Transcending the limits of classrooms: Expanding educational horizons through intelligent tutoring

Abstract

The notion of classroom-based University education is dramatically changing, education providers globally are adapting to the challenges and opportunities brought on by evolving technologies. A way of providing for this changing environment whilst maintaining a 'human-like' approach to education is the use of Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS). This study outlines the development and initial evaluation of an ITS designed specifically for capital investment decision-making (CID). The system tracks the student's performance, and generates a model of the student's knowledge, which is used to adapt the instructional session to the needs and abilities of each student providing individualised feedback. The ITS adds value to a traditional classroom-based tutoring approach by providing students with an enhanced problem-solving tool to be able to apply theoretical material in a 'real-life' simulated environment. The paper describes the ITS authoring environment, the creation of the tutoring system and a preliminary evaluation of academics' perspectives of using the system.