Bug Model Based Intelligent Recommender System with Exclusive Curriculum Sequencing for Learner-Centric Tutoring

Abstract

Face to face human tutoring in classroom environments amply facilitates human tutor-learner interactions wherein the tutor gets opportunity to exercise his cognitive intelligence to understand learner's pre-knowledge level, learning pattern, specific learning difficulties, and be able to offer course content well-aligned to the learner's requirements and tutor in a manner that best suits the learner. Reaching this level in an intelligent tutoring system is a challenge even today given the advanced developments in the field. This article focuses on ITS, mimicking a human tutor in terms of providing a curriculum sequence exclusive for the learner. Unsuitable courseware disorients the learner and thus degrades the overall performance. A bug model approach has been used for curriculum design and its re-alignment as per requirements and is demonstrated through a prototype tutoring recommender system, SeisTutor, developed for this purpose. The experimental results indicate an enhanced learning gain through a curriculum recommender approach of SeisTutor as opposed to its absence.