In recent years an electronic homework system, called OWL, for Online Web-Based Learning, was designed at UMass Amherst. This project will enhance the system by implementing intelligent tutors that offer customized responses to student work. In effect, the goal of the intelligent tutor is to identify specific concepts or tasks with which individual students have trouble, and to offer aid for those items. One of the stoichiometry tutors underwent large scale evaluation during the fall semester. A Lewis Structures Tutor has also been developed and undergone initial formative evaluation.
Results suggest that it can be effective, and several small flaws became apparent.
Large-scale testing of this tutor took place in spring, 1999. The only problem so far is that, as tutors have been created, the list of topics has expanded in detail. For example, instead of creating one tutor covering one part of chemical kinetics, it appeared more beneficial to create three. This offered a dilemma, whether to create fewer tutors in more areas, or more tutors in fewer areas. Project staff decided to opt for the former.