Abstract:
Science learning is inherently multimodal, with students utilizing both drawings and writings to explain observations of physical phenomena. As such assessments in scienc...Show MoreMetadata
Abstract:
Science learning is inherently multimodal, with students utilizing both drawings and writings to explain observations of physical phenomena. As such assessments in science should accommodate the many ways students express their understanding, especially given evidence that understanding is distributed across both drawing and writing. In recent years advanced automated assessment techniques that evaluate expressive student artifacts have emerged. However, these techniques have largely operated individually, each considering only a single mode. We propose a framework for the multimodal automated assessment of students' writing and drawing to leverage the synergies inherent across modalities and create a more complete and accurate picture of a student's knowledge. We introduce a multimodal assessment framework as well as two computational techniques for automatically analyzing student writings and drawings: a convolutional neural network-based model for assessing student writing, and a topology-based model for assessing student drawing. Evaluations with elementary students' writings and drawings collected with a tablet-based digital science notebook demonstrate that 1) each of the framework's two modalities provide an independent and complementary measure of student science learning, and 2) the computational methods are capable of accurately assessing student work from both modalities and offer the potential for integration in technology-rich learning environments for real-time formative assessment.
Published in: IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies ( Volume: 12, Issue: 1, 01 Jan.-March 2019)
Funding Agency:

Department of Computer Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
Andy Smith received the B.S. degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from Duke University, in 2005, and the M.C.S. degree from North Carolina State University, in 2010. He has published one journal article and eight conference papers. His research interests focus on leveraging machine learning techniques to understand student drawings.
Andy Smith received the B.S. degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from Duke University, in 2005, and the M.C.S. degree from North Carolina State University, in 2010. He has published one journal article and eight conference papers. His research interests focus on leveraging machine learning techniques to understand student drawings.View more

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning R&D, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA
Samuel Leeman-Munk received the B.A. degree in computer science from Earlham College, in 2010, and the M.C.S. and Ph.D. degrees from North Carolina State University, in 2014 and 2016, respectively. He now works as part of the Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning R&D Division at SAS institute. His primary research areas are deep neural networks and natural language processing.
Samuel Leeman-Munk received the B.A. degree in computer science from Earlham College, in 2010, and the M.C.S. and Ph.D. degrees from North Carolina State University, in 2014 and 2016, respectively. He now works as part of the Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning R&D Division at SAS institute. His primary research areas are deep neural networks and natural language processing.View more

College of Education, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
Angi Shelton received the B.S. degree from York College in Secondary Education, in 2005, the master's degree in educational development and strategies from Wilkes University, in 2007, and the doctorate degree in science education, from Temple University, in 2012. She has authored or co-authored 6 articles and 28 conference papers. Her research has focused on the intersection of scientific inquiry, assessment, and strategi...Show More
Angi Shelton received the B.S. degree from York College in Secondary Education, in 2005, the master's degree in educational development and strategies from Wilkes University, in 2007, and the doctorate degree in science education, from Temple University, in 2012. She has authored or co-authored 6 articles and 28 conference papers. Her research has focused on the intersection of scientific inquiry, assessment, and strategi...View more

Department of Computer Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
Bradford Mott received the B.S., M.C.S., and Ph.D. degrees in computer science from North Carolina State University. Currently, he is currently a Senior Research Scientist with the Center for Educational Informatics, North Carolina State University. His research focuses on game-based learning environments, intelligent tutoring systems, computer games, and computational models of interactive narrative.
Bradford Mott received the B.S., M.C.S., and Ph.D. degrees in computer science from North Carolina State University. Currently, he is currently a Senior Research Scientist with the Center for Educational Informatics, North Carolina State University. His research focuses on game-based learning environments, intelligent tutoring systems, computer games, and computational models of interactive narrative.View more

College of Education, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
Eric Wiebe is currently a Professor of STEM Education with North Carolina State University and a Senior Research Fellow with the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation. His research interests include STEM learning in technology-rich environments, multimodal communication of scientific and technical information, and research-based strategies for helping schools and teachers maximize the potential of new instructional ...Show More
Eric Wiebe is currently a Professor of STEM Education with North Carolina State University and a Senior Research Fellow with the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation. His research interests include STEM learning in technology-rich environments, multimodal communication of scientific and technical information, and research-based strategies for helping schools and teachers maximize the potential of new instructional ...View more

Department of Computer Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
James Lester is currently a Distinguished Professor of Computer Science with North Carolina State University. His research focuses on technology-rich learning environments and ranges from game-based learning environments and intelligent tutoring systems to affective computing, computational models of narrative, and natural language tutorial dialogue. He is a Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Inte...Show More
James Lester is currently a Distinguished Professor of Computer Science with North Carolina State University. His research focuses on technology-rich learning environments and ranges from game-based learning environments and intelligent tutoring systems to affective computing, computational models of narrative, and natural language tutorial dialogue. He is a Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Inte...View more

Department of Computer Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
Andy Smith received the B.S. degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from Duke University, in 2005, and the M.C.S. degree from North Carolina State University, in 2010. He has published one journal article and eight conference papers. His research interests focus on leveraging machine learning techniques to understand student drawings.
Andy Smith received the B.S. degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from Duke University, in 2005, and the M.C.S. degree from North Carolina State University, in 2010. He has published one journal article and eight conference papers. His research interests focus on leveraging machine learning techniques to understand student drawings.View more

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning R&D, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA
Samuel Leeman-Munk received the B.A. degree in computer science from Earlham College, in 2010, and the M.C.S. and Ph.D. degrees from North Carolina State University, in 2014 and 2016, respectively. He now works as part of the Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning R&D Division at SAS institute. His primary research areas are deep neural networks and natural language processing.
Samuel Leeman-Munk received the B.A. degree in computer science from Earlham College, in 2010, and the M.C.S. and Ph.D. degrees from North Carolina State University, in 2014 and 2016, respectively. He now works as part of the Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning R&D Division at SAS institute. His primary research areas are deep neural networks and natural language processing.View more

College of Education, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
Angi Shelton received the B.S. degree from York College in Secondary Education, in 2005, the master's degree in educational development and strategies from Wilkes University, in 2007, and the doctorate degree in science education, from Temple University, in 2012. She has authored or co-authored 6 articles and 28 conference papers. Her research has focused on the intersection of scientific inquiry, assessment, and strategic scaffolding as well as teaching perspectives.
Angi Shelton received the B.S. degree from York College in Secondary Education, in 2005, the master's degree in educational development and strategies from Wilkes University, in 2007, and the doctorate degree in science education, from Temple University, in 2012. She has authored or co-authored 6 articles and 28 conference papers. Her research has focused on the intersection of scientific inquiry, assessment, and strategic scaffolding as well as teaching perspectives.View more

Department of Computer Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
Bradford Mott received the B.S., M.C.S., and Ph.D. degrees in computer science from North Carolina State University. Currently, he is currently a Senior Research Scientist with the Center for Educational Informatics, North Carolina State University. His research focuses on game-based learning environments, intelligent tutoring systems, computer games, and computational models of interactive narrative.
Bradford Mott received the B.S., M.C.S., and Ph.D. degrees in computer science from North Carolina State University. Currently, he is currently a Senior Research Scientist with the Center for Educational Informatics, North Carolina State University. His research focuses on game-based learning environments, intelligent tutoring systems, computer games, and computational models of interactive narrative.View more

College of Education, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
Eric Wiebe is currently a Professor of STEM Education with North Carolina State University and a Senior Research Fellow with the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation. His research interests include STEM learning in technology-rich environments, multimodal communication of scientific and technical information, and research-based strategies for helping schools and teachers maximize the potential of new instructional technologies.
Eric Wiebe is currently a Professor of STEM Education with North Carolina State University and a Senior Research Fellow with the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation. His research interests include STEM learning in technology-rich environments, multimodal communication of scientific and technical information, and research-based strategies for helping schools and teachers maximize the potential of new instructional technologies.View more

Department of Computer Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
James Lester is currently a Distinguished Professor of Computer Science with North Carolina State University. His research focuses on technology-rich learning environments and ranges from game-based learning environments and intelligent tutoring systems to affective computing, computational models of narrative, and natural language tutorial dialogue. He is a Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence.
James Lester is currently a Distinguished Professor of Computer Science with North Carolina State University. His research focuses on technology-rich learning environments and ranges from game-based learning environments and intelligent tutoring systems to affective computing, computational models of narrative, and natural language tutorial dialogue. He is a Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence.View more