Student Modeling

Use of Student Modeling in Learning Applications

In contrast to a typical learning management system that provides the same course content, activities, and interactions to all students, adaptive and personalized learning systems attempt to customize learning experiences for individual students by adapting the learning environment to their individual characteristics, competencies, interests, and needs. By doing this, these systems aim at improving learning outcomes while fostering better learning efficiencies and effectiveness. To be able to do that on an ongoing basis, these systems need to not only know as much as possible about the students but also about any changes in students’ individual attributes. [Page 680]Student models are, therefore, key to every adaptive and personalized learning system.

Historically, student models have been used in intelligent tutoring systems, with earlier systems focusing primarily on competency improvement for students. Later realizations of adapting learning to individual student behavior, preferences, and other characteristics evolved earlier learning systems into adaptive and personalized learning systems. Although researchers and implementers have frequently used the terms interchangeably, there are differences in the ways that adaptive learning systems and personalized learning systems play a role in improving learning experience; these differences impact the information needed in their respective student models. On the one hand, adaptive learning systems emphasize providing different course content, activities, and other aspects automatically to different students, focusing primarily on performance and progress in a course. On the other hand, personalized learning systems attempt to customize courses to suit individual student characteristics, including prior performance and progress but also interests and other relevant factors that influence learning.

Various Components of Student Modeling

Being part of a variety of learning applications, student modeling requires different types of information about the students. Major components of student modeling are described below. Depending on the type of application, certain components play a more prominent role than others.