Dept. of Computer Science & Learning Technology Center
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, Tennessee 37235
Intl. Conf. on AI in Education, AI-ED'95, Washington, D.C., pp. 589, August 1995.
This paper discusses the design and development of Smart Tools Builder, an instructional learning environment (ILE) for teaching students about distance, time, and speed calculations. This system is part of a larger project, the Adventures of Jasper Woodbury problem solving series, a video disc based program that focuses on anchored instruction and generative learning, to help students learn to think and reason mathematically about complex and realistic problems. The goals of the Smart Tool Builder are two fold:
(i) use a constructivist
approach in a multi-representational framework to help students develop
a deeper understanding of variables and functional relations,
specifically the relation between distance, rate, and time, and
(ii) use
this knowledge to build personalized smart tools to help them solve
complex problems effectively and efficiently.
Keywords: Intelligent learning environments, constructivist approaches, generative learning, functional relations, pre algebra, multiple representations.