Re: [Tuxmath-devel] GSoC project on "Personalized, adaptive game-play to improve learning in Tuxmath"

[Siddharth K. <sid...@gm...>]

Hi Tim,

Thanks for the feedback. :)

1. When you say, "topic suggestion," are you thinking of some interactive
> interface from which the user chooses a task? Or is the "suggestion" an
> internal one, and the game will execute whatever parameters are suggested?
>
I had an interactive interface in mind, where the final decision would be on
the player if he would like to follow the topic the game suggests or choose
another one as per his wish.

2. What are your thoughts about per-user storage? Are you going to employ
> the
> Linux model (store in the user's home directory), or are you going to use
> the
> infrastructure in the "school mode"? Or are you planning on not saving data
> across sessions at all? (Without saving, it will be hard to test and debug,
> so
> I don't recommend the latter.)

I will initially implement a storage structure for the Linux model, and than
for the "school mode". Imo, this should be more valuable if I implement it
for the "school mode", but I am not familiar with the code. I will try to do
that :)

For 3.), modelling how much challenge a user is willing to take seems
difficult. Rather than making decision on the latency in re-starting the
game, we can base it on the progress: If the student is able to save the
igloos, adjust the other game variables to provide more challenge; if a
student is performing poorly, we may want to slow the speed of comets and
likewise, adjust other game variables. But again, this approach assumes the
amount of difficulty one is willing to take. What are your opinions?


> 4. In your section on "modifying the game variables," certainly the speed
> is
> an important parameter. But a more interesting---and more conceptually
> challenging---issue is how to decide which _type_ of problems to pose. Is
> the
> kid ready for addition facts up to 10, or should we stick with 0 to 5? How
> can
> you tell when the kid is ready for multiplication?

There is an interesting approach
Animalwatch<http://animalwatch.arizona.edu/> (It's
a tutor for pre-algebra mathematics) uses for this which is described
here Using
the student model to control problem
difficulty<http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.38.7068&rep=rep1&type=pdf>.
I am thinking of using a approach on similar lines, will post it shortly.

5. Given this tuxmath-as-the-teacher mode of thinking, do we need to think
> somewhat about creating mechanisms to explicitly teach, rather than just
> let
> them practice things they've already been taught?

iiuc, this means using different teaching strategies to cater to the varying
needs of the students (like some may like to receive more feedback to stay
motivated, a pedagogical agent may be more of help to others). But given
that the domain here is elementary Mathematics, I find it hard to think of
an explicit teaching mechanism. Do you have some suggestions?

Thanks,
Siddharth

On Fri, May 20, 2011 at 7:29 PM, Tim Holy <ho...@wu...> wrote:

> Hi Siddarth,
>
> I like it very much. Some concrete feedback, mostly a set of questions
> asking
> for more detail:
>
> 1. When you say, "topic suggestion," are you thinking of some interactive
> interface from which the user chooses a task? Or is the "suggestion" an
> internal one, and the game will execute whatever parameters are suggested?
>
> 2. What are your thoughts about per-user storage? Are you going to employ
> the
> Linux model (store in the user's home directory), or are you going to use
> the
> infrastructure in the "school mode"? Or are you planning on not saving data
> across sessions at all? (Without saving, it will be hard to test and debug,
> so
> I don't recommend the latter.)
>
> 3. I have the sense that kids differ quite a lot in terms of how much
> negative-
> outcome they can tolerate: some will plunge right back in after they lose
> all
> their igloos, others will be bothered if even a single igloo gets hit by a
> comet. Those that enjoy the tension will appreciate being challenged, those
> that do not will probably feel more comfortable if they are consistently
> performing at 95% or higher.
> It would be really interesting if it were possible to model not just the
> student's mastery, but also what level of failure/challenge is acceptable
> to
> the student. Naturally, this seems hard. One option would be to ask for
> feedback from the student, and a second might be to pay attention to the
> latency in re-starting a new game of tuxmath. If it is a few seconds, the
> kid
> seems ready for more. If it's a few months, perhaps the kid got scared off.
> But
> obviously it's questionable how reliable such information will be.
>
> 4. In your section on "modifying the game variables," certainly the speed
> is
> an important parameter. But a more interesting---and more conceptually
> challenging---issue is how to decide which _type_ of problems to pose. Is
> the
> kid ready for addition facts up to 10, or should we stick with 0 to 5? How
> can
> you tell when the kid is ready for multiplication?
>
> 5. Given this tuxmath-as-the-teacher mode of thinking, do we need to think
> somewhat about creating mechanisms to explicitly teach, rather than just
> let
> them practice things they've already been taught?
>
> Again, it looks like lots of fun ahead. I'm glad you're tackling this.
>
> Best,
> --Tim
>
> On Friday, May 20, 2011 07:43:52 am Siddharth Kothari wrote:
> > Hi everyone,
> >
> > I made a blog (gscbbn.wordpress.com) which I will keep updating the
> details
> > with regards to the project.
> >
> > I would appreciate a feedback. The approach and deliverables are
> tentative,
> > let me know if there is something I should incorporate.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Siddharth
> >
> > On Wed, Apr 27, 2011 at 10:11 PM, Tim Holy <ho...@wu...> wrote:
> > > On Wednesday, April 27, 2011 08:01:22 am Siddharth Kothari wrote:
> > > > Hi everyone,
> > > >
> > > > My project proposal on "Personalized, adaptive game-play to improve
> > > > learning in Tuxmath" has been accepted in GSoC
> > > > (link<
> > >
> > > http://www.google-melange.com/gsoc/project/google/gsoc2011/sidi/14001
> > >
> > > > >). Bart Massey from PSU will be my mentor who would be helping me in
> > > > >the
> > > >
> > > > design of the Bayesian network for knowledge representation and
> making
> > > > inferences based on it. I look forward to the Tuxmath community
> members
> > >
> > > to
> > >
> > > > have discussions regarding the implementation details, and some
> > >
> > > occasional
> > >
> > > > code-related help. I will start exploring the code-base in about a
> week
> > > > once my semester exams are over.
> > >
> > > That's great! Congrats!
> > >
> > > --Tim
> > >
> > >
> > >
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