Thesis (M.S.) in Teaching--University of Maine, 2009. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 57-62).

ALBERT, an intelligent problem-solving monitor and coach, has been developed to assist students solving problems in one-dimensional kinematics. Students may type in kinematics problems directly from their textbooks. ALBERT understands the problems, knows how to solve them, and can teach students how to solve them. The program is implemented in the TUTOR language and runs on the Control Data mainframe PLATO system. A natural language interface was designed to understand kinematics problems stated in textbook English. The interface is based on a pattern recognition system which is intended to parallel a cognitive model of language processing. The natural language system has understood over 60 problems taken directly from elementary Physics textbooks. Two problem-solving routines are included in ALBERT. One is goal-directed and solves the problems using the standard kinematic equations. The other uses the definition of acceleration and the relationship between displacement and average velocity to solve the problems. It employs a forward-directed problem-solving strategy. The natural language interface and both the problem-solvers are fast and completely adequate for the task. The tutorial dialogue system uses a modified version of the natural language interface which operates in a two-tier fashion. First an attempt is made to understand the input with the pattern recognition system, and if that fails, a keyword matching system is invoked. The result has been a fairly robust language interface. The tutorial is driven by a tutorial management system (embodying a tutorial model) and a context model. The context model consists of a student model, a tutorial status model and a dynamic dialogue model. ALBERT permits a mixed initiative dialogue in the discussion of a problem. The system has been tested by Physics students in more than 80 problemsolving sessions and the results have been good. The response of the students has been very favourable

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Education / Master / Master of Science in Information Technology in Education

No description available.

This thesis describes an automated data acquisition system based on a personal computer that has been modified for use as a scientific instrument in an undergraduate physics laboratory. Two demonstration experiment have been designed to explain how the system functions and how it may be utilized in a laboratory setting.An experiment in optical spectroscopy will allow students to automatically scan the spectra of a light source and collect data concerning wavelength and line intensity. The computer system displays the information in graphical format and saves the data on floppy disks for further analysis.The second experiment studies the heat flow along a cylindrical copper rod. Eight thermocouples, located along the length of the rod, monitor temperature as a function of time. A known heat source is attached to one end of the rod and the other end is maintained at room temperature. Both the transient and stead-state behavior of the temperature distribution is studied. The acquired data is presented graphically and saved on floppy disk for further analysis. These two experiments will be used in the Modern Physics Laboratory course, PHYCS 262. / Department of Physics and Astronomy

Thesis (M.A.). / Title from title page of PDF (viewed 2008/01/30). Written for the Dept. of Educational and Counselling Psychology. Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis creates an small expert system that is based on Einstein's special relativity. The basic knowledge of special relativity and the bases for building an expert system are described. The concepts of special relativity are put into a knowledge base by changing the formulas into rules and facts. The Prolog language was used to develop the expert system. New information can be input that does not contradict the rules and facts already in the database. The system also uses computer graphics to demonstrate the physical concepts of relativity. By using this expert system, one can teach the basic knowledge of special relativity and solve some problems related to frames of reference moving with high speed. / Department of Computer Science

Thesis (M.Ed. (Education)) - Rhodes University, 2008.

It was the purpose of this research, to develop and test an artificially intelligent, learner-based, computer-assisted physics tutor. The resulting expert system is named ARPHY, an acronym for ARtificially intelligent PHYsics tutor. The research was conducted in two phases. In the first phase of the research, the system was constructed using Ausubel's advance organizer as a guiding learning theory. The content of accelerated motion was encoded into this organizer after sub-classification according to the learning types identified by Gagnds. The measurement of the student's level of learning was accomplished through the development of questioning strategies based upon Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives. The second phase of this research consisted of the testing of ARPHY. Volunteers from four levels of first-semester physics classes at North Texas State University were instructed that their goal was to solve three complex physics problems related to accelerated motion. The only students initially instructed by ARPHY were from the class of physics majors. When the threshold values of the pedagogical parameters stabilized, indicating the fact that ARPHY's instructional technique had adapted to the class' learning style, students from other classes were tutored. Nine of the ten students correctly solved the three problems after being tutored for an average of 116 minutes. ARPHY's pedagogical parameters stabilized after 6.3 students. The remaining students, each from a different class, were tutored, allowing ARPHY to self-improve, resulting in a new tutorial strategy after each session. It is recommended that future research into intelligent tutoring systems for science incorporate the principles and theories of learning which this research was based upon. An authoring system based upon the control structure of ARPHY should be developed, since the modular design of this system will allow any field which can be organized into a net-archy of problems, principles, and concepts, to be tutored.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education