Development of support facilities for arithmetical word problem exercises in intelligent tutoring system

Abstract

In the problem solving of the arithmetical word problems, the process until the solution method is identified as the most important. It is necessary to design and develop the basic functions for exercise problem support in an intelligent tutoring system (ITS), such as problem solving, problem generation, and problem explanation, aiming at the support for the identification of the solution method. In this study, those three basic functions are realized based on the problem‐solving method MIPS (model of indexing in problem solving). This paper describes the problem‐solving module, the problem‐generation module and the problem‐explanation module. The problem‐solving module not only solves the arithmetical word problem but also generates the cognitive description of the identification process for the solution method. The problem‐generation module can generate the problem which specifies what students should do in the identification process. The problem explanation module can indicate the equivalence and difference between any two problems concerning the identification process.