Unfolding models are frequently used to develop scales for measuring attitudes. Recently, unfolding models have been applied to examine rater severity and accuracy within the context of rater-mediated assessments. One of the problems in applying unfolding models to rater-mediated assessments is that the substantive interpretations of the latent…

We conducted two experiments to assess the alignment between Generative AI (GenAI) text personalization and hypothetical readers' profiles. In Experiment 1, four LLMs (i.e., Claude 3.5 Sonnet; Llama; Gemini Pro 1.5; ChatGPT 4) were prompted to tailor 10 science texts (i.e., biology, chemistry, physics) to accommodate four different profiles…

This paper systematically explores how Large Language Models (LLMs) generate explanations of code examples of the type used in intro-to-programming courses. As we show, the nature of code explanations generated by LLMs varies considerably based on the wording of the prompt, the target code examples being explained, the programming language, the…

This study examined 283 online learner dictionary definitions in terms of scores based on word frequency level and readability. Results revealed three findings. First, in terms of word frequency levels, definitions from the Cambridge learner dictionary incorporated fewer non-high frequency words (mid and low frequency words) compared to Oxford,…

Online patient portals that facilitate communication between patient and provider can improve patients' medication adherence and health outcomes. The effectiveness of such web-based communication measures can be influenced by the health literacy (HL) of a patient. In the context of diabetes, low HL is associated with severe hypoglycemia and high…

Worked examples, which present an explained code for solving typical programming problems are among the most popular types of learning content in programming classes. Most approaches and tools for presenting these examples to students are based on line-by-line explanations of the example code. However, instructors rarely have time to provide…

This study explores the potential of large language models (LLMs), specifically GPT-4 and Gemini, in generating teaching cases for information systems courses. A unique prompt for writing three different types of teaching cases such as a descriptive case, a normative case, and a project-based case on the same IS topic (i.e., the introduction of…

Graded reading is one of the important ways of English learning. How to automatically judge and grade the difficulty of the English reading corpus is of great significance for precision teaching and personalized learning. However, the current rule-based readability assessment methods have some limitations, such as low efficiency and poor accuracy.…

This paper examines links between perfect rhymes and text readability and decoding using a measure of English rhymes called the Perfect Rhymes Dictionary (PeRDict). PeRDict is based on the Carnegie Mellon University Pronouncing Dictionary (the CMUdict) and provides rhyme counts for ~48,000 words in English and for the most frequent 1,000, 2,500,…

Instant feedback plays a vital role in promoting academic achievement and student success. In practice, however, delivering timely feedback to students can be challenging for instructors for a variety of reasons (e.g., limited teaching resources). In many cases, feedback arrives too late for learners to act on the advice and reinforce their…

Although text readability has traditionally been measured based on simple linguistic features, recent studies have employed natural language processing techniques to develop new readability formulas that better represent theoretical accounts of reading processes. This study evaluated the construct validity of different readability formulas,…

Comparing language tests and test preparation materials holds important implications for the latter's validity and reliability. However, not enough studies compare such materials across a wide range of indices. Therefore, this study investigated the text complexity of IELTS academic reading tests (IRT) and IELTS reading practice tests (IRPrT).…

This study analyzes the linguistic features of counter-arguments and support arguments using two computational linguistic tools: Coh-Metrix and Gramulator. The research question investigates whether counter-argument paragraphs and support paragraphs are different in terms of their linguistic features. To conduct this study, a corpus of 78…

This study explores the way translation crowdsourcing may contribute to metacognitive translator training through a teaching experiment where Global Voices Lingua was integrated into an undergraduate English-Chinese translation course. In doing so, the study investigates how translation students' awareness of conditional knowledge and its…

This report sets out the findings of the technical development work completed as part of the Use Cases for Generative AI in Education project, commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE) in September 2023. It has been published alongside the User Research Report, which sets out the findings from the ongoing user engagement activity…