EDULEARN 2015 §  BARCELONA 6-8 JULY §  University of Minho, Portugal

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LOGO

SELF-REGULATED LEARNING OF MATHEMATICS TROUGH A VIRTUAL TUTOR

Rosa Mª Fontes Master in Psychology; Jorge Collus Master in Psychology; ; Rosalina Fernandes Master in Teaching; Paulo Santos Master in Engineering; Carlos Semedo Master Ph in Mathmatics; Lia Oliveira PhD Educational Technology

Introduction §  One sees clear failures in the learning of Mathematics in

the portuguese school system (Pisa, 2012; TIMSS, 2012). On the other hand, the number of computers per student has increased by 40% in the last few years (GEPE, 2008). We are, whoever, still behind other countries in the EU, thus increasing the need for deployment of quality digital content and applications (GEPE, 2008).

§  For the teaching-learning process to succeed there must be motivation and self-regulation. Ryan and Deci (2000), separate motivation into extrinsic and intrinsic, it being motivated by internal or external conditions. This motivation is closely related with self-regulation and, according to Rosário (2007), any student is capable of self-regulating her or her own learning.

§  A thorough research of bibliographic databases (which description fall outside of this project’s scope), we have found no study which is similar to the one we designed, as well as no software pursuing the same capabilities as the one we are proposing. We point out that the prototype incorporates a digital agent, implying some form of Artificial Intelligence through high-level programming already under, and which we shall later discuss.

§  Once the usefulness of software in the classroom for mathematics assistance is established, as we hope to do, we shall approach the subject of teaching machines, and idea that has been explored since the nineteenth century, and particularly during the twentieth century, by authors such as Pressey (in the 1920’s) or Skinner (in the 1950’s) and, much later, reprised by Benjamin (1988) and Moeglin (1993), among others, and which discussion is again gaining traction with researchers in Canada, France, and the USA.

Methodology §  We developed a product from scratch - the software in

question - adopting the Methodology for Development (Richey e Nelson,1996; Van Der Maren, 1996; De Ketele e Roegiers, 1999; Van den Akker,1999; Giardina, 1999; Oliveira, 2004) as a guideline for the study. For validation (beyond the obligatory usability evaluation) we shall focus on GM4 subjects (geometry and measurements) taught in the 4th year of the 1º ciclo de Ensino Básico (primary school) and verify the strategies for problem-solving (Polya strategies).

§  The development methodology for this study shall be structured into two phases: 1) Arranging the sample, implementation and validation/evaluation; 2) Additional data collection and global analysis.

Goals

This research intends to fight school failure in the subject of mathematics. In order to achieve this we intent to create an innovative piece of educational software with tridimensional visualization and a virtual tutor (attempting to emulate a human tutor whilst remaining invisible, following and registering actions). We point out that we do not intend to replace the teacher, quite the opposite, for he or she plays a fundamental role in the whole process, as the pedagogic role is entirely in the teacher’s hands. At the same time we intend to, in a practical way, make the best use of current school resources (computers).

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