We investigated methods to enhance the generalizability of large language models (LLMs) designed to classify dimensions of collaborative discourse during small group work. Our research utilized five diverse datasets that spanned various grade levels, demographic groups, collaboration settings, and curriculum units. We explored different model…

We explore how different components of an Automatic Short Answer Grading (ASAG) model affect the model's ability to generalize to questions outside of those used for training. For supervised automatic grading models, human ratings are primarily used as ground truth labels. Producing such ratings can be resource heavy, as subject matter experts…

Mathematical reasoning, a fundamental aspect of human cognition, poses significant challenges for artificial intelligence (AI) systems. Despite recent advancements in natural language processing (NLP) and large language models (LLMs), AI's ability to replicate human-like reasoning, generalization, and efficiency remains an ongoing research…

As modern deep networks become more complex, and get closer to human-like capabilities in certain domains, the question arises as to how the representations and decision rules they learn compare to the ones in humans. In this work, we study representations of sentences in one such artificial system for natural language processing. We first present…

Data-driven learning uncontroversially plays a role in human language acquisition--how large a role is a matter of much debate. The success of artificial neural networks in NLP in recent years calls for a re-evaluation of our understanding of the possibilities for learning grammar from data alone. This dissertation argues the case for using…

Second language learners constitute a significant and expanding portion of the global population and there is a growing demand for tools that facilitate language learning and instruction across various levels and in different countries. The development of large language models (LLMs) has brought about a significant impact on the domains of natural…

The 10th International Conference on Educational Data Mining (EDM 2017) is held under the auspices of the International Educational Data Mining Society at the Optics Velley Kingdom Plaza Hotel, Wuhan, Hubei Province, in China. This years conference features two invited talks by: Dr. Jie Tang, Associate Professor with the Department of Computer…