Collaborative Intelligent Tutoring System for Fractions

The Collaborative Intelligent Tutoring System for Fractions is an ITS designed to support elementary school students (4th and 5th grade) learning fractions through either individual or collaborative work. The system covers seven fractions units: naming, making, equivalent, least common denominator, comparing, adding, and subtracting fractions. Each unit contains eight problems using graphical representations (circles, rectangles, and number lines). The intervention offers two versions: a conceptually-oriented tutor that guides students to identify patterns and generalize fraction concepts, and a procedurally-oriented tutor that walks students through step-by-step problem-solving procedures. The collaborative version uses embedded collaborative scripts with distributed responsibility, where students sit at separate computers with shared but differentiated problem views and communicate through speech. Students work synchronously with networked collaboration. The system provides cognitive support through step-by-step guidance, immediate feedback, and on-demand hints. The study ran across five 45-minute class periods, with students working in pairs (for collaborative conditions) or individually throughout all sessions.