TERMIUM Plus^®

Record 1,  Textual support,  English

Record number: 1, Textual support number: 1 CONT

The foundation for the experimentation process is a database of assertions which O'Shea calls a "theory of instruction" for the domain. Each assertion in the database indicates the expected results of a specific experimental modification performed on the production rules. Results are expressed in terms of possible or definite effects on teaching performance with respect to one goal. For instance, an assertion could say that spending more resources on selecting appropriate problems might improve the performance of students on the post-test. Thus these assertions represent a corpus of possibly useful experiments. After choosing one of the four goals, the system selects all the assertions that propose modifications leading to a possible improvement with respect to that goal; then it executes the changes these assertions suggest. Statistical tests evaluate the variations in performance caused by the modifications, with respect to each of the four goals. The overall improvement of the system is then computed as a linear function of the goals' respective variations. If a significant improvement is achieved, the modifications are adopted. In addition, as a form of learning involving some serendipity, new assertions are added to the original database to record the effects of the experiment on the different goals. In this way, not only does the system improve, but its ability to set up experiments is also extended. Obviously, it must have had a minimal number of assertions to start with. Figure 6.6. gives an overview of the flow of information through the self-improving component.  1, record 1, English, - theory%20of%20instruction

Record 1,  Textual support,  French

Record number: 1, Textual support number: 1 OBS

Terme spécifique utilisé par O'Shea pour désigner la base de données assertionnelles de son système.  1, record 1, French, - th%C3%A9orie%20didactique

Record 1,  Textual support,  Spanish