HKIER

Abstract

The recent focus on intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) raises the question of how the diagnosing and subsequent remediation of students' errors should be done in order to facilitate learning. In the ITS paradigm, it is traditionally believed that rather than simply reteaching students, it is more effective first, to point out their errors then reteach them. Empirical research, however, shows contradictory findings (Swan, 1983; Sleeman, Kelly, Martinak, Ward, & Moore, 1989; Bunderson & Olsen 1983). While both methods focus on procedural knowledge, other researchers suggest that the subjects' previous knowledge, whether procedural or conceptual, should have important roles to play in the tutoring of students (Gertner, 1982; Resnick, 1982; Cauzinille-Marmeche & Mathieu, 1988; Lee, 1993). This study is thus designed to attest the importance of conceptual knowledge in the remediation of procedural errors. A method called Conceptual Dissonance was developed and its effect on the remediation process was compared with that of previous methods. Results showed that students tutored with Conceptual Dissonance performed better in the retention test. The effects of tutoring seemed to last longer if conceptual knowledge was included in the tutoring process.

摘要

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