A New Era: Intelligent Tutoring Systems Will Transform Online Learning for Millions

• Main Authors: St-Hilaire, Francois, Vu, Dung Do, Frau, Antoine, Burns, Nathan, Faraji, Farid, Potochny, Joseph, Robert, Stephane, Roussel, Arnaud, Zheng, Selene, Glazier, Taylor, Romano, Junfel Vincent, Belfer, Robert, Shayan, Muhammad, Smofsky, Ariella, Delarosbil, Tommy, Ahn, Seulmin, Eden-Walker, Simon, Sony, Kritika, Ching, Ansona Onyi, Elkins, Sabina, Stepanyan, Anush, Matajova, Adela, Chen, Victor, Sahraei, Hossein, Larson, Robert, Markova, Nadia, Barkett, Andrew, Charlin, Laurent, Bengio, Yoshua, Serban, Iulian Vlad, Kochmar, Ekaterina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 03-03-2022
• Subjects: Computer Science - Artificial Intelligence; Computer Science - Computers and Society; Computer Science - Human-Computer Interaction; Computer Science - Learning
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2203.03724

Despite artificial intelligence (AI) having transformed major aspects of our
society, less than a fraction of its potential has been explored, let alone
deployed, for education. AI-powered learning can provide millions of learners
with a highly personalized, active and practical learning experience, which is
key to successful learning. This is especially relevant in the context of
online learning platforms. In this paper, we present the results of a
comparative head-to-head study on learning outcomes for two popular online
learning platforms (n=199 participants): A MOOC platform following a
traditional model delivering content using lecture videos and multiple-choice
quizzes, and the Korbit learning platform providing a highly personalized,
active and practical learning experience. We observe a huge and statistically
significant increase in the learning outcomes, with students on the Korbit
platform providing full feedback resulting in higher course completion rates
and achieving learning gains 2 to 2.5 times higher than both students on the
MOOC platform and students in a control group who don't receive personalized
feedback on the Korbit platform. The results demonstrate the tremendous impact
that can be achieved with a personalized, active learning AI-powered system.
Making this technology and learning experience available to millions of
learners around the world will represent a significant leap forward towards the
democratization of education.