PROMATH project

Author: Odile Bénassy

Promath is a versatile math training tutorial that produces quizzes according to student's needs.
 


  1. Introduction : general purpose and operating ways
    1. Why a new tutoring system ?
    2. What teaching situations is it intended for ?
    3. Within which educational scope ?
  2. System description : components and functionalities
    1. System components
      1. Server side
      2. Client side
    2. System at work
      1. Training (user=student)
      2. Consulting and editing (user=teacher)
  3. Promath project and what you can do
    1. Promath project is for you
      1. Software developer
      2. Math teacher
      3. Computing researcher
    2. Todo list
      1. Todo now
      2. Todo later

  1. Introduction : general purpose and operating ways
    1. Why a new tutoring system ?
    2. When you give training work to your students, normally they should all search by themselves and most of them should find answers to your questions.
      But in the real world it is often different: one or two are really searching while the majority is waiting for the answer being given by the teacher.
      The purpose of Promath is to encourage real searching and discourage escaping behaviors. I know math searching is rather hard, so I hop not to appear as a student torturer. Please see me rather like a sporting trainer. Math searching is a kind of mental sport. Whenever students make a real effort it will be good for the development of their intelligence, and whether this effort big or small will be of secondary importance, as far as they do one.
      This is why I had the idea of a quiz robot that would ask questions, one after the other, according to student's needs and reactions during the training session.
       

    3. What teaching situations is it intended for ?
    4. Intranet situation
      At school in a computerized classroom with network : one teacher + n students (or teams) with individual client computers.
      Normally the teacher should choose an assignment for the group in the database. Starting point is the same for everyone, but the assignment quickly evolves to focus on the students' needs. Thus, each student finally gets a customizedtraining session.
      A score is attributed for the session, depending on both right answers' count and questions' level of difficulty.
      Managing the assignment is facilitated for the teacher as s/he can check the progress of the students at a central station.
       

      Internet situation
      With a remote server and no teacher to help, there should be a lot more explanatory content. And trainee may choose quizzes by him/herself according to his/her needs and wishes.
       

    5. What is Promath educational scope ?
    6. Math learning efforts can be classified into:

      Math training is a mental activity that leads the student to math concepts mastership. It consists on rather simple concepts manipulation. Good math training results in a long term stamp in one's mind. After such a work you become able to quickly access concepts and their attributes. Training is a necessary stage before problem searching, because your mind has to be freed from concepts understanding effort to be able of the imagination effort necessary to find the solution for the problem.

      Promath tool should cover all math training needs from early grades to the undergraduate level.


     

  2. System description
    1. System components
      1. Server side
         
        1. Organizational database O.DB
          Stores data for involved persons (trainees and teachers), working sessions (when, who, what), log files and scores. +
        2. Pedagogical database P.DB
          Stores pedagogical content, i.e. quizzes and rules. +
      2. Client side
         
        1. Training interface T.I.
          Interface used by trainee while training. +
        2. Editing interface E.I.
          Interface used by teacher while preparing sessions. +
        3. Consulting interface C.I.
          Interface used by trainee and teacher, and others, who want to access scores. +

       
       

    2. System at work : relationships between components
      1. Training (user=student)

        SERVER:O.DB (group)
           |
        O.DB (student)P.DB
           |   |
           ------------------------
           |
        CLIENT:  K
           |
        T.I.
         
      2. Consulting and editing (user=teacher)

        SERVER:O.DB (group)O.DB (student)P.DBO.DB (assignments)
           |   |   |   |
           ----------------   ----------------
           |   |
        CLIENT:C.I.------------------E.I.

     

  3. Promath project and what you can do
    1. Promath project is for you
      1. Software developer:

        Promath system is still at early developement stage.
        Please contact me if you would like to take part.
         

      2. Math teacher:

        Your teaching experience is unvaluable to your students and you are quite proud of the results they get, partly thanks to you.
        Everyday, year after year, you create specific pedagogical content for your students. You would not be content if you would just use what you find in manuals. You enjoy creating new contents everyday, and you know that your own pedagogical thought is valauble and unique.
        Why not let others benefit on your special experience and works ?
        Create quizzes for Promath system !
         

      3. Computing researcher:

        After first development stages, a lot of people will be convinced by Promath possibilities.
        Yet people will wish Promath to fill their own desires and they will be a little frustrated because it is too simple and because pedagogical designing causes them a headache.
        If you think about it a little, you will find opportunities for exciting - and useful - theoretical problems, either in algorithmics or formal calculation, orneural networking.

       

    2. Todo list
      1. Todo now

        • Help modelling the whole thing and forgetting nothing important; criticizing
        • Correct my english and make proposals for the important vocabulary and notations, especially critical database terms.
        • Create quizzes to fill the pedagogical database
         
      2. Todo later

        • A formal calculus tool for comparing chains: it's too bad when you have to anticipate all the ways you can write x2+3x, or 0.5, etc...
        • Still a lot to do with quizzes trees, to enable teachers to control pedagogical path
        • A neural network who will know the students by their name and help planning the assessments  

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