Evaluating an intelligent tutoring system for design patterns: The DEPTHS experience

Abstract

The evaluation of intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs) is an important though often neglected stage of ITS development. There are many evaluation methods available but literature does not provide clear guidelines for the selection of evaluation method(s) to be used in a particular context. This paper describes the evaluation study of DEPTHS, an intelligent tutoring system for learning software design patterns. The study which took place during the spring semester 2006 was aimed at assessing the system's effectiveness and the accuracy of the applied student model. It also targeted the evaluation of the students' subjective experiences with the system.