What is CTAT?

The Cognitive Tutor Authoring Tools (CTAT), is a tool suite that enables you to add learning by doing (i.e., active learning) to online courses. CTAT supports the creation of flexible tutors for both simple and complex problem solving, capable of supporting multiple strategies that students may draw on when solving tutor problems. CTAT tutors track students as they work through problems and provide context-sensitive, just-in-time help.

CTAT tutors can be delivered via a Learning Management System (LMS), such as TutorShop and OLI (Open Learning Initiative) courses, but a number of other delivery options are available, including standard web delivery.

CTAT tutors are seamlessly integrated with PSLC DataShop. Tutors developed with CTAT write detailed logs of the student-tutor interactions, suited for teachers or researchers. This logging capability does not require any extra effort by tutor authors. The DataShop provides support for detailed analysis of students' learning trajectories, based on the log data. For those who prefer to do logging only, CTAT provides a JavaScript library with logging functions.

CTAT Tutor Interfaces

CTAT tutor interfaces can be created in HTML, using CTAT-enabled components. HTML interfaces can be created with our CTAT HTML Editor. The editor allows you to quickly build an interface by dragging and dropping CTAT components. Alternatively, you can create interfaces by hand by editing an HTML file to include CTAT-enabled components.

Important

Java and Flash tutor interfaces are still supported but may not be in the future. We highly recommend building tutor interfaces in HTML.

It is also possible to use CTAT to add tutoring to an existing simulator or problem-solving environment. Contact us for more information.

Tutor Types

CTAT supports the creation of two types of tutors: example-tracing tutors, which can be created quickly without programming but require problem-specific authoring, and cognitive tutors, which require AI programming to build a cognitive model of student problem solving that can be more flexible in recognizing students' solution variations. The two types of tutors are roughly behaviorally equivalent.

Note

If you are new to the process of creating a tutor, we recommend that you start with an example-tracing tutor.

Example-tracing Tutors

Example-tracing tutors, formerly called 'pseudo tutors' as a shorthand for pseudo-intelligent tutors, resemble cognitive tutors. Whereas model-tracing tutors use a generalized rule-based cognitive model to interpret student behavior, example-tracing tutors use generalized examples of problem-solving behavior. You 'teach' the tutor various behavior by recording problem solving-steps in the tutor interface; the recorded steps can then be generalized to accept a range of student behavior. Example-tracing tutors can be built quickly, and can serve as a tool for "rapid prototyping", or creating iterative prototypes over a short amount of time.

If, in the future, you decide to construct a full cognitive tutor, your example-tracing tutor can serve as a building block for that cognitive tutor.

Cognitive Tutors

Cognitive tutors are based on cognitive psychology theory, particularly the ACT-R theory. Developing a cognitive tutor involves creating a cognitive model of student problem solving 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 will create. Cognitive tutors are more flexible but they are also more difficult to build and debug, and require the author to learn the Jess rule language for specifying the logic of the model.

Next Topic >>