A professor from Washington State University in the U.S has developed a new model for conducting educational research.

Richard Lamb, a science education professor, calls the model "computational modeling." The model involves using a computer as an intervention to test and examine students by giving them certain tasks to complete.

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Lamb and his colleagues used artificial neural networks for the model called the Student Task and Cognition Model.

The computer learns from the behaviors and responses of the student and then thinks as the student would.

The research aims at understanding new ways to study students learning in the classroom.

Lamb said current traditional models take a lot of time to complete. The new process could revolutionize educational research.

"Traditionally, we'd be confined to a classroom to study student learning for virtually every potential theory we have about science education and curriculum implementation," Lamb said.

"But now, instead of taking a shotgun approach, we can test the initial interventions on a computer and see which ones make the most sense to the study in the classroom."

The computer continuously learns from students based on the responses it receives.

"The computer is able to see what constitutes success, but it's also able to see how students approach science," Lamb said.

David Vallett, one of Lamb's co-researchers from the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, expressed interest in the research.

"I've enjoyed this research in particular because it's opening new understandings of learning and new avenues of teaching and assessment as a result," said Vallett.

Researchers use educational-based video games to study student learning. Most current entertainment games, however, also carry the same characteristics as long as they ask particular tasks.

TagsWashington State University