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