assessment of student responses and artifacts (e.g., essays), automated assessment has not traditionally automated assessments of human-to-human tutoring sessions. In this work, we trained a model for estimating tutoring session quality based on a corpus of 1438 online tutoring sessions rated by expert tutors. Each session was rated for evidence of learning (outcomes) and educational soundness (process). Session features for this model included dialog act classifcations, mode classifcations (e.g., Scaffolding), statistically distinctive subsequences of such classifcations, dialog initiative (e.g., statements by tutor vs. student), and session length. The model correlated more highly with evidence of learning than educational soundness ratings, in part due to the greater difficulty of classifying tutoring modes. This model was then applied to a corpus of 242k online tutoring sessions, to examine the relationships between automated assessments and other available metadata (e.g., the tutor's self-assessment). On this large corpus, the automated assessments followed similar patterns as the expert rater's assessments, but with lower overall correlation strength. Based on the analyses presented, the assessment model for online tutoring sessions emulates the ratings of expert human tutors for session quality ratings with a reasonable degree of accuracy.
Filter
2013
Woolf, Beverly Park; Lane, H. Chad; Chaudhri, Vinay K.; Kolodner, Janet L.
AI Grand Challenges for Education Journal Article
In: AI magazine; Special issue on Intelligent Learning Technologies, 2013.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Learning Sciences
@article{woolf_ai_2013,
title = {AI Grand Challenges for Education},
author = {Beverly Park Woolf and H. Chad Lane and Vinay K. Chaudhri and Janet L. Kolodner},
url = {http://ict.usc.edu/pubs/AI%20Grand%20Challenges%20for%20Education.pdf},
doi = {10.1609/aimag.v34i4.2490},
year = {2013},
date = {2013-06-01},
journal = {AI magazine; Special issue on Intelligent Learning Technologies},
abstract = {This article focuses on contributions that AI can make to address long-term educational goals. It describes five challenges that would support: (1) mentors for every learner; (2) learning twenty-first century skills; (3) interaction data to support learning; (4) universal access to global classrooms; and (5) lifelong and life-wide learning. A vision and brief research agenda are described for each challenge along with goals that lead to access to global educational resources and the reuse and sharing of digital educational resources. Instructional systems with AI technology are described that currently support richer experiences for learners and supply researchers with new opportunities to analyze vast data sets of instructional behavior from big databases, containing elements of learning, affect, motivation, and social interaction. Personalized learning is described using computational tools that enhance student and group experience, reflection, and analysis, and supply data for development of novel theory development.},
keywords = {Learning Sciences},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
This article focuses on contributions that AI can make to address long-term educational goals. It describes five challenges that would support: (1) mentors for every learner; (2) learning twenty-first century skills; (3) interaction data to support learning; (4) universal access to global classrooms; and (5) lifelong and life-wide learning. A vision and brief research agenda are described for each challenge along with goals that lead to access to global educational resources and the reuse and sharing of digital educational resources. Instructional systems with AI technology are described that currently support richer experiences for learners and supply researchers with new opportunities to analyze vast data sets of instructional behavior from big databases, containing elements of learning, affect, motivation, and social interaction. Personalized learning is described using computational tools that enhance student and group experience, reflection, and analysis, and supply data for development of novel theory development.
Hays, Matthew Jensen; Kornell, Nate; Bjork, Robert A.
When and Why a Failed Test Potentiates the Effectiveness of Subsequent Study Journal Article
In: Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 290–296, 2013.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Learning Sciences
@article{hays_when_2013,
title = {When and Why a Failed Test Potentiates the Effectiveness of Subsequent Study},
author = {Matthew Jensen Hays and Nate Kornell and Robert A. Bjork},
url = {http://ict.usc.edu/pubs/When%20and%20Why%20a%20Failed%20Test%20Potentiates%20the%20Effectiveness%20of%20Subsequent%20Study.pdf},
year = {2013},
date = {2013-01-01},
journal = {Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition},
volume = {39},
number = {1},
pages = {290–296},
abstract = {Teachers and trainers often try to prevent learners from making errors, but recent findings (e.g., Kornell, Hays, & Bjork, 2009) have demonstrated that tests can potentiate subsequent learning even when the correct answer is difficult or impossible to generate (e.g., “What is Nate Kornell’s middle name?”). In three experiments, we explored when and why a failed test enhances learning. We found that failed tests followed by immediate feedback produced greater retention than did a presentation-only condition. Failed tests followed by delayed feedback, by contrast, did not produce such a benefit—except when the direction of the final test was reversed (i.e., the participants were provided with the target and had to produce the original cue). Our findings suggest that generating an incorrect response to a cue both activates the semantic network associated with the cue and suppresses the correct response. These processes appear to have two consequences: If feedback is presented immediately, the semantic activation enhances the mapping of the cue to the correct response; if feedback is presented at a delay, the prior suppression boosts the learning of the suppressed response.},
keywords = {Learning Sciences},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Teachers and trainers often try to prevent learners from making errors, but recent findings (e.g., Kornell, Hays, & Bjork, 2009) have demonstrated that tests can potentiate subsequent learning even when the correct answer is difficult or impossible to generate (e.g., “What is Nate Kornell’s middle name?”). In three experiments, we explored when and why a failed test enhances learning. We found that failed tests followed by immediate feedback produced greater retention than did a presentation-only condition. Failed tests followed by delayed feedback, by contrast, did not produce such a benefit—except when the direction of the final test was reversed (i.e., the participants were provided with the target and had to produce the original cue). Our findings suggest that generating an incorrect response to a cue both activates the semantic network associated with the cue and suppresses the correct response. These processes appear to have two consequences: If feedback is presented immediately, the semantic activation enhances the mapping of the cue to the correct response; if feedback is presented at a delay, the prior suppression boosts the learning of the suppressed response.
Swartout, William; Artstein, Ron; Forbell, Eric; Foutz, Susan; Lane, H. Chad; Lange, Belinda; Morie, Jacquelyn; Noren, Dan; Rizzo, Albert; Traum, David
Virtual Humans for Learning Journal Article
In: AI magazine; Special issue on Intelligent Learning Technologies, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 13–30, 2013.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Learning Sciences, MedVR, UARC, Virtual Humans
@article{swartout_virtual_2013,
title = {Virtual Humans for Learning},
author = {William Swartout and Ron Artstein and Eric Forbell and Susan Foutz and H. Chad Lane and Belinda Lange and Jacquelyn Morie and Dan Noren and Albert Rizzo and David Traum},
url = {http://www.aaai.org/ojs/index.php/aimagazine/article/view/2487},
doi = {10.1609/aimag.v34i4.2487},
year = {2013},
date = {2013-01-01},
journal = {AI magazine; Special issue on Intelligent Learning Technologies},
volume = {34},
number = {4},
pages = {13–30},
abstract = {Virtual humans are computer-generated characters designed to look and behave like real people. Studies have shown that virtual humans can mimic many of the social effects that one finds in human-human interactions such as creating rapport, and people respond to virtual humans in ways that are similar to how they respond to real people. We believe that virtual humans represent a new metaphor for interacting with computers, one in which working with a computer becomes much like interacting with a person and this can bring social elements to the interaction that are not easily supported with conventional interfaces. We present two systems that embody these ideas. The first, the Twins are virtual docents in the Museum of Science, Boston, designed to engage visitors and raise their awareness and knowledge of science. The second SimCoach, uses an empathetic virtual human to provide veterans and their families with information about PTSD and depression.},
keywords = {Learning Sciences, MedVR, UARC, Virtual Humans},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Virtual humans are computer-generated characters designed to look and behave like real people. Studies have shown that virtual humans can mimic many of the social effects that one finds in human-human interactions such as creating rapport, and people respond to virtual humans in ways that are similar to how they respond to real people. We believe that virtual humans represent a new metaphor for interacting with computers, one in which working with a computer becomes much like interacting with a person and this can bring social elements to the interaction that are not easily supported with conventional interfaces. We present two systems that embody these ideas. The first, the Twins are virtual docents in the Museum of Science, Boston, designed to engage visitors and raise their awareness and knowledge of science. The second SimCoach, uses an empathetic virtual human to provide veterans and their families with information about PTSD and depression.
2012
Hays, Matthew; Campbell, Julia; Trimmer, Matthew; Poore, Joshua; Webb, Andrea; Stark, Charles; King, Teresa
Can Role-Play with Virtual Humans Teach Interpersonal Skills? Proceedings Article
In: Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC), Orlando, FL, 2012.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Learning Sciences, UARC, Virtual Humans
@inproceedings{hays_can_2012,
title = {Can Role-Play with Virtual Humans Teach Interpersonal Skills?},
author = {Matthew Hays and Julia Campbell and Matthew Trimmer and Joshua Poore and Andrea Webb and Charles Stark and Teresa King},
url = {http://ict.usc.edu/pubs/Can%20Role-Play%20with%20Virtual%20Humans%20Teach%20Interpersonal%20Skills.pdf},
year = {2012},
date = {2012-12-01},
booktitle = {Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC)},
address = {Orlando, FL},
abstract = {Interpersonal and counseling skills are essential to Officers’ ability to lead (Headquarters, Department of the Army, 2006, 2008, 2011). We developed a cognitive framework and an immersive training experience—the Immersive Naval Officer Training System (INOTS)—to help Officers learn and practice these skills (Campbell et al., 2011). INOTS includes up-front instruction about the framework, vignette-based demonstrations of its application, a roleplay session with a virtual human to practice the skills, and a guided after-action review (AAR). A critical component of any training effort is the assessment process; we conducted both formative and summative assessments of INOTS. Our formative assessments comprised surveys as well as physiological sensor equipment. Data from these instruments were used to evaluate how engaging the virtual-human based practice session was. We compared these data to a gold standard: a practice session with a live human role-player. We found that the trainees took the virtual-human practice session seriously—and that interacting with the virtual human was just as engaging as was interacting with the live human role-player. Our summative assessments comprised surveys as well as behavioral measures. We used these data to evaluate learning produced by the INOTS experience. In a pretestposttest design, we found reliable gains in the participants' understanding of and ability to apply interpersonal skills, although the limited practice with the virtual human did not provide additional immediate benefits. This paper details the development of our assessment approaches, the experimental procedures that yielded the data, and our results. We also discuss the implications of our efforts for the future design of assessments and training systems.},
keywords = {Learning Sciences, UARC, Virtual Humans},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Interpersonal and counseling skills are essential to Officers’ ability to lead (Headquarters, Department of the Army, 2006, 2008, 2011). We developed a cognitive framework and an immersive training experience—the Immersive Naval Officer Training System (INOTS)—to help Officers learn and practice these skills (Campbell et al., 2011). INOTS includes up-front instruction about the framework, vignette-based demonstrations of its application, a roleplay session with a virtual human to practice the skills, and a guided after-action review (AAR). A critical component of any training effort is the assessment process; we conducted both formative and summative assessments of INOTS. Our formative assessments comprised surveys as well as physiological sensor equipment. Data from these instruments were used to evaluate how engaging the virtual-human based practice session was. We compared these data to a gold standard: a practice session with a live human role-player. We found that the trainees took the virtual-human practice session seriously—and that interacting with the virtual human was just as engaging as was interacting with the live human role-player. Our summative assessments comprised surveys as well as behavioral measures. We used these data to evaluate learning produced by the INOTS experience. In a pretestposttest design, we found reliable gains in the participants' understanding of and ability to apply interpersonal skills, although the limited practice with the virtual human did not provide additional immediate benefits. This paper details the development of our assessment approaches, the experimental procedures that yielded the data, and our results. We also discuss the implications of our efforts for the future design of assessments and training systems.
2011
Roque, Antonio; Jan, Dusan; Core, Mark; Traum, David
Using virtual tour behavior to build dialogue models for training review Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the 11th International conference on Intelligent Virtual Agents (IVA 2011), ReykjavÃk, Iceland, 2011.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Learning Sciences, Virtual Humans
@inproceedings{roque_using_2011,
title = {Using virtual tour behavior to build dialogue models for training review},
author = {Antonio Roque and Dusan Jan and Mark Core and David Traum},
url = {http://ict.usc.edu/pubs/Using%20virtual%20tour%20behavior%20to%20build%20dialogue%20models%20for%20training%20review.pdf},
year = {2011},
date = {2011-09-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 11th International conference on Intelligent Virtual Agents (IVA 2011)},
address = {ReykjavÃk, Iceland},
abstract = {We develop an intelligent agent that builds a user model of a learner during a tour of a virtual world. The user model is based on the learner's answers to questions during the tour. A dialogue model for a simulated instructor is tailored to the individual learner based upon this user model. We describe an evaluation to track system accuracy and user perceptions.},
keywords = {Learning Sciences, Virtual Humans},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
We develop an intelligent agent that builds a user model of a learner during a tour of a virtual world. The user model is based on the learner's answers to questions during the tour. A dialogue model for a simulated instructor is tailored to the individual learner based upon this user model. We describe an evaluation to track system accuracy and user perceptions.
Finley, Jason R.; Benjamin, Aaron S.; Hays, Matthew; Bjork, Robert A.; Kornell, Nate
Benefits of accumulating versus diminishing cues in recall Journal Article
In: Journal of Memory and Language, vol. 64, pp. 289–298, 2011.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Learning Sciences
@article{finley_benefits_2011,
title = {Benefits of accumulating versus diminishing cues in recall},
author = {Jason R. Finley and Aaron S. Benjamin and Matthew Hays and Robert A. Bjork and Nate Kornell},
url = {http://ict.usc.edu/pubs/Benefits%20of%20accumulating%20versus%20diminishing%20cues%20in%20recall.pdf},
doi = {:10.1016/j.jml.2011.01.00},
year = {2011},
date = {2011-03-01},
journal = {Journal of Memory and Language},
volume = {64},
pages = {289–298},
abstract = {Optimizing learning over multiple retrieval opportunities requires a joint consideration of both the probability and the mnemonic value of a successful retrieval. Previous research has addressed this trade-off by manipulating the schedule of practice trials, suggesting that a pattern of increasingly long lags–"expanding retrieval practice"–may keep retrievals successful while gradually increasing their mnemonic value (Landauer & Bjork, 1978). Here we explore the trade-off issue further using an analogous manipulation of cue informativeness. After being given an initial presentation of English-Iñupiaq word pairs, participants received practice trials across which letters of the target word were either accumulated (AC), diminished (DC), or always fully present. Diminishing cues yielded the highest performance on a final test of cued recall. Additional analyses suggest that AC practice promotes potent (effortful) retrieval at the cost of success, and DC practice promotes successful retrieval at the cost of potency. Experiment 2 revealed that the negative effects of AC practice can be partly ameliorated by providing feedback after each practice trial.},
keywords = {Learning Sciences},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Optimizing learning over multiple retrieval opportunities requires a joint consideration of both the probability and the mnemonic value of a successful retrieval. Previous research has addressed this trade-off by manipulating the schedule of practice trials, suggesting that a pattern of increasingly long lags–"expanding retrieval practice"–may keep retrievals successful while gradually increasing their mnemonic value (Landauer & Bjork, 1978). Here we explore the trade-off issue further using an analogous manipulation of cue informativeness. After being given an initial presentation of English-Iñupiaq word pairs, participants received practice trials across which letters of the target word were either accumulated (AC), diminished (DC), or always fully present. Diminishing cues yielded the highest performance on a final test of cued recall. Additional analyses suggest that AC practice promotes potent (effortful) retrieval at the cost of success, and DC practice promotes successful retrieval at the cost of potency. Experiment 2 revealed that the negative effects of AC practice can be partly ameliorated by providing feedback after each practice trial.
Campbell, Julia; Core, Mark; Artstein, Ron; Armstrong, Lindsay; Hartholt, Arno; Wilson, Cyrus A.; Georgila, Kallirroi; Morbini, Fabrizio; Haynes, Kip; Gomboc, Dave; Birch, Mike; Bobrow, Jonathan; Lane, H. Chad; Gerten, Jillian; Leuski, Anton; Traum, David; Trimmer, Matthew; DiNinni, Rich; Bosack, Matthew; Jones, Timothy; Clark, Richard E.; Yates, Kenneth A.
Developing INOTS to Support Interpersonal Skills Practice Proceedings Article
In: IEEE Aerospace Conference, 2011.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Learning Sciences, Virtual Humans
@inproceedings{campbell_developing_2011,
title = {Developing INOTS to Support Interpersonal Skills Practice},
author = {Julia Campbell and Mark Core and Ron Artstein and Lindsay Armstrong and Arno Hartholt and Cyrus A. Wilson and Kallirroi Georgila and Fabrizio Morbini and Kip Haynes and Dave Gomboc and Mike Birch and Jonathan Bobrow and H. Chad Lane and Jillian Gerten and Anton Leuski and David Traum and Matthew Trimmer and Rich DiNinni and Matthew Bosack and Timothy Jones and Richard E. Clark and Kenneth A. Yates},
url = {http://ict.usc.edu/pubs/Developing%20INOTS%20to%20Support%20Interpersonal%20Skills%20Practice.pdf},
year = {2011},
date = {2011-03-01},
booktitle = {IEEE Aerospace Conference},
abstract = {The Immersive Naval Officer Training System (INOTS) is a blended learning environment that merges traditional classroom instruction with a mixed reality training setting. INOTS supports the instruction, practice and assessment of interpersonal communication skills. The goal of INOTS is to provide a consistent training experience to supplement interpersonal skills instruction for Naval officer candidates without sacrificing trainee throughput and instructor control. We developed an instructional design from cognitive task analysis interviews with experts to serve as a framework for system development. We also leveraged commercial student response technology and research technologies including natural language recognition, virtual humans, realistic graphics, intelligent tutoring and automated instructor support tools. In this paper, we describe our methodologies for developing a blended learning environment, and our challenges adding mixed reality and virtual human technologies to a traditional classroom to support interpersonal skills training.},
keywords = {Learning Sciences, Virtual Humans},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
The Immersive Naval Officer Training System (INOTS) is a blended learning environment that merges traditional classroom instruction with a mixed reality training setting. INOTS supports the instruction, practice and assessment of interpersonal communication skills. The goal of INOTS is to provide a consistent training experience to supplement interpersonal skills instruction for Naval officer candidates without sacrificing trainee throughput and instructor control. We developed an instructional design from cognitive task analysis interviews with experts to serve as a framework for system development. We also leveraged commercial student response technology and research technologies including natural language recognition, virtual humans, realistic graphics, intelligent tutoring and automated instructor support tools. In this paper, we describe our methodologies for developing a blended learning environment, and our challenges adding mixed reality and virtual human technologies to a traditional classroom to support interpersonal skills training.
Buckwalter, John Galen; Rizzo, Albert; John, Bruce Sheffield; Finlay, Lisa; Wong, Andrew; Chin, Ester; Wellman, John; Smolinski, Stephanie
Analyzing the Impact of Stress: A Comparison Between a Factor Analytic and a Composite Measurement of Allostatic Load Proceedings Article
In: Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC), Orlando, FL, 2011.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Learning Sciences, MedVR
@inproceedings{buckwalter_analyzing_2011,
title = {Analyzing the Impact of Stress: A Comparison Between a Factor Analytic and a Composite Measurement of Allostatic Load},
author = {John Galen Buckwalter and Albert Rizzo and Bruce Sheffield John and Lisa Finlay and Andrew Wong and Ester Chin and John Wellman and Stephanie Smolinski},
url = {http://ict.usc.edu/pubs/Analyzing%20the%20Impact%20of%20Stress-%20A%20Comparison%20Between%20a%20Factor%20Analytic%20and%20a%20Composite%20Measurement%20of%20Allostatic%20Load.pdf},
year = {2011},
date = {2011-01-01},
booktitle = {Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC)},
address = {Orlando, FL},
abstract = {Stress is possibly the hallmark characteristic of the current conflicts confronting the United States. Extended and repeated deployments require the ability on the part of war-fighters to effectively process stress in ways never before routinely encountered. Stress is well defined as a series of psychological and physiological processes that occur in response to a stressor, or the perception of stress. The physiological response to stress follows an identified path, a robust neuroendocrine response leads to responses in the cardiovascular, metabolic, renal, inflammatory and immune systems. After a stress response, the body's natural tendency is to return to a steady state, a process called allostasis. If the body is not effective in returning to homeostasis, or if the environment is such that stress is repeated, markers of dysfunction may be apparent in the physiological systems that respond to stress. A method of measuring multiple biomarkers of stress responsive systems and determining who shows consistent evidence of dysfunction was developed by Bruce McEwen and labeled allostatic load (AL). AL is most frequently measured by developing a level of risk for each biomarker and obtaining an AL score for the number of biomarkers the criterion for risk is met. This provides a single, equal-weighted measure of AL and does not allow for the identification of multi-systems. We employed a principal component factor analysis on a set of biomarkers and scored each factor using unit weighting. We compared the predictive power of 7 obliquely rotated factors to that of a composite AL marker. The set of factors predicted more of the variance in measures of depression, anxiety, and medical outcomes, it also provided evidence of the systems most involved in the development of pathology. The results confirm that AL is best analyzed as a multi-system construct. Not only does this predict more variance, it also provides suggestions as to the mechanisms underlying stress related disorders.},
keywords = {Learning Sciences, MedVR},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Stress is possibly the hallmark characteristic of the current conflicts confronting the United States. Extended and repeated deployments require the ability on the part of war-fighters to effectively process stress in ways never before routinely encountered. Stress is well defined as a series of psychological and physiological processes that occur in response to a stressor, or the perception of stress. The physiological response to stress follows an identified path, a robust neuroendocrine response leads to responses in the cardiovascular, metabolic, renal, inflammatory and immune systems. After a stress response, the body's natural tendency is to return to a steady state, a process called allostasis. If the body is not effective in returning to homeostasis, or if the environment is such that stress is repeated, markers of dysfunction may be apparent in the physiological systems that respond to stress. A method of measuring multiple biomarkers of stress responsive systems and determining who shows consistent evidence of dysfunction was developed by Bruce McEwen and labeled allostatic load (AL). AL is most frequently measured by developing a level of risk for each biomarker and obtaining an AL score for the number of biomarkers the criterion for risk is met. This provides a single, equal-weighted measure of AL and does not allow for the identification of multi-systems. We employed a principal component factor analysis on a set of biomarkers and scored each factor using unit weighting. We compared the predictive power of 7 obliquely rotated factors to that of a composite AL marker. The set of factors predicted more of the variance in measures of depression, anxiety, and medical outcomes, it also provided evidence of the systems most involved in the development of pathology. The results confirm that AL is best analyzed as a multi-system construct. Not only does this predict more variance, it also provides suggestions as to the mechanisms underlying stress related disorders.
2010
Swartout, William; Traum, David; Artstein, Ron; Noren, Dan; Debevec, Paul; Bronnenkant, Kerry; Williams, Josh; Leuski, Anton; Narayanan, Shrikanth; Piepol, Diane; Lane, H. Chad; Morie, Jacquelyn; Aggarwal, Priti; Liewer, Matt; Chiang, Jen-Yuan; Gerten, Jillian; Chu, Selina; White, Kyle
Virtual Museum Guides Demonstration Proceedings Article
In: IEEE Workshop on Spoken Language Technology, Berkeley, CA, 2010.
Links | BibTeX | Tags: Graphics, Learning Sciences, Virtual Humans
@inproceedings{swartout_virtual_2010,
title = {Virtual Museum Guides Demonstration},
author = {William Swartout and David Traum and Ron Artstein and Dan Noren and Paul Debevec and Kerry Bronnenkant and Josh Williams and Anton Leuski and Shrikanth Narayanan and Diane Piepol and H. Chad Lane and Jacquelyn Morie and Priti Aggarwal and Matt Liewer and Jen-Yuan Chiang and Jillian Gerten and Selina Chu and Kyle White},
url = {http://ict.usc.edu/pubs/Virtual%20Museum%20Guides%20Demonstration.pdf},
year = {2010},
date = {2010-12-01},
booktitle = {IEEE Workshop on Spoken Language Technology},
address = {Berkeley, CA},
keywords = {Graphics, Learning Sciences, Virtual Humans},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Swartout, William; Traum, David; Artstein, Ron; Noren, Dan; Debevec, Paul; Bronnenkant, Kerry; Williams, Josh; Leuski, Anton; Narayanan, Shrikanth; Piepol, Diane; Lane, H. Chad; Morie, Jacquelyn; Aggarwal, Priti; Liewer, Matt; Chiang, Jen-Yuan; Gerten, Jillian; Chu, Selina; White, Kyle
Ada and Grace: Toward Realistic and Engaging Virtual Museum Guides Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Intelligent Virtual Agents (IVA 2010), Philadelphia, PA, 2010.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Graphics, Learning Sciences, Virtual Humans, Virtual Worlds
@inproceedings{swartout_ada_2010,
title = {Ada and Grace: Toward Realistic and Engaging Virtual Museum Guides},
author = {William Swartout and David Traum and Ron Artstein and Dan Noren and Paul Debevec and Kerry Bronnenkant and Josh Williams and Anton Leuski and Shrikanth Narayanan and Diane Piepol and H. Chad Lane and Jacquelyn Morie and Priti Aggarwal and Matt Liewer and Jen-Yuan Chiang and Jillian Gerten and Selina Chu and Kyle White},
url = {http://ict.usc.edu/pubs/ada%20and%20grace.pdf},
year = {2010},
date = {2010-09-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Intelligent Virtual Agents (IVA 2010)},
address = {Philadelphia, PA},
abstract = {To increase the interest and engagement of middle school students in science and technology, the InterFaces project has created virtual museum guides that are in use at the Museum of Science, Boston. The characters use natural language interaction and have near photoreal appearance to increase and presents reports from museum staff on visitor reaction},
keywords = {Graphics, Learning Sciences, Virtual Humans, Virtual Worlds},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
To increase the interest and engagement of middle school students in science and technology, the InterFaces project has created virtual museum guides that are in use at the Museum of Science, Boston. The characters use natural language interaction and have near photoreal appearance to increase and presents reports from museum staff on visitor reaction
2009
McAlinden, Ryan; Gordon, Andrew S.; Lane, H. Chad; Pynadath, David V.
UrbanSim: A Game-based Simulation for Counterinsurgency and Stability-focused Operations Proceedings Article
In: Workshop on Intelligent Educational Games, 14th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education, Brighton, UK, 2009.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Learning Sciences, Social Simulation, The Narrative Group
@inproceedings{mcalinden_urbansim_2009,
title = {UrbanSim: A Game-based Simulation for Counterinsurgency and Stability-focused Operations},
author = {Ryan McAlinden and Andrew S. Gordon and H. Chad Lane and David V. Pynadath},
url = {http://ict.usc.edu/pubs/UrbanSim-%20A%20Game-based%20Simulation%20for%20Counterinsurgency%20and%20Stability-focused%20Operations.pdf},
year = {2009},
date = {2009-07-01},
booktitle = {Workshop on Intelligent Educational Games, 14th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education},
address = {Brighton, UK},
abstract = {The UrbanSim Learning Package is a simulation-based training application designed for the U.S. Army to develop commanders' skills for conducting counterinsurgency operations. UrbanSim incorporates multiple artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in order to provide an effective training experience, three of which are described in this paper. First, UrbanSim simulates the mental attitudes and actions of groups and individuals in an urban environment using the PsychSim reasoning engine. Second, UrbanSim interjects narrative elements into the training experience using a case-based story engine, driven by non-fiction stories told by experienced commanders. Third, UrbanSim provides intelligent tutoring using a simulation-based method for eliciting and evaluating learner decisions. UrbanSim represents a confluence of AI techniques that seek to bridge the gap between basic research and deployed AI systems.},
keywords = {Learning Sciences, Social Simulation, The Narrative Group},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
The UrbanSim Learning Package is a simulation-based training application designed for the U.S. Army to develop commanders' skills for conducting counterinsurgency operations. UrbanSim incorporates multiple artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in order to provide an effective training experience, three of which are described in this paper. First, UrbanSim simulates the mental attitudes and actions of groups and individuals in an urban environment using the PsychSim reasoning engine. Second, UrbanSim interjects narrative elements into the training experience using a case-based story engine, driven by non-fiction stories told by experienced commanders. Third, UrbanSim provides intelligent tutoring using a simulation-based method for eliciting and evaluating learner decisions. UrbanSim represents a confluence of AI techniques that seek to bridge the gap between basic research and deployed AI systems.
Kim, Julia; Hill, Randall W.; Durlach, Paula; Lane, H. Chad; Forbell, Eric; Core, Mark; Marsella, Stacy C.; Pynadath, David V.; Hart, John
BiLAT: A Game-Based Environment for Practicing Negotiation in a Cultural Context Journal Article
In: International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, vol. 19, no. Issue on Ill-Defined Domains, pp. 289–308, 2009.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Learning Sciences, Social Simulation
@article{kim_bilat_2009,
title = {BiLAT: A Game-Based Environment for Practicing Negotiation in a Cultural Context},
author = {Julia Kim and Randall W. Hill and Paula Durlach and H. Chad Lane and Eric Forbell and Mark Core and Stacy C. Marsella and David V. Pynadath and John Hart},
url = {http://ict.usc.edu/pubs/BiLAT-%20A%20Game-Based%20Environment%20for%20Practicing%20Negotiation%20in%20a%20Cultural%20Context.pdf},
year = {2009},
date = {2009-01-01},
journal = {International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education},
volume = {19},
number = {Issue on Ill-Defined Domains},
pages = {289–308},
abstract = {Negotiation skills are essential in everyday life, whether in a professional or personal context. Negotiation enables two parties to address misunderstandings and avoid conflicts through an exchange that depends as much on the interpersonal skills of the negotiators as the tactics employed. Acquiring these skills requires not only sound conceptual knowledge but also practice and mentoring. This paper describes the BiLAT game-based simulation and tutoring system developed to provide students, initially United States Army soldiers, with an environment to practice preparing for and conducting bilateral negotiations. We describe the models that were created to implement BiLAT, with a particular focus on the challenge of designing for and tutoring in the ill-defined domain of negotiation. An initial assessment of the training effectiveness of the system indicates significant situation-judgment gains by novices.},
keywords = {Learning Sciences, Social Simulation},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Negotiation skills are essential in everyday life, whether in a professional or personal context. Negotiation enables two parties to address misunderstandings and avoid conflicts through an exchange that depends as much on the interpersonal skills of the negotiators as the tactics employed. Acquiring these skills requires not only sound conceptual knowledge but also practice and mentoring. This paper describes the BiLAT game-based simulation and tutoring system developed to provide students, initially United States Army soldiers, with an environment to practice preparing for and conducting bilateral negotiations. We describe the models that were created to implement BiLAT, with a particular focus on the challenge of designing for and tutoring in the ill-defined domain of negotiation. An initial assessment of the training effectiveness of the system indicates significant situation-judgment gains by novices.
2008
McAlinden, Ryan; Gordon, Andrew S.; Lane, H. Chad; Hart, John; Durlach, Paula
UrbanSim: A game-based instructional package for conducting counterinsurgency operations Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the 26th Army Science Conference, Orlando, FL, 2008.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Learning Sciences, The Narrative Group
@inproceedings{mcalinden_urbansim_2008,
title = {UrbanSim: A game-based instructional package for conducting counterinsurgency operations},
author = {Ryan McAlinden and Andrew S. Gordon and H. Chad Lane and John Hart and Paula Durlach},
url = {http://ict.usc.edu/pubs/UrbanSim-%20A%20game-based%20instructional%20package%20for%20conducting%20counterinsurgency%20operations.pdf},
year = {2008},
date = {2008-12-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 26th Army Science Conference},
address = {Orlando, FL},
abstract = {Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom have identified the need for instructional and training solutions that develop the skills of Battalion and Brigade Commanders in formulating situational understanding in order to successfully lead operations in a counterinsurgency environment. In this paper we describe the UrbanSim Learning Package, a game-based instructional software suite for Commanders and their staffs for directing and coordinating full-spectrum operations where the stability component is predominant. We describe a formal instructional design approach to the development of this instructional software, which consists of a component that introduces key concepts in counterinsurgency operations and a component that allows students to develop their skills in a simulated counterinsurgency environment. We describe how intelligent automated tutoring is used to provide formative feedback to students in the practice environment, and discuss our approach to student performance assessment.},
keywords = {Learning Sciences, The Narrative Group},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom have identified the need for instructional and training solutions that develop the skills of Battalion and Brigade Commanders in formulating situational understanding in order to successfully lead operations in a counterinsurgency environment. In this paper we describe the UrbanSim Learning Package, a game-based instructional software suite for Commanders and their staffs for directing and coordinating full-spectrum operations where the stability component is predominant. We describe a formal instructional design approach to the development of this instructional software, which consists of a component that introduces key concepts in counterinsurgency operations and a component that allows students to develop their skills in a simulated counterinsurgency environment. We describe how intelligent automated tutoring is used to provide formative feedback to students in the practice environment, and discuss our approach to student performance assessment.
Solomon, Steve; Lent, Michael; Core, Mark; Carpenter, Paul; Rosenberg, Milton
A Language for Modeling Cultural Norms, Biases and Stereotypes for Human Behavior Models Technical Report
2008.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Learning Sciences
@techreport{solomon_language_2008,
title = {A Language for Modeling Cultural Norms, Biases and Stereotypes for Human Behavior Models},
author = {Steve Solomon and Michael Lent and Mark Core and Paul Carpenter and Milton Rosenberg},
url = {http://ict.usc.edu/pubs/A%20Language%20for%20Modeling%20Cultural%20Norms,%20Biases%20and%20Stereotypes%20for%20Human%20Behavior%20Models.pdf},
year = {2008},
date = {2008-04-01},
abstract = {Increasingly, the military has requirements for teaching cultural awareness, which demands flexible representations of cultural knowledge. The Culturally-Affected Behavior project seeks to define a language for encoding ethnographic data in order to capture cultural knowledge and use that knowledge to affect human behavior models. Having anthropologists encode ethnographic data will validate the language and will result in a library of culture models for immersive training.},
keywords = {Learning Sciences},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {techreport}
}
Increasingly, the military has requirements for teaching cultural awareness, which demands flexible representations of cultural knowledge. The Culturally-Affected Behavior project seeks to define a language for encoding ethnographic data in order to capture cultural knowledge and use that knowledge to affect human behavior models. Having anthropologists encode ethnographic data will validate the language and will result in a library of culture models for immersive training.
2006
Core, Mark; Traum, David; Lane, H. Chad; Swartout, William; Marsella, Stacy C.; Gratch, Jonathan; Lent, Michael
Teaching Negotiation Skills through Practice and Reflection with Virtual Humans Journal Article
In: Simulation: Transactions of the Society for Modeling and Simulation, vol. 82, no. 11, pp. 685–701, 2006.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Learning Sciences, Social Simulation, Virtual Humans
@article{core_teaching_2006,
title = {Teaching Negotiation Skills through Practice and Reflection with Virtual Humans},
author = {Mark Core and David Traum and H. Chad Lane and William Swartout and Stacy C. Marsella and Jonathan Gratch and Michael Lent},
url = {http://ict.usc.edu/pubs/Teaching%20Negotiation%20Skills.pdf},
year = {2006},
date = {2006-11-01},
journal = {Simulation: Transactions of the Society for Modeling and Simulation},
volume = {82},
number = {11},
pages = {685–701},
abstract = {Although the representation of physical environments and behaviors will continue to play an important role in simulation-based training, an emerging challenge is the representation of virtual humans with rich mental models (e.g., including emotions, trust) that interact through conversational as well as physical behaviors. The motivation for such simulations is training soft skills such as leadership, cultural awareness, and negotiation, where the majority of actions are conversational, and the problem solving involves consideration of the emotions, attitudes, and desires of others.The educational power of such simulations can be enhanced by the integration of an intelligent tutoring system to support learners� understanding of the effect of their actions on virtual humans and how they might improve their performance. In this paper, we discuss our efforts to build such virtual humans, along with an accompanying intelligent tutor, for the domain of negotiation and cultural awareness.},
keywords = {Learning Sciences, Social Simulation, Virtual Humans},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Although the representation of physical environments and behaviors will continue to play an important role in simulation-based training, an emerging challenge is the representation of virtual humans with rich mental models (e.g., including emotions, trust) that interact through conversational as well as physical behaviors. The motivation for such simulations is training soft skills such as leadership, cultural awareness, and negotiation, where the majority of actions are conversational, and the problem solving involves consideration of the emotions, attitudes, and desires of others.The educational power of such simulations can be enhanced by the integration of an intelligent tutoring system to support learners� understanding of the effect of their actions on virtual humans and how they might improve their performance. In this paper, we discuss our efforts to build such virtual humans, along with an accompanying intelligent tutor, for the domain of negotiation and cultural awareness.