Scaffolding support for learning application programs in a computerized learning environment

• US 8,137,112 B2
• Filed: 04/20/2007
• Issued: 03/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Woolf, Susan D., O'Kelley, Patrick, Moraveji, Neema, Ganapathy, Mythreyee
• Primary Examiner(s): Thai, Xuan
• Assistant Examiner(s): PAGE, EVAN RANDALL
• Application Number:
  US11/788,485
• Publication Number:
  US 20080261191A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,796 Days
• Field of Search: 434/350, 434/323
• US Class Current: 434/323
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/20 Education
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 7/00 Electrically-operated teaching apparatus or devices working with questions and answers mechanically operated G09B3/00; computing arrangements G06F
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 7/02 of the type wherein the student is expected to construct an answer to the question which is presented or wherein the machine gives an answer to the question presented by a student

Abstract

A computerized learning system is provided. The computerized learning system may include a learning application program executable on a computing device. The learning application program may have a user interface configured to present a challenge to a user and receive a user response to the challenge. The user interface may feature a support system configured to present support to aid the user in responding to the challenge. To adjust the support provided to the skill level of the user, a scaffolding engine may be provided to determine a scaffolding level of the user for a skill, and the support system may be configured to adjust the support in response to the scaffolding level. In this manner, support for the user may be more appropriately tailored to the user'"'"'s ability and change dynamically in accordance with the user'"'"'s progress.

Claims

1. A computerized learning system, comprising:

a learning application program executed on a computing device, the learning application program including;

a user interface configured to present a learning challenge corresponding to a pedagogical skill to a user and receive a user response to the learning challenge, the user interface including a support system configured to present support suggesting a correct response to the learning challenge to aid the user in correctly responding to the learning challenge including a push support option that is presented without a direct request by the user in response to a measured response parameter being greater than a response threshold and if a scaffolding level of the user is greater than a push support threshold; and

a scaffolding engine configured to determine the scaffolding level of the user for the pedagogical skill, and adjust the support provided for the pedagogical skill via the support system based on the scaffolding level.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the scaffolding level for the pedagogical skill is stored in a user profile in non-volatile memory accessible to the learning application program via an application programming interface.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the support system is configured with a pull support option in which the support system presents support in response to a user request for support via a support selector on the user interface.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the scaffolding level is selected from the group consisting of none, low, medium, and high;

and

wherein the support system is configured to enable both the push support option and the pull support option upon detecting that a user scaffolding level for the pedagogical skill is high, disable some push support options and enable all pull support options upon detecting that a user scaffolding level for the pedagogical skill is medium, disable all push support options and enable some pull support options upon detecting that a user scaffolding level for the pedagogical skill is low, and disable both the pull support option and the push support option upon detecting that a user scaffolding level for the pedagogical skill is none.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the measured response parameter is selected from the group consisting of response time, accuracy of response, number of incorrect response attempts, and score.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the pedagogical skill is listening and the support includes audio.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the pedagogical skill is reading and the support includes text.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the support is provided in a native language of the user in one of spoken or written form.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the support is provided in a target language of study in one of spoken or written form.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the support system is configured to assign a cost for using support, the cost being used by the support system in evaluating whether to decrease the scaffolding level of the user.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the cost of support in a target language is lower than the cost of support in a native language.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the support system is configured to display the support in an output format selected from the group consisting of text, audio, animation, video, and haptic pressure.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the support system is configured to display the support as user response options in an input format selected from the group consisting of text input through a keyboard, audio input through a microphone, handwriting or input through a stylus, mouse clicks, and gestures captured by a camera.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the learning application program is configured to perform an intra-game assessment and determine that the user has attained a user scaffolding level, the intra-game assessment being based on a pattern of use of support by the user in responding to the learning challenge as compared to other users, and is further configured to send a write request to update a user profile upon assessing that the user has attained a new scaffolding level when the pattern of use of support for the user corresponds to that of other users at the new scaffolding level.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the support system is configured to display a service-level user-accessible dictionary and for each of a plurality of words presented in the learning challenge, the dictionary including information selected from the group consisting of a definition of the word in the target language and the native language of the user, a media that illustrates the word, a sample sentence using the word in context, an audio file of the word being spoken, and a pronunciation detector configured to receive and evaluate a user pronunciation of the word.

20. The method of claim 3, wherein the push support option costs less than the pull support option.

16. A computerized learning method, comprising:

at a learning application program executed on a computing device, reading a user scaffolding level from a user profile stored in non-volatile memory, the user scaffolding level being one of a plurality of scaffolding levels defined according to a scaffolding schema;

presenting a learning challenge to a user for a pedagogical skill;

measuring a response parameter to the learning challenge selected from a response time, a number of incorrect response attempts, an accuracy level of a user response, and a score;

selecting a push support option that suggests a correct response to the learning challenge from among a plurality of support options having different levels of support for suggesting the correct response to the learning challenge for the pedagogical skill based on the user scaffolding level; and

presenting the selected push support option via a user interface of the learning application program in response to the response parameter being greater than a response threshold and if the user scaffolding level is greater than a push support threshold.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

prior to selecting the push support option, receiving a request for support;

selecting a pull support option that is different from the push support option; and

presenting the selected pull support option via the user interface of the learning application program.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the support system is configured to assign a cost for using support such that the push support costs less than the pull support, and the cost being used by the support system in evaluating whether to decrease the scaffolding level of the user.

18. A computerized learning system, comprising:

a support system of a learning application program executed on a computing device configured to present via a user interface of the learning application program a selected one of a plurality of levels of support for suggesting a correct response to a learning challenge without a direct request by a user in response to a measured response parameter being greater than a response threshold and if a scaffolding level of the user is greater than a push support threshold, the selected level of support being chosen based on the scaffolding level of the user, the scaffolding level of the user being read from a user profile stored in memory and updatable upon determining that user performance in a learning application program meets or exceeds a scaffolding threshold for scaffolding level advancement.