Gordon Anderson

I am a graduate student in Computer Science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. 		my picture

My interests include: educational applications, biological computation models, psychological and philosophical aspects of artificial intelligence, painting, sculpture, skiing, tennis, and yoga.

I have worked for the Center for Educational Software Development (CESD) since 2002.

Projects:

1.) Adaptive Educational Software I am currently working with professor Robert Moll on developing a model for online hyperlinked instructional materials. The main idea is to embed evaluative material in instructional content to create a more interactive learning experience. The amount and nature of these embedded components can be varied according to an individual's learning style and ability.
We are using machine learning techniques to learn probabilistic and causal models from previous usage patterns. These models will inform our system about the optimal pedagogical decisions to make, as well as provide feedback to the student user.

There are currently two implementations:
Computer Science: iJava, a hyperlinked textbook for beginning Java programming. The book features embedded questions that evaluate Java coding submissions. We plan on introducing an adaptive sofware intermediary that utilizes the evaluative component of the book to modify the user's view of the available material by "recompiling" the structure of the book dynamically.
Physical Chemistry: Physical Chemistry: Applications in the Life Sciences, A demonstration version of the first six chapters.
 
2.) Computer Adaptive Testing in OWL: Online Web-Based Learning System. I am currently working on a project in collaboration with the Center for Educational Assessment to introduce adaptive test assessment administration and authoring into the OWL system for the Adult Basic Education Program in the state of Massachusetts. The test results will be used to guage effectiveness of the ABE programs. Proficiency levels computed for examinees are based on their performance and an IRT model of the questions. Test form routing is adapted to each examinee.
 
3.) Standardized Test-Prep Tutor 4mality: an MCAS Math Assessment and Intelligent Tutoring System for grades 1-4. I am working with the UMass School of Education and expert teachers to develop a web-based system to help meet the demands of school districts that are experiencing difficulty with MCAS skill acquisition and test performance.
 
4.)The Standards Connector. A web-based application that links web sites containing high-quality educational content to a browsable representation of the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. The site is designed to provide teachers of grades preK-12 with a convenient way of incorporating on-line content into their lesson plans. Currently, the site has several thousand resources linked to the curriculum frameworks.
 
5.) Relapse Behavior Modeling: Computational Benefits for Machine Learning and Addiction Simulation. I am taking a look at why animals (and people) exhibit relapse behavior, making a computational model, implementing the model in a simulation of classical conditioning protocols. I define a general framework for how affect may be useful in building a model of very large state spaces that would allow a learner to interpret a state in terms of its implications for the learner's fitness. (with Hava Siegelman at the Laboratory of Biocomputation here at UMass).

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