Intelligent Tutoring Systems for Ill-Defined Domains - Philippe ...

Experts have been found to have strong metacognitive skills [33] whereas novice
learners demonstrate less planning and self monitoring [34]. Research has shown that
experts use deliberate practice to improve their ability to observe, monitor and fine
tune their performance [35]. Visualization of performance in sports and other
performance-based disciplines is used to help athletes and performers to look back
and reflect on their performance as well as the performance of others. Delayed
observations provide athletes and chess players with a different perspective on their
performance and help them adapt their specific moves according to the overview of
the performance [35]. We anticipate that doing similar visualizations might promote
discussions about problem solving processes that will enhance metacognitive
processes and decrease the possibility of fragmentation of the problem solving
processes.
2 Context of Studies
In the preliminary phase of our research, we designed an activity in which medical
students had to create fictitious patient case scenarios. This activity highlighted
important validity and reliability issues of case creation and resolution. When asked to
solve the case they had written, participants did not arrive at the solution they had
proposed initially. When testing this problem with expert clinicians, we found that
their solution differed each time they solved the same case [1]. Additionally experts
did not agree with each other concerning the ideal solution for a relatively simple
case.
To address these issues of the validity and reliability of solutions in a more
systematic manner, we designed a methodology that uses visual representations to
create and evaluate medical case presentation scenarios [1]. This methodology
supports case-based teaching by offering a systematic procedure to: a) track and
represent expert medical instructors’ solution processes and explanations, b) capture
pedagogical expertise from these experienced teachers and, c) compare and combine
solution paths for the representation and explanation of specific cases.
In the current pilot study we needed to test the usability of these case-specific
models on medical students. The purpose was to verify if the methodology and visual
representation of cases was adequate for instructional use with medical students. We
wanted to see if these visual representations could be understood by medical students
and if they had an impact on their learning and improve their self-assessment by
helping them "look back" at their own thinking.
3 Study Design
Using Expert Decision Maps 72
In order to evaluate whether or not medical students could understand and utilize
visual representations to improve their learning, we designed an experiment in which
an experimental group interacted with visual representations while a control group did
not. We anticipate that using visual representations of solution paths can provide a
meaningful framework to synthesize, structure and communicate different levels of