Bootstrapping Novice Data: Semi-Automated Tutor Authoring Using Student Log Files

A potentially powerful way to aid in the authoring of intelligent tutoring systems is to directly leverage student interaction log data. While problem-solving data has been used in the past to guide the development of tutors, such data has not typically been used as a means to directly construct an initial tutoring system model. We propose an approach called bootstrapping novice data (BND) in which a problem-solving tool is integrated with tutor development software through log files and that integration is then used to create the beginnings of a tutor for the tool. We describe an initial implementation of the BND approach in which Cool Modes, a collaborative software tool, is integrated with the Behavior Recorder, tutor-authoring software that supports development by demonstration. A key to this implementation is a component-based approach in which complementary pieces of software are integrated with little or no change to either software component. We argue that more tutors could be built, and with substantial time savings, using this approach. We discuss some of the lessons learned from this initial effort and from applying the component-based approach, as well as some data analyses that could eventually be performed using the data collected during BND.