{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/140971"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/140971","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Developing an Automated Practice Environment and Feedback Engine for Guided Instruction in the Deformable Bodies Course","abstract":"Mathematical problem solving is a fundamental competency demanded by employers and an integral component of engineering education. We seek to improve instruction in mathematical concept-based engineering courses. To this end, we created an interactive problem solving environment that provides targeted feedback on a student's problem solving attempts by having them work mathematical exercises in a dedicated intuitive software interface. We provide syntactic feedback that is independent of the problem statement, as well as semantic feedback. Semantic feedback is achieved by systematically comparing the ground-truth solution for the exercises provided by the instructor with the student's attempt and reconstructing appropriate error messages based on the differences detected between the solutions. Our systematic approach is based on analyzing the dependencies between equations used by the student, and comparing either individual equations or a reduced representation of a sequence of equations with each other to identify and report differences. We conducted a study to evaluate the quality of the feedback provided by the system. We also conducted surveys on usability of the interface. Based on the studies conducted, we prove the effectiveness of the system and the engine both as a tool for providing rapid and accurate assessment of correctness of exercise attempts.","abstract_html":"Mathematical problem solving is a fundamental competency demanded by employers and an integral component of engineering education. We seek to improve instruction in mathematical concept-based engineering courses. To this end, we created an interactive problem solving environment that provides targeted feedback on a student's problem solving attempts by having them work mathematical exercises in a dedicated intuitive software interface. We provide syntactic feedback that is independent of the problem statement, as well as semantic feedback. Semantic feedback is achieved by systematically comparing the ground-truth solution for the exercises provided by the instructor with the student's attempt and reconstructing appropriate error messages based on the differences detected between the solutions. Our systematic approach is based on analyzing the dependencies between equations used by the student, and comparing either individual equations or a reduced representation of a sequence of equations with each other to identify and report differences. We conducted a study to evaluate the quality of the feedback provided by the system. We also conducted surveys on usability of the interface. 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We seek to improve instruction in mathematical concept-based engineering courses. To this end, we created an interactive problem solving environment that provides targeted feedback on a student's problem solving attempts by having them work mathematical exercises in a dedicated intuitive software interface. We provide syntactic feedback that is independent of the problem statement, as well as semantic feedback. Semantic feedback is achieved by systematically comparing the ground-truth solution for the exercises provided by the instructor with the student's attempt and reconstructing appropriate error messages based on the differences detected between the solutions. Our systematic approach is based on analyzing the dependencies between equations used by the student, and comparing either individual equations or a reduced representation of a sequence of equations with each other to identify and report differences. 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Our feedback analyses both the consistency of the equations set up, as well as the correctness of the equations used by the student in the context of the problem statement. The correctness of equations is analyzed by comparing the instructor's solution to an exercise with the student's attempt, and using the differences detected to construct appropriate error messages. The correctness of the equation setup is analyzed by identifying the order in which equations are used, and comparing either individual equations or groups of equations with each other to identify and report differences. We conducted a study to evaluate the quality of the feedback provided by the system. We also conducted surveys on usability of the interface. 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The correctness of equations is analyzed by comparing the instructor's solution to an exercise with the student's attempt, and using the differences detected to construct appropriate error messages. The correctness of the equation setup is analyzed by identifying the order in which equations are used, and comparing either individual equations or groups of equations with each other to identify and report differences. We conducted a study to evaluate the quality of the feedback provided by the system. We also conducted surveys on usability of the interface. 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