How Gritty Are Wheel-Spinners in Intelligent Tutoring Systems? A Growth Mixture Modeling Approach

• In Event: Technology, STEM Learning, and Contexts

Abstract

Wheel-spinning in intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) is an undesirable phenomenon where students are unable to make adequate progress towards content mastery despite available supports. Using growth mixture modeling, we examined patterns of progress towards mastery of middle school students using a mathematical content ITS. Results identified a five-class solution with 64% of students classified as “wheel-spinners” failing to make adequate progress towards mastery within the first 12 problems and the other 36% split between three groups that achieve growth in mastery. Wheel-spinners were lower in grit, effort, and confidence and higher in frustration than the other groups. The implications of these findings for learning science can provide the basis for intervention recommendations in the ITS and in traditional classroom instruction.

Authors

• Janice Kooken, Grand Canyon University

• Ivon Arroyo, University of Massachusetts - Amherst