Glossary

Author
The person creating the tutor.

Behavior Recorder
The CTAT tool that enables recording of a problem-solving demonstration. The Behavior Recorder creates and maintains the behavior graph, and allows you to edit it.

Cognitive Tutor
A computer tutor that works by following the student in a process called model tracing. In model tracing, the tutoring system maintains a model of problem solving that is traced (compared) against the student's actions. This cognitive model is commonly applicable to various problems in the same domain. The author creates a cognitive model by writing production rules that characterize the variety of strategies and misconceptions students may acquire. (Cognitive Tutors are sometimes are also called "Production Rule Tutors", a reference to the production rules you create.) Feedback during problem solving is given based on current state of the model (also called working memory) and the rules that represent student cognition and action.

Component
An interactive component of the student interface of a tutor. A student commonly manipulates a component during problem solving. CTATComboBox, CTATNumberLine, and CTATSubmitButton are examples of HTML CTAT components.

Example-tracing Tutor
A computer tutor that works by comparing student actions with the steps encoded in a behavior graph (BRD file). The author creates this graph by demonstrating problem-solving steps with the student interface. Each problem requires a separate behavior graph; however, you can generate multiple isomorphic (or similar) problems more easily using CTAT's mass production feature. Feedback during problem solving is given based on the student's current state in the graph and the possible next actions (or links) represented in the graph.

SAI
Shorthand for Selection-Action-Input, an SAI encapsulates a problem-solving step in a CTAT tutor. The Selection-Action-Input triple is a way of representing a student action in three dimensions: Selection refers to the instance name of an interactive component in the interface; Action refers to the action that the student took upon the component; and Input is the value that the student entered.

Start State
The initial state of a problem, entered into the behavior graph before any problem-solving behavior has been demonstrated. Generally, you should enter into the student interface information required for the student to solve the problem before creating (storing) the start state.

Student interface
A graphical user interface (GUI) of a tutor with which a student interacts. When opened with CTAT, it can be used to author problem-solving steps by demonstration. The student interface is built by using an interface builder such as the CTAT HTML Editor (for HTML interfaces).