Several models were built recently in the metacognitive level of the students’ interaction with Cognitive Tutors, an intelligent tutoring system based on ACT-R theory. After finding suboptimal help-seeking behavior, we built a metacognitive model of desired help-seeking behavior (Aleven et al. in press). In a different Cognitive Tutor, Baker et al. (2004) built a model that identifies misuse of...

This paper describes two affect-sensitive variants of an existing intelligent tutoring system called AutoTutor. The new versions of AutoTutor detect learners’ boredom, confusion, and frustration by monitoring conversational cues, gross body language, and facial features. The sensed cognitive-affective states are used to select AutoTutor’s pedagogical and motivational dialogue moves and to drive...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the stability of three distinct tutor behaviors (1) use of subject-matter expertise, (2) social congruence and (3) cognitive congruence, in a problem-based learning (PBL) environment. The data comprised the input from 16,047 different students to a survey of 762 tutors administered in three consecutive semesters. Over the three semesters each tutor t...

Modelling is an important skill to acquire, but it is not an easy one for students to learn. Existing instructional technology has had limited success in teaching modelling. We have applied a recently developed technology, meta-tutoring, to address the important problem of teaching model construction. More specifically, we have developed and evaluated a system that has two parts, a tutor and a ...

The previous version of our Intelligent Tutoring System, Circsim-Tutor (CST) had only four procedures with no difference in difficulty level. However, our new version has 83 procedures that are classified into five Content Categories, five Procedure Difficulty Levels and four Procedure Description Levels. This variety requires Curriculum Planning. Sometimes students may know more than the syste...

The concept of mastery learning is powerful: rather than a fixed number of practices, students continue to practice a skill until they have mastered it. However, an implicit assumption in this formulation is that students are capable of mastering the skill. Such an assumption is crucial in computer tutors, as their repertoire of teaching actions may not be as effective as commonly believed. Wha...

This paper discusses the refinement of the algebraic expression-writing rules for the PAT Algebra I tutor, between 1992 and 1997. Direct observation of students in class, step-by-step PAT tutor protocols tracing student behavior, and statistical analysis of protocol data, have all informed our understanding of students’ skills, and our refinement of this part of PAT’s production model.

This article sets out to identify key competencies which language tutors need to develop in order to manage synchronous online teaching. In order to aptly monitor interactions with distant learners, it is proposed that three types of regulation pertaining to socio-affective, pedagogical and multimedia aspects are required. On the one hand, this research aims at specifying these competencies and...