Skill set profile clustering based on student capability vectors computed from online tutoring data

Ayers, E., Nugent, R. and Dean, N. (2008) Skill set profile clustering based on student capability vectors computed from online tutoring data. In: EDM2008: 1st International Conference on Educational Data Mining, Montreal, Canada, 20-21 June 2008,

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Abstract

In educational research, a fundamental goal is identifying which skills students have mastered, which skills they have not, and which skills they are in the process of mastering. As the number of examinees, items, and skills increases, the estimation of even simple cognitive diagnosis models becomes difficult. To address this, we introduce a capability matrix showing for each skill the proportion correct on all items tried by each student involving that skill. We apply variations of common clustering methods to this matrix and discuss conditioning on sparse subspaces. We demonstrate the feasibility and scalability of our method on several simulated datasets and illustrate the difficulties inherent in real data using a subset of online mathematics tutor data. We also comment on the interpretability and application of the results for teachers.

Item Type:Conference Proceedings
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Dean, Dr Nema
Authors: Ayers, E., Nugent, R., and Dean, N.
Subjects:H Social Sciences > HA Statistics
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Mathematics and Statistics > Statistics
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2008 The Authors
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the authors

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