An important component of many Adaptive Instructional Systems (AIS) is a 'Learner Model' intended to track student learning and predict future performance. Predictions from learner models are frequently used in combination with mastery criterion decision rules to make pedagogical decisions. Important aspects of learner models, such as learning…

An important component of many Adaptive Instructional Systems (AIS) is a 'Learner Model' intended to track student learning and predict future performance. Predictions from learner models are frequently used in combination with mastery criterion decision rules to make pedagogical decisions. Important aspects of learner models, such as learning…

Extensive literature in artificial intelligence in education focuses on developing automated methods for detecting cases in which students struggle to master content while working with educational software. Such cases have often been called "wheel-spinning," "unproductive persistence," or "unproductive struggle." We…

Sequencing items in adaptive learning systems typically relies on a large pool of interactive question items that are analyzed into a hierarchy of skills, also known as Knowledge Components (KCs). Educational data mining techniques can be used to analyze students response data in order to optimize the mapping of items to KCs, with similarity-based…

More and more things that humans used to do can be automated on computer. In each case, complex tasks have been automated -- not to the extent that they can be done as well as humans, but better. I will draw and develop parallels to education -- showing how and why advances in the Structural Learning Theory (SLT) and the AuthorIT development and…