The notion of buggy procedures has played an important role in recent cognitive models of mathematical skills. Some earlier work on student modeling used artificial intelligence methods to automatically construct buggy models of student behavior. An alternate approach, proposed here, draws on insights from the rapidly developing field of machine…

Network Analysis is an observational system focusing on the relationships of individuals within a system--their subgroups, their leaders, and the frequency of their communications. The strength of relationships can be measured by examining the incidence and duration of intercommunications. Using data accumulated by questioning each member of the…

Competence is defined as the knowledge of a mature speaker of a language, irrespective of questions about acquisition. It is questioned whether there can be a procedure for generating sentences as a model of this competence; it is concluded that there cannot be a precise, non-random model for competence. (CHK)

Presents model of algorithm design (activity in software development) based on analysis of protocols of two subjects designing three convex hull algorithms. Automation methods, methods for studying algorithm design, role of discovery in problem solving, and comparison of different designs of case study according to model are highlighted.…

This study is a critical evaluation of the roles for coding and scoring of missing responses to multiple-choice items in educational tests. The focus is on tests in which the test-takers have little or no motivation; in such tests omitting and not reaching (as classified by the currently adopted operational rules) is quite frequent. Data from the…

This review of four different computer-assisted instruction algorithms concludes that current authoring guides are more concerned with "user orientation" than with instructional principles, and advocates the application of a design model based on Gagne's information processing model of instruction. Nine references are listed. (MER)

Discusses end-user searching in Boolean information retrieval systems considers the role of search intermediaries and proposes a model of user preferences that incorporates a user's profile. Highlights include document representation; information queries; document output ranking; calculating user profiles; and selecting documents for a local…

Presents an improved inverted region quadtree variation called Dynamic Inverted Quadtree that is able to support and index a pictorial database. Pattern-searching algorithms are described, and the space needs of Fully Inverted and Dynamic Inverted Quadtrees are analytically compared based on a model of image randomness expressed as a branching…

Describes the logical construction of several Russian hypertext systems, and discusses the navigational algorithms used, nodes selected, and coherence demanded. Several illustrative graphs are included, and an overview of the development of linking structures producing logical-semantic models is given. (20 references) (EA)

Presents an interpolation methodology that duplicates and improves the results of mathematical functional relationships useful for designing business enterprise simulations and argues that interpolation is effective over the entire range of production and sales activity. (six references) (EA)

A new heuristic factorization scheme uses learning to improve the efficiency of determining the symbolic factorization of multivariable polynomials with interger coefficients and an arbitrary number of variables and terms. The factorization scheme makes extensive use of artificial intelligence techniques (e.g., model-building, learning, and…

Offers characterization of sign-transmission which is more general than conventional signal-transmission theory. Concepts and terminology, formal description of individual communications process, reconciliation with classical signal-detection theory, applications of sign-detection formalism to information retrieval on MEDLINE database, and a…

Two experiments studied nine-year-olds, l3-year-olds, and adults in their encoding of two kinds of stimuli taken from a psychometric measure of spatial aptitude. The first experiment used letter-like stimuli; the second employed multi-element flags. (CI)

Mislevy (1984, 1985) introduced an EM algorithm for estimating the parameters of a latent distribution model that is used extensively by the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Second order asymptotic corrections are derived and applied along with more common first order asymptotic corrections to approximate the expectations required by…

Demonstrates that an elementary understanding of computer programing and the development and illustration of the structure of computer program analysis will be valuable assets in the understanding and teaching of mathematics and may be used as modeling devices to simulate the stages of learning. (Author)