Dynamic Item Response Models extend the standard Item Response Theory (IRT) to capture temporal dynamics in learner ability. While these models have the potential to allow instructional systems to actively monitor the evolution of learner proficiency in real time, existing dynamic item response models rely on expensive inference algorithms that…

The process of generating challenging and appropriate distractors for multiple-choice questions is a complex and time-consuming task. Existing methods for an automated generation have limitations in proposing challenging distractors, or they fail to effectively filter out incorrect choices that closely resemble the correct answer, share synonymous…

Narrative inquiry is a type of qualitative research that explores human experiences through lived or told stories to understand a phenomenon. Narrative researchers collect data through spoken or written stories and life experiences of an individual (subject). The data is examined in chronological order to understand the meaning of the phenomenon…

A Prolog program consists of a set of facts and rules rather than imperative statements, commonly used in most other programming languages. Therefore, the Prolog language is used to encode logic, from which the inference engine deduces logical conclusions. In this article, we argue that the use of the Prolog language can be useful to help students…

We sought to identify the extent to which an innovative educational technology called ELCII (Early Language Comprehension Individualized Instruction) improved inference making for various populations of kindergarten students. Analyses examined student performance based on individual-level demographic characteristics (i.e., gender, race/ethnicity,…

We describe a data mining pipeline to convert data from educational systems into knowledge component (KC) models. In contrast to other approaches, our approach employs and compares multiple model search methodologies (e.g., sparse factor analysis, covariance clustering) within a single pipeline. In this preliminary work, we describe our approach's…

The purpose of this paper is to highlight issues related to students' personal inferences that arise when students verbally explain their justification for calculus statements. We conducted clinical interviews with three undergraduate students who had taken first-semester calculus but had not yet been exposed to formal proof writing activities…

Using data from teaching experiments and theories from quantitative reasoning, we built second-order accounts of students' mathematics with regards to how they conceived rate of change through operating on existing quantities. In this report, we explain three different ways STEM undergraduates structurally conceive rate of change as they…

Reading comprehension is key to knowledge acquisition and to reinforcing memory for previous information. While reading, a mental representation is constructed in the reader's mind. The mental model comprises the words in the text, the relations between the words, and inferences linking to concepts in prior knowledge. The automated model of…

Spatial analytics receive increased attention in educational data mining. A critical issue in stop detection (i.e., the automatic extraction of timestamped and located stops in the movement of individuals) is a lack of validation of stop accuracy to represent phenomena of interest. Next to a radius that an actor does not exceed for a certain…

What can eye movements reveal about reading, a complex skill ubiquitous in everyday life? Research suggests that gaze can reflect short-term comprehension for facts, but it is unknown whether it can measure long-term, deep comprehension. We tracked gaze while 147 participants read long, connected, informative texts and completed assessments of…

When estimating an average treatment effect with observational data, it's possible to get an unbiased estimate of the causal effect if all confounding variables are observed and reliably measured. In education, confounding variables are often latent constructs. Covariate selection methods used in causal inference applications assume that all…

Block-based visual programming environments are increasingly used to introduce computing concepts to beginners. Given that programming tasks are open-ended and conceptual, novice students often struggle when learning in these environments. AI-driven programming tutors hold great promise in automatically assisting struggling students, and need…

Reading comprehension is key to knowledge acquisition and to reinforcing memory for previous information. While reading, a mental representation is constructed in the reader's mind. The mental model comprises the words in the text, the relations between the words, and inferences linking to concepts in prior knowledge. The automated model of…

This systematic review aims to synthesize the literature on the effects of cross-linguistic transfer on Spanish/English bilinguals' reading comprehension skills. The search yielded at least 90 studies in which participants were Spanish/English bilinguals aged birth to Grade 12. Researchers assessed participants' decoding and/or linguistic…