Home Page of the

Watchung Tutor Group

Chun Wai Liew Department of Computer Science Lafayette College Easton, PA 18042 liew@cs.lafayette.edu	Joel A. Shapiro Department of Physics and Astronomy Rutgers University 136 Frelinghuysen Road Piscataway, NJ, 08854-8019 shapiro@physics.rutgers.edu	Donald E. Smith Department of Computer Science Rutgers University 110 Frelinghuysen Road Piscataway, NJ, 08854-8019 dsmith@cs.rutgers.edu

We are researching issues involved in constructing Model Tracing Tutors (MTT) and Constraint Based Cognitive Tutors (CBCT) in the complex domain of Physics homework problem solving.

We are primarily interested in problems for which the student must analyze a problem statement, declare a set of relevant physical variables, write down equations constraining those variables, and then, perhaps, solve those equations for a sought variable when values of the others are given.

We are definitely not interested in exercising "plug and chug" problems, in which there is a straightforward sequence of steps to solve the problem.

Thus the context is much like that of ANDES, the tutoring system developed at the University of Pittsburgh and the U. S. Naval Academy. We are especially interested in concept based problem decomposition and concept-based feedback.

Here are some papers by our group:

• Knowledge Based Mechanisms for Tutoring Systems in Science and Engineering, C.W. Liew, Joel A. Shapiro, D.E. Smith, ICTAI 2007.
• Understanding Student Answers In Introductory Physics Courses, C.W. Liew, Joel A. Shapiro, D.E. Smith, Ryan McCall, Proceedings of Artificial Intelligence in Education: Building Technology Rich Learning Contexts That Work. Editors: Rosemary Luckin, Kenneth R. Koedinger and James Greer IOS Press, July 2007, pages: 605-608.
• Understanding Student Answers In Introductory Physics Courses, C.W. Liew, Joel A. Shapiro, D.E. Smith, Ryan McCall, long version submitted to AIED, 2007. [Cover page]
• What is the Student Referring To? Mapping Properties and Concepts in Students' Systems of Physics Equations C.W. Liew, Joel A. Shapiro and D.E. Smith. 12th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education, in Artificial Intelligence in Education - Supporting Learning through Intelligent and Socially Informed Technology, Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence and Applications Vol 125, Looi, McCalla, Bredeweg and Breuker (Eds) (2005) 160-167.
• Determining the Dimensions of Variables in Physics Algebraic Equations C.W. Liew, Joel A. Shapiro and D.E. Smith. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence Tools 14 (2005) 25-42.
• Inferring the Context for Evaluating Physics Equations when the Scaffolding is Removed, C.W. Liew, Joel A. Shapiro and D.E. Smith. Proceedings of Seventeenth Florida AI Research Society Conference, May, 2004.
• Identification of Variables in Model Tracing Tutors, The Poster, Liew, Shapiro, and Smith, Poster to be shown at AIEd2003.
  (Alternate version in postscript for two sheets of letter size or A4 paper)
• Identification of Variables in Model Tracing Tutors , C.W. Liew, Joel A. Shapiro and D.E. Smith. Proceedings of 11th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education, July 2003, IOS Press, pp 464-466.
• Removing the Scaffolding: First Steps , Liew, Shapiro, and Smith, Technical Report (fuller version of above).
• Reasoning About Systems of Physics Equations, C.W. Liew and D.E. Smith. Proceedings of Intelligent Tutoring Systems: ITS 2002, Editors: Cerri, Gouarderes and Paraguacu, Springer-Verlag Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS 2363) pp 463-472.
• Checking the Dimensional Correctness of Physics Equations, C.W. Liew and D.E. Smith. Proceedings of Fifteenth Florida AI Research Society Conference, May 2002, pp 299-303.
• An Algebra Subsystem for Diagnosing Students' Input in a Physics Tutoring System, Joel A. Shapiro, for the International Journal of Artificail Inteliggence in Education
  • Vol 15(3) 2005, IOS Press, pp 205-228
  • Algebra Subsystem for an Intelligent Tutoring System, Shapiro, original version, submitted to IJAIED (Sept 28, 2001)
  • Algebra Subsystem for an Intelligent Tutoring System, Shapiro, second version, submitted to IJAIED (July 31, 2002)
• The Andes Physics Tutoring System: Lessons Learned, Kurt VanLehn, Collin Lynch, Kay Schulze, Joel A. Shapiro, Robert Shelby, Linwood Taylor, Don Treacy, Anders Weinstein, Mary Wintersgill, International Journal of AI in Education, vol 15(3) (2005) IOS Press, pp 147-204.
• The Andes Physics Tutoring System: Five Years of Evaluations, Kurt VanLehn, Collin Lynch, Kay Schulze, Joel A. Shapiro, Robert H. Shelby, Linwood Taylor, Don J. Treacy, Anders Weinstein, Mary C. Wintersgill, G. I. McCalla and C.-K. Looi (Eds.), Proceedings of the Artificial Intelligence in Education Conference. (2005), pp 678--685, IOS Press Amsterdam.
• What Is Wrong With This Equation? Error Detection and Feedback with Physics Equations, Liew, Shapiro, and Smith, Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Florida AI Research Society Conference, Jim Etheredge and Bill Manaris, editors, pp 45-49, May 2000.
• Reasoning About Algebraic Answers in Physics, C.W. Liew, Joel A. Shapiro and D.E. Smith. Proceedings of the Twelfth International Florida AI Research Society Conference, Amruth N. Kumar and Ingrid Russell, editors, pp 167-171, May 1999.

Last modified: Wed Jan 23 09:31:03 2013