1991 IntegrationKidaLearningCompanio

(Chan, 1991) ⇒ Tak-Wai Chan. (1991). “Integration-Kid: A Learning Companion System.” In: Proceedings of the 12th international joint conference on Artificial intelligence (IJCAI 1991).

Subject Headings: Learning Companion, Intelligent Tutoring System.

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Abstract

This paper describes a learning companion system called Integration-Kid in the domain of learning indefinite integration. A learning companion system is an intelligent tutoring system of a new breed. Apart from the teacher, a learning companion models after an additional agent, called the learning companion. The learning companion acts as a companion for the human student in learning. Thus the companion performs the learning task at about the same level as the student; and both the student and the companion exchange ideas while being presented the same material by the computer teacher. The computer companion might make mistakes, just like a human student.

1. Introduction

Intelligent tutoring systems (ITS), modeled after the idea of a private tutor, provide individualized instruction which offers the potential of better attention to individual student needs. This original vision remains strong today (Clancey, 1986). Realized as an interactive computer program, most ITS can be naturally conceived as a two agent model — a learning environment with a human student and a computer simulated teacher.

Learning companion system (LCS) (Chan & Baskin, 1988, 1990; Chan, 1989) is a three agent model (Figure 1). In this model, the computer simulates not one, but two coexisting independent agents — a tutor and a learning companion. The additional agent added to the traditional ITS model forms a small society with a richer social context. The simulated learning companion may act as a competitor or as a collaborator to the student. While being challenged by the companion, the student also observes sub-optimal performance of the companion. Such sub-optimal performance or misconceptions in learning are common, natural, and not limited to the human student. The notion of a learning companion is related to collaborative partner and apprenticeship learning recently proposed by some ITS researchers. Self and his colleagues (Gilmore & Self, 1988; Cumming & Self, 1989; Dillenbourg & Self, 1991) suggest that a computer may be viewed as a collaborative partner to the student, able to offer advice and suggestions about the material in the learning process, instead of being a teacher. Also, a group of cognitive

psychologists and ITS researchers (Brown et al., 1989; Collins et al., 1989; Newman, 1989; Brown, 1990) address that knowledge is "situated", being in part a product of the activity, context, and culture in which it is developed. In particular, they propose learning through apprenticeship-like methods. LCS is a model of ITS where learning is embedded in social activities of a particular simulated small society. Different from the collaborative partner and the apprenticeship model, the additional agent of the learning companion allows LCS to offer a richer social context as well as to provide competition and reflection in terms of a peer's sub-optimal performance, not just collaboration by the collaborative partner or scaffolding by the teacher. Common to these two models is the same emphasis on learning within a social context and the de-emphasis of the role of student model.

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	Author	volume	Date Value	title	type	journal	titleUrl	doi	note	year
1991 IntegrationKidaLearningCompanio	Tak-Wai Chan			Integration-Kid: A Learning Companion System						1991