Efficiency, Design, and Efficient Design

Speaker
Philip Pavlik
Systems Scientist, Human-Computer Interaction Institute, Carnegie Mellon University

When
-

Where
Newell-Simon Hall 1305 (Michael Mauldin Auditorium)

Description

This seminar surveys projects involving how best to develop interactive software. In this talk I show how, using a model of the utility of interactions and a model of the time costs of these interactions, it is possible to compute the optimal duration of interactions. I first will explore how these principles are applied to expertise acquisition in the context of flashcard vocabulary learning in Chinese language courses. I will then review the findings of this line of research with the goal of providing design hypotheses about why results in the classroom have not paralleled results in the lab. Several design factors are identified that may be restricting classroom gains. These factors are analyzed in terms of a nine-factor design taxonomy of the users representation (mental model) of the flashcard experience. Given the assumptions of limited time and diminishing marginal returns for time spent on each individual design factor, I then will examine how efficiency optimization applies to effort allocation in the design process itself. I will provide a numeric example, which quantifies this model and allows me to predict what I should do next in my flashcard project development.

Relevant papers:

Pavlik Jr., P. I., & Toth, J. (2010, accepted). How to Build Bridges between Intelligent Tutoring System Subfields of Research. In J. Kay & V. Aleven (Eds.), Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems. Pittsburgh, PA. (Text) (Talk).
Pavlik Jr., P. I., Bolster, T., Wu, S., Koedinger, K. R., & MacWhinney, B. (2008). Using optimally selected drill practice to train basic facts. In B. Woolf, E. Aimer & R. Nkambou (Eds.), Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems. Montreal, Canada. (Text).

Speaker's Bio

Philip Pavlik is a Systems Scientist in the Human Computer Interaction Institute. His work involves expertise optimization algorithms, educational data mining, basic memory processes and conceptual learning. Applications of this work include a flashcard learning systems, which allows web delivery of a variety of content using a cognitive model based algorithm to select optimal practice. He has his PhD in Cognitive Psychology, with a bachelors in Economics.

Speaker's Website
http://www.optimallearning.org/

Host
Brad Myers