Leena Razzaq

Graduate Student

Computer Science Department

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

I am involved in the Assistment Project. This project is US Department of Education funded research to build computer based assisting into an assessment system. This project is called "Assistments" because it blends "assisting" with "assessment." I work primarily on content creation and looking at new ways of helping students to learn math.

I was a graduate fellow for two years in Partnerships Implementing Engineering Education (PIEE). Together with teachers in the Worcester Public Schools, WPI graduate fellows and undergraduate students created and helped deliver lesson plans incorporating engineering into the K-6 curriculum. A collection of engineering lessons, organized by grade level and by Massachusetts Engineering/Technology framework learning standards for each lesson can be found at http://www.wpi.edu/Academics/PIEE/Resources/Lessons Funding for this three-year project was provided by the National Science Foundation.

For my master's thesis I created an Intelligent Tutoring System that incorporates dialog between the student and the ITS to tutor middle school children in solving equations. For more information on my thesis click here.

Publications:

• Razzaq, L., Mendicino, M. & Heffernan, N. (2008) Comparing classroom problem-solving with no feedback to web-based homework assistance. In Woolf, Aimeur, Nkambou and Lajoie (Eds.) Proceeding of the 9th International Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems. pp. 426 - 437. Springer-Verlag: Berlin.
• Mendicino, M., Razzaq, L. & Heffernan, N. T. (In press) Comparison of Traditional Homework with Computer Supported Homework. Improving Learning from Homework Using Intelligent Tutoring Systems. Journal of Research on Technology in Education (JRTE). Published by the International Society For Technology in Education (ISTE).
• Heffernan, N. T., Koedinger, K. R. & Razzaq, L. (2008) Expanding the model-tracing architecture: A 3rd generation intelligent tutor for Algebra symbolization. The International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education. 18(2). pp. 153-178. IOS Press.
• Razzaq, L., Heffernan, N.T., Towards Designing a User-Adaptive Web-Based E-Learning System, In Mary Czerwinski, Arnold M. Lund, Desney S. Tan (Eds.): Extended Abstracts Proceedings of the 2008 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2008, (pp. 3525-3530). Florence, Italy: ACM 2008.
• Razzaq, L., Heffernan, N., Feng, M., Pardos Z. (2007). Developing Fine-Grained Transfer Models in the ASSISTment System. Journal of Technology, Instruction, Cognition, and Learning, Vol. 5. Number 3. Old City Publishing, Philadelphia, PA. 2007. pp. 289-304.
• Razzaq, L., Heffernan, N. T., Lindeman, R. W. (2007) What level of tutor interaction is best? In Luckin & Koedinger (Eds) Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education. IOS Press. pp. 222-229. pdf
• Razzaq, L., Heffernan, N.T. (2006). Scaffolding vs. hints in the Assistment System. In Ikeda, Ashley & Chan (Eds.). Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems. Springer-Verlag: Berlin. pp. 635-644. 2006. pdf


• K. Bush, J. Gray, M. Holmes, K. Kosinski, J. Orr, L. Razzaq, J. Rulfs, How do you Teach Engineering in Kindergarten and First Grade? Proceedings of the 113th American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference, Chicago, IL, June 18-21, 2006. pdf


• Razzaq, Heffernan, Koedinger, Feng, Nuzzo-Jones, Junker, Macasek, Rasmussen, Turner & Walonoski (2007). Blending Assessment and Instructional Assistance. In Nadia Nedjah, Luiza deMacedo Mourelle, Mario Neto Borges and Nival Nunesde Almeida (Eds). Intelligent Educational Machines within the Intelligent Systems Engineering Book Series. 23-49 Springer Berlin / Heidelberg.


• Razzaq, L., Feng, M., Nuzzo-Jones, G., Heffernan, N.T., Koedinger, K. R., Junker, B., Ritter, S., Knight, A., Aniszczyk, C., Choksey, S., Livak, T., Mercado, E., Turner, T.E., Upalekar. R, Walonoski, J.A., Macasek. M.A., Rasmussen, K.P. (2005). The Assistment Project: Blending Assessment and Assisting. In C.K. Looi, G. McCalla, B. Bredeweg, & J. Breuker (Eds.) Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education, pp. 555-562. Amsterdam: ISO Press. pdf
• Razzaq, L. & Heffernan, N. T (2004) Tutorial dialog in an equation solving intelligent tutoring system. In J.C. Lester, R.M. Vicari, & F. Parguacu (Eds.) Proceedings of 7th Annual Intelligent Tutoring Systems Conference, Maceio, Brazil. Pages 851-853. Best Poster Award pdf