A Computational Tool for Lifelong Learning Through Experiencing Breakdowns and Understanding the Situations

Regarding a breakdown as an opportunity for learning, systems for lifelong learning need to support a learner in: (1) experiencing a breakdown, and (2) asking for information relevant to the breakdown situation. Knowledge-based critiquing systems have been studied to support the processes. Such a system monitors human performance within its computational environment, identifies a potentially problematic situation, alerts the user for the situation to make the user aware of the potential problem, and provides explanation for the criticism and information relevant to the problem. Although found effective, critiquing systems depend on knowledge-bases that need to be built by knowledge engineers prior to the use of the system. This makes them impossible to afford synchronous collaborative learning among practitioners. To complement this aspect, this paper presents the EVIDII system, which visualizes differences among associations made by individual group members between two sets, for instance, pictorial images and words. By interacting with EVIDII, a user is encouraged to experience a breakdown by encountering an unexpected association made by other group members, and to ask for more information about the association from the other members. This embraces further communication and knowledge construction among group members. A few scenarios are provided to illustrate how learning takes place in using EVIDII.