Intelligent Tutoring in a Non-Traditional College Classroom Setting

Research Methods Tutor (RMT) is a web-based intelligent tutoring system designed for use in conjunction with introductory research methods courses. RMT has been shown to result in average learning gains of .75 SDs above classroom instruction in traditional college environments. However, a primary goal of the RMT project is to provide greater access to tutoring for students without access to traditional one-on-one human tutoring. Therefore, we further tested RMT’s effectiveness at a university that enrolls primarily non-traditional students. Although we again found evidence of RMT’s effectiveness, a few key outcome differences between traditional and non-traditional environments emerged, including perceptions of the pedagogical agent and access to the system.