Designing a Computational Model of Learning

Abstract

What would a game or simulation need to have in order to teach a teacher how people learn? This chapter uses a four-part framework of knowledge, learner, assessment and community (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000) to discuss design considerations for building a computational model of learning. A teaching simulation – simSchool - helps illustrate selected psychological, physical and cognitive models and how intelligence can be represented in software agents. The design discussion includes evolutionary perspectives on artificial intelligence and the role of the conceptual assessment framework (Mislevy, Steinberg, & Almond, 2003) for automating feedback to the simulation user. The purpose of the chapter is to integrate a number of theories into a design framework for a computational model of learning.