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Observational tutoring has been found to be an effective method for teaching a variety of subjects by reusing dialogue from previous successful tutoring sessions. While it has been shown content can be learned through observational tutoring it has yet to been examined if a secondary behavior such as goal-setting can

Observational tutoring has been found to be an effective method for teaching a variety of subjects by reusing dialogue from previous successful tutoring sessions. While it has been shown content can be learned through observational tutoring it has yet to been examined if a secondary behavior such as goal-setting can be influenced. The present study investigated if observing virtual humans engaging in a tutoring session on rotational kinematics with embedded positive goal oriented dialogue would increase knowledge of the material and perpetuate a shift an observer's goal-orientation from performance avoidance goal orientation (PAVGO) to learning goal orientation (LGO). Learning gains were observed in pre to post test knowledge retention tests. Significant changes from pretest to posttest occurred across conditions for LGO. Additionally, significant changes from PAVGO pretest to posttest were observed in the control condition however PAVGO did not significantly change in the experimental condition.
ContributorsTwyford, Jessica (Author) / Craig, Scotty D. (Thesis advisor) / Niemczyk, Mary (Committee member) / Kuzel, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
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Description
Assemblers and compilers provide feedback to a programmer in the form of error messages. These error messages become input to the debugging model of the programmer. For the programmer to fix an error, they should first locate the error in the program, understand what is causing that error, and finally

Assemblers and compilers provide feedback to a programmer in the form of error messages. These error messages become input to the debugging model of the programmer. For the programmer to fix an error, they should first locate the error in the program, understand what is causing that error, and finally resolve that error. Error messages play an important role in all three stages of fixing of errors. This thesis studies the effects of error messages in the context of teaching programming. Given an error message, this work investigates how it effects student’s way of 1) understanding the error, and 2) fixing the error. As part of the study, three error message types were developed – Default, Link and Example, to better understand the effects of error messages. The Default type provides an assembler-centric single line error message, the Link type provides a program-centric detailed error description with a hyperlink for more information, and the Example type provides a program centric detailed error description with a relevant example. All these error message types were developed for assembly language programming. A think aloud programming exercise was conducted as part of the study to capture the student programmer’s knowledge model. Different codes were developed to analyze the data collected as part of think aloud exercise. After transcribing, coding, and analyzing the data, it was found that the Link type of error message helped to fix the error in less time and with fewer steps. Among the three types, the Link type of error message also resulted in a significantly higher ratio of correct to incorrect steps taken by the programmer to fix the error.
ContributorsBeejady Murthy Kadekar, Harsha Kadekar (Author) / Sohoni, Sohum (Thesis advisor) / Craig, Scotty D. (Committee member) / Jordan, Shawn S (Committee member) / Gary, Kevin A (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
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Description
Safe headway learning plays a core role in driving education. Traditional safe headway education just use the oral and literal methods to educate drivers the concept of safe headway time, while with the limitation of combining drivers subject and situational domains for drivers to learn. This study investigated that whether

Safe headway learning plays a core role in driving education. Traditional safe headway education just use the oral and literal methods to educate drivers the concept of safe headway time, while with the limitation of combining drivers subject and situational domains for drivers to learn. This study investigated that whether using ego-moving metaphor to embody driver's self-awareness can help to solve this problem. This study used multiple treatments (ego-moving and time-moving instruction of safe time headway) and controls with pretest experimental design to investigate the embody self-awareness effect in a car-following task. Drivers (N=40) were asked to follow a lead car at a 2-seconds safe time headway. Results found that using embodied-based instructions in safe headway learning can help to improve driver's headway time accuracy and performance stability in the car-following task, which supports the hypothesis that using embodied-based instructions help to facilitate safe headway learning. However, there are still some issues needed to be solved using embodied-based instructions for the drivers' safe headway education. This study serves as a new method for the safe headway education while providing empirical evidence for the embodied theories and their applications.
ContributorsLu, Longteng (Author) / Craig, Scotty D. (Thesis advisor) / Gray, Robort (Committee member) / Song, Hyunjin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
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Description
This study investigated the ability to relate a test taker’s non-verbal cues during online assessments to probable cheating incidents. Specifically, this study focused on the role of time delay, head pose and affective state for detection of cheating incidences in a lab-based online testing session. The analysis of a test

This study investigated the ability to relate a test taker’s non-verbal cues during online assessments to probable cheating incidents. Specifically, this study focused on the role of time delay, head pose and affective state for detection of cheating incidences in a lab-based online testing session. The analysis of a test taker’s non-verbal cues indicated that time delay, the variation of a student’s head pose relative to the computer screen and confusion had significantly statistical relation to cheating behaviors. Additionally, time delay, head pose relative to the computer screen, confusion, and the interaction term of confusion and time delay were predictors in a support vector machine of cheating prediction with an average accuracy of 70.7%. The current algorithm could automatically flag suspicious student behavior for proctors in large scale online courses during remotely administered exams.
ContributorsChuang, Chia-Yuan (Author) / Femiani, John C. (Thesis advisor) / Craig, Scotty D. (Thesis advisor) / Bekki, Jennifer (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
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Description
Cancer is a worldwide burden in every aspect: physically, emotionally, and financially. A need for innovation in cancer research has led to a vast interdisciplinary effort to search for the next breakthrough. Mathematical modeling allows for a unique look into the underlying cellular dynamics and allows for testing treatment strategies

Cancer is a worldwide burden in every aspect: physically, emotionally, and financially. A need for innovation in cancer research has led to a vast interdisciplinary effort to search for the next breakthrough. Mathematical modeling allows for a unique look into the underlying cellular dynamics and allows for testing treatment strategies without the need for clinical trials. This dissertation explores several iterations of a dendritic cell (DC) therapy model and correspondingly investigates what each iteration teaches about response to treatment.

In Chapter 2, motivated by the work of de Pillis et al. (2013), a mathematical model employing six ordinary differential (ODEs) and delay differential equations (DDEs) is formulated to understand the effectiveness of DC vaccines, accounting for cell trafficking with a blood and tumor compartment. A preliminary analysis is performed, with numerical simulations used to show the existence of oscillatory behavior. The model is then reduced to a system of four ODEs. Both models are validated using experimental data from melanoma-induced mice. Conditions under which the model admits rich dynamics observed in a clinical setting, such as periodic solutions and bistability, are established. Mathematical analysis proves the existence of a backward bifurcation and establishes thresholds for R0 that ensure tumor elimination or existence. A sensitivity analysis determines which parameters most significantly impact the reproduction number R0. Identifiability analysis reveals parameters of interest for estimation. Results are framed in terms of treatment implications, including effective combination and monotherapy strategies.

In Chapter 3, a study of whether the observed complexity can be represented with a simplified model is conducted. The DC model of Chapter 2 is reduced to a non-dimensional system of two DDEs. Mathematical and numerical analysis explore the impact of immune response time on the stability and eradication of the tumor, including an analytical proof of conditions necessary for the existence of a Hopf bifurcation. In a limiting case, conditions for global stability of the tumor-free equilibrium are outlined.

Lastly, Chapter 4 discusses future directions to explore. There still remain open questions to investigate and much work to be done, particularly involving uncertainty analysis. An outline of these steps is provided for future undertakings.
ContributorsDickman, Lauren (Author) / Kuang, Yang (Thesis advisor) / Baer, Steven M. (Committee member) / Gardner, Carl (Committee member) / Gumel, Abba B. (Committee member) / Kostelich, Eric J. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020