Projects - Philippe Fournier-Viger

• Data Mining Algorithms with Applications in Tutoring Agents
• Evaluating Spatial Reasoning in Intelligent Tutoring Systems
• A Cognitive and Ontology-Based Model for Building Glass-Box Learning Objects
• A Cognitive Model for Building "Cognitive Tutors"

Date : This work started during my Ph.D (2006) and is an extension of a model for representing learner's cognitive processes in ITS that I started to develop in 2003 (see project 3).

Description: The goal of this project was to develop a model for (1) evaluating spatial skills and representations of a learners perform tasks with a simulator-based tutoring system, and (2) to use this information to generate personalized exercises and feedback.

Modeling the cognitive processes of learners is fundamental to build educational software that are autonomous and that can provide highly tailored assistance during learning (Anderson & al, 1995). For this purpose, many student models have been developed. However to the best of the authors’ knowledge there is no model for the evaluation and teaching of spatial representations and skills This work [1, 2, 3] aim to propose a new knowledge representation model for modeling cognitive processes of learners, and to apply the model in a training software for the manipulation of the robotic arm CanadarmII. The model allow the RomanTutor/CanadarmTutor (cf. fig. 1) to automatically evaluate spatial mental representations and reasoning and provide customized assistance.

Fig1. The RomanTutor/CanadarmTutor software

Main publications

[1] Fournier-Viger, P., Nkambou, R. & Mayers, A. (2008). Evaluating Spatial Representations and Skills in a Simulator-Based Tutoring System. IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 63-74, Jan-Mar, 2008.

[2] Fournier-Viger, P., Nkambou, R. & Mayers, A. (2008), Evaluating Spatial Knowledge through Problem-Solving in Virtual Learning Environments. Proceedings of the Third European Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning (EC-TEL 2008). LNCS 5192, Springer, pp 15-26.

[3] Fournier-Viger, P., Nkambou, R., Mayers, A. and Dubois, D. (2007), Automatic Evaluation of Spatial Representations for Complex Robotic Arms Manipulations. Proceedings of the 7th IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies (ICALT 2007), pp: 279-281.

The RomanTutor is a software program developped by the GDAC and PLANIART research team with the logistic and financial support of the Canadian Space Agency, FQRNT and the NSERC.