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Attending to individual students: how student modelling can be used in designing personalised blended learning objects

This paper reports on research carried out at the University of Hertfordshire over the past ten years relating to how the experience of learning can be personalised for individual learners. This work relates primarily to Computer-Based Learning (CBL), but is not restricted to it, as it encompasses a blended approach, linking on-and off-computer teaching and learning activities. The research reported in this paper relates to the development of psychological and domain-based student models and how they can be used together in a composite student model to assist in the selection and use of Blended Learning objects. It is argued that the needs of individual learners may be attended to in this way. Techniques in user modelling, theories of instructional design and sophisticated methods of evaluation are discussed as being central to this approach. Introduction Today in Higher Education, increasing reliance is being placed upon the use of online learning (Dearing, 1997; DfES, 2005). Often such systems are used to manage learning, present information and test learners in an entirely undifferentiated way, all users having exactly the same view of the system. With the development of increasingly large and complex computer applications and greater diversity in learner groups, consideration of individual differences has become an important issue in designing usable and useful applications. Despite this increasing use, the impact of Information Technology on educational practice is generally less than has been predicted, even after more than fifteen years of investment in research, infrastructure, support and training. In some cases, online learning systems and applications simply reproduce existing paper-based material in textual or simple multimedia format and ignore the need for intrinsic motivation (Crook, 1997). It is often assumed that using computers for learning is motivational per se. Interaction between the learner and the learning system in many systems is often about simple navigation between screens and is not directed specifically to learning. There is a need to distinguish between real interaction and simple button pressing. Pedagogy is often overshadowed by system design considerations in the development of online and multimedia learning applications. For interaction to be beneficial to learning, it must involve thinking and engagement. Another important issue in the design of online and multimedia learning materials is that of making them useful and usable to a wide range of learners. As class sizes grow, this is becoming an increasing problem in traditional face-to-face teaching. A good teacher is able to …