Report Number: CS-TR-81-894
Institution: Stanford University, Department of Computer Science
Title: Methodology for building an intelligent tutoring system
Author: Clancey, William J.
Date: October 1981
Abstract: Over the past 6 years we have been developing a computer
program to teach medical diagnosis. Our research synthesizes
and extends results in artlficlal intelligence (Al),
medicine, and cognitive psychology. This paper describes the
progression of the research, and explalns how theories from
these fields are combined in a computational model. The
general problem has been to develop an "intelligent tutoring
system" by adapting the MYCIN "expert system." Thls
conversion requires a deeper understanding of the nature of
expertise and explanatlon than origlnally requlred for
developlng MYCIN, and a concomitant shift in perspective from
slmple performance goals to attaining psychologlcal validity
in the program's reasoning process.
Others have written extensively about the relatlon of
artificlal intelligence to cognltive sclence (e.g.,
[Pylyshyn, 1978] [Boden, 1977]). Our purpose here is not to
repeat those arguments, but to present a case study which
will provide a common point for further dlscusslon. To this
end, to help evaluate the state of cognitive science, we will
outline our methodology and survey what resources and
viewpoints have helped our research. We will also discuss
pitfalls that other Al-oriented cognitive scientists may
encounter. Finally, we will present some questions coming out
of our work whlch might suggest possible collaboration with
other fields of research.
http://i.stanford.edu/pub/cstr/reports/cs/tr/81/894/CS-TR-81-894.pdf