Mathematics tutor: matching instruction to student's learning styles

Abstract

Computer-aided instruction (CAI) has been around for some time and has been proven effective for learning as was reported in various research findings. However, these traditional CAI and multimedia software which are costly to produce have limitations, they cannot be tailored for individual learning since they lacked the ability to adapt to the student's different learning styles or different academic ability such as relating his incorrect answers to the correct ones. Furthermore, the practice or problems presented in CAI were usually limited to simple drill-and-practice questions after which the student is then given the next module depending on his score in the evaluation of the module. Therefore there is a need for 'intelligence' in these systems so that inferences about student's mastery of topics or tasks and traits such as learning styles can be made in order to dynamically adapt the content or style of instruction. Adaptation of instructional materials to students ability and learning style should facilitate learning.