Computerized educational software holds promise as a supplemental means of providing individualized instruction. The Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) study established the technical basis for proceeding with the Phase II research by demonstrating that it is possible to develop a working game that entails the combination of a well-designed intelligent tutoring system rooted in cognitive psychology with a game format. The objectives of the Phase II research focus on (1) filling in and experimentally testing the Phase I Intelligent Tutoring Game (ITG) framework in order to provide feedback as to the soundness of the teaching concepts upon which the framework of the project is based; and (2) developing and experimentally testing a full-scale ITG for middle school probability and statistics/scientific reasoning in order to assess the soundness of implementing the instructional approach of the project in an ITG format. The project aims to provide the students using the software with the benefits of individualized instruction in a game environment that maintains student interest and enthusiasm. While there exist games that are poor tutors and tutors that are poor games, i.e., they are no fun, the proposed project would fill this gap by developing a research-based framework to develop tutors that excel both from instructional and enjoyment perspectives.
