DEVELOPMENT OF A KNOWLEDGE-BASED INTELLIGENT TUTORING SYSTEM

THIS PROPOSAL ADDRESSES THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTELLIGENT TUTORING SYSTEM (ITS) TO TRAIN AIR FORCE PERSONNEL. EXPERT-EASE SYSTEMS (EES) HAS DEVELOPED AND DEMONSTRATED A SUCCESSFUL COMPUTER-BASED INSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE CALLED OPTIMALLY ADAPTIVE LEARNING (OAL). OAL COMBINES SEVERAL TECHNOLOGIES: OPTIMIZATION THEORY, EDUCATIONAL MODELING, AND HUMAN PSYCHOLOGY. THE OAL APPROACH UTILIZED ADVANCED OPTIMIZATION THEORY TO DETERMINE "PATHS" THROUGH THE EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL PRESENTED TO STUDENTS. BASED UPON AN INDIVIDUAL STUDENT'S NEEDS AND CAPABILITIES, THE OAL PROGRAM AUTOMATICALLY TAILORS A SPECIFIC SERIES OF COURSE MATERIAL FOR PRESENTATION TO THE STUDENT. IN THIS PROPOSAL, EES PRESENTS A PLAN TO COMBINE ITS EXISTING OAL APPROACH WITH A KNOWLEDGE-BASED EXPERT SYSTEM TO PRODUCE A PRACTICAL ITS FOR A SPECIFIC AIR FORCE APPLICATION. ITS PROGRAMS WILL RESULT IN: (1) REDUCED LEARNING TIMES, (2) ENHANCED LEARNING LEVELS, AND (3) MORE HIGHLY MOTIVATED STUDENTS.