1. “Analysis of Human-to-Human Tutorial Dialogues: Insights for Teaching Analytics”
Irene-Angelica Chounta, Bruce M. McLaren
Carnegie Mellon University
Patricia Albacete, Pamela Jordan, Sandra Katz
University of Pittsburg

2. Dialogue as a means for learning
We aim to develop an adaptive tutorial dialogue system, guided by a student model that will support students in learning physics

3. Research questions RQ1: What makes tutorial dialogue successful?
Teachers’ adapt the level of discussion to the student’s “zone of proximal development” (Vygotsky)
RQ2: How tutorial dialogues adapt to different student characteristics and prior knowledge?
Level of Control/ Level of Specificity (van de Pol)
Contingent Tutoring (Pino-Pasternak)
Cognitive complexity (Nystrand, Graesser)

4. Research questions Level of Support (LOS) Research Objective:
RQ1: What makes tutorial dialogue successful?
Teachers’ adapt the level of discussion to the student’s “zone of proximal development” (Vygotsky)
RQ2: How tutorial dialogues adapt to different student characteristics and prior knowledge?
Level of Control/ Level of Specificity (van de Pol)
Contingent Tutoring (Pino-Pasternak)
Cognitive complexity (Nystrand, Graesser)
Research Objective:
What makes some tutor’s help generous or stingy, easy or challenging, straightforward or “cognitively complex”?
Level of Support (LOS)

5. An example would be nice….
RQ: What minimum acceleration must the climber …….
Dale: 500/55 kg=a m/s^2
T: I don't agree - that's the acceleration that just the pull from the rope would produce (well once the units are straightened out it would be). Think a little more. What is the general rule for finding acceleration from forces?
Dale : F/m=a
T: and what is the F there?
Dale : tension?
T: No.. the F in F=ma is always the net force on the object (or group of objects). The vector sum of all the forces on the object. I prefer to say "Sum of F= ma" because it's easier to get it right. So.. if she is sliding down and the rope is just short of breaking, what is the *net* force on her?
RQ: What minimum acceleration must the climber have in order for the rope not to break while she is rappelling down the cliff? (You do not have to come up with a numerical answer. Just solve for "a" without any substitution of numbers.)
Chip: a = f / m
T: what's f ?
Chip : f = mg
T: just mg ? how many forces act ont he climber ?
Chip : mg + T
T: is mg down or up ?
Chip : down and T is up
T: ok so now solve for a again plugging in T and mg
High performer

6. The mechanics of tutorial discussions
[How] can we group the features of dialogic discourse to differentiate and operationalize the “levels of support” (LOS)?
Analyze human-to-human tutorial dialogues
Build a coding scheme to operationalize Level of Support

7. Method of the study LOS Coding Scheme
Level of Control [3-step scale]
Question Categories
[18 types]
Level of Specificity
[3-step scale]
Contingent Tutoring
[binary]
LOS
Coding Scheme
3 human-to-human dialogues on Physics / 1 per overall learning gains level [low/medium/high]

8. Coding scheme - Application
4 coders
3 dialogues [low/medium/high]
19 tutor turns
Introduction to the coding scheme
Rating handbook & template

9. Coding scheme - Results
Dimension
Fleiss’ Kappa
p-value
Level of control
0.404
4.13e-11
Question category
0.395
Level of specificity
0.141
0.0245
Contingency
0.0764
0.415
Lessons learned:
Still unclear how teachers effectively regulate the level of support

10. Coding scheme: Lessons learned
Not easy to interpret the goal of the intervention
One intervention, multiple goals
Crucial features:
New content
Feedback Information / Information meant to push student forward
Degree of detail

11. Coding scheme Adaptation and Evaluation
Before
After
Level of Control
Information related to student’s answer (Backward/Forward)
Hints Provision
Question Category
Level of Specificity
Feedback on Correctness
Information related to feedback
Contingency

12. Application and Evaluation
10 human-to-human tutorial dialogues (Physics) – 3 High, 3 Low, 4 Medium
2 raters per dialogue
The raters were given a tutorial on the coding scheme and detailed instructions
Dimensions
Cohen's kappa
D1. Information Provision (B)
0.871
D1. Information Provision (F)
0.843
D2 –Hints Provision
D3-Feedback on correctness
0.826
D4-Information related to feedback
0.764

13. So you coded it. Now what?
Provide appropriate, adaptive dialogic support: What is appropriate for whom?
guidelines for feedback provision
Use dialogue-support mechanisms to inform teachers:
Concepts-coverage and content-contribution
Provide hints vs. provide information
Give away answer vs. set challenge

14. Chip & Dale: a use case example
High Performer!
Loves to study!
Good background knowledge in Physics
Dale
Not so high performer…
Loves to ride his bike out in the sun!
Not good background knowledge in Physics
Teacher: During the arrow`s flight, how does its horizontal velocity change (increases, decreases, remains the same, etc.)? Remember that you can ignore air resistance."
Student: decreases

15. Chip & Dale: a use case example
High Performer!
Loves to study!
Good background knowledge in Physics
Dale
Not so high performer…
Loves to ride his bike out in the sun!
Not good background knowledge in Physics
High Performers: Is there something that could cause velocity to change? What can this be?
Teacher’s Support:
- do not give away the answer, give some time to the student to construct the correct answer
- do not provide concrete information
- provide hints
Low Performers : No, this is not right. If there is nothing to cause velocity to change (for example, some force), then the velocity will remain the same. Please list all forces that are applied on the arrow while it is in flight.
Teacher’s Support:
- provide explicit information regarding background knowledge
- provide explicit instruction on next steps
-use simple language
Teacher: During the arrow`s flight, how does its horizontal velocity change (increases, decreases, remains the same, etc.)? Remember that you can ignore air resistance."
Student: decreases

16. Future work Let the experts tell! Great time for a study 
author dialogic support for various student types
Provide alternatives to existing tutorial dialogues
Ask for teachers’ input: what do you prefer?
what would you say? why?

17. If you want to know more, get in touch!
The end.
If you want to know more, get in touch!
(plus cat pictures!)