Jon I. Young

A differential diagnostic skills assessment and tutorial tool

Abstract This paper reviews the progress made towards the development of an Intelligent Computer Assisted Instructional tool designed to function in a medical education setting. The tool, called KBIT (Knowledge Base Inference Tool) is an expert system-based instrument principally consisting of an assessment and a tutorial module. kbits sole purpose is to support the development and refinement of the differential diagnostic (DDX) knowledge and skills of medical students. The objective of the assessment module is to provide psychometrically reliable and valid measures of several DDS skills. The objective of the tutorial module is to create a learning environment wherein students make refinements in knowledge base (KB) constructs which result in progress towards the next level of DDX skills. kbits proposed educational approach is comprised of an iterative two-step process consisting of the assessment of several DDX skill performance parameters, followed by individualized formative instruction.

Information Seeking in a Virtual Learning Environment

Duplicating a time series study done by Kuhlthau and associates in 1989, this study examines the applicability of the Information Search Process (ISP) Model in the context of a virtual learning environment. This study confirms that students given an information seeking task in a virtual learning environment do exhibit the stages indicated by the ISP Model. The six-phase ISP Model is shown to be valid for describing the different stages of cognitive, affective, and physical tasks individuals progress through when facing a situation where they must search for information to complete an academic task in a virtual learning environment. The findings in this study further indicate there is no relationship between the amount of computer experience subjects possess and demonstrating the patterns of thoughts, feelings, and actions described by the ISP Model. The study demonstrates the ISP Model to be independent of the original physical library environments where the model was developed. An attempt is made to represent the ISP model in a slightly different manner that provides more of the sense of motion and interaction among the components of thoughts, feelings, and action than is currently provided for in the model. The study suggests that the development of non-self-reporting data collection techniques would be useful in complementing and furthering research to enhance and refine the representation of the ISP Model. Additionally, expanding the research to include the examination of group interaction is called for to enhance the ISP Model and develop further applications that could potentially aid educational delivery in all types of learning environments.