Current Post-Docs

Dr. Toby Dragon, Ph.D. to be completed in 2012 at U. Mass; Hired in January 2011 to work on the Metafora project at Saarland University, Germany

Representative Papers

Dragon, T., McLaren, B.M., Mavrikis, M., & Geraniou, E. (2011).  Scaffolding collaborative learning opportunities:  Integrating microworld use and argumentation.  In: A. Paramythis, L. Lau, S. Demetriadis, M. Tzagarakis, & S. Kleanthous (Eds.) Proceedings of the International Workshop on Adaptive Support for Team Collaboration (ASTC-2011), held in conjunction with the International Conference on User Modeling, Adaptation, and Personalization (UMAP2011), (pp. 27-35). CEUR Workshop Proceedings, ISSN 1613-0073, online CEUR-WS.org/Vol-743/ASTC2011_Paper4.pdf   [ pdf ]

Dragon, T., Gutierrez-Santos, S., Mavrikis, M. & McLaren, B.M. (2011).  Analysing and Supporting Students’ Interactions in Synthesized Learning Environments: A Case Study with a Microworld and a Discussion Tool.  In: Proceedings of the Seminar on Technology-Enhanced Learning for Mathematics and Science (TELMAS): Landmark Research and New Contributions. Conducted as part of EC-TEL 2011, Palermo, Italy, September 21, 2011.

Current Ph.D. and Masters Student Advisees

Oliver Scheuer, Ph.D. expected in 2013 at Saarland University, Germany

Representative Papers

Scheuer, O., McLaren, B.M., Harrell, M., & Weinberger, A. (2011).  Scripting collaboration: What affect does it have on student argumentation? In: Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE-2011). Chang Mai, Thailand, Nov. 28 - Dec. 2, 2011.   [ pdf ]

Scheuer, O., Loll, F., Pinkwart, N. & McLaren, B.M. (2010). Computer-supported argumentation: A review of the state of the art. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning. 5(1), 43-102.  [ pdf ]  [ Online Citation ]

Scheuer, O., McLaren, B.M., Loll, F.,  & N. Pinkwart (to appear 2010).  “Automated Analysis and Feedback Techniques to Support and Teach Argumentation: A Survey.”  To appear in N. Pinkwart & B.M. McLaren (Eds.) Educational Technologies for Teaching Argumentation Skills, Bentham Science Publishers.

Scheuer, O.  & McLaren, B.M. (2008). Helping teachers handle the flood of data in online student discussions.  In B. Woolf, E. Aimeur, R. Nkambou, S. Lajoie (Eds.), Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS-08), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 5091 (pp. 323-332). Berlin: Springer.  [ pdf ]

Past Post-Docs

Dr. Seiji Isotani, Ph.D. 2009 the Department of Knowledge Systems, Osaka University, Japan
October 2009 - March 2011: AdaptErrEx project at Carnegie Mellon University

Representative Papers

Isotani, S., Adams, D., Mayer, R.E., Durkin, K., Rittle-Johnson, B., & McLaren, B.M. (2011).  Can erroneous examples help middle-school students learn decimals?  In:  Proceedings of the Sixth European Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning:  Towards Ubiquitous Learning (EC-TEL-2011).   [ pdf ]

Isotani, S., McLaren, B.M.,& Altman, M. (2010). Towards intelligent tutoring with erroneous examples: A taxonomy of decimal misconceptions.  In V. Aleven, J. Kay, J. Mostow (Eds.), Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS-10), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 6094 (pp. 346-348). Berlin: Springer.   [ pdf ]

Past Ph.D. and Masters Student Advisees

Dimitra Tsovaltzi, Ph.D. completed in March 2010 at Saarland University, Germany
Thesis titled:"MENON: Automating a Socratic Teaching Strategy for Mathematical Proofs"
(McLaren was a Committee Member)

Representative Papers

Tsovaltzi, D., Rummel, N., McLaren, B.M., Pinkwart, N., Scheuer, O., Harrer, A. & Braun, I. (2010). Extending a virtual chemistry laboratory with a collaboration script to promote conceptual learning. International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning, Vol. 2, Nos. 1/2, 91–110. [ pdf ]  [ Online Citation ]

Tsovaltzi, D., Melis, E., McLaren, B.M., Dietrich, M., Goguadze, G.,  & Meyer, A-K. (2009).  Erroneous examples: A preliminary investigation into learning benefits.  In U. Cress, V. Dimitrova, & M. Specht (Eds.), Proceedings of the Fourth European Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning, Learning in the Synergy of Multiple Disciplines (EC-TEL 2009), LNCS 5794, September/October 2009, Nice, France. (pp. 688-693). Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. [ pdf ]

Hina Manzur, M.S. completed in March 2011 at Saarland University, Germany
Thesis titled: "Learning Argumentation in 3D Narratives"

Alexander Borek, M.S. completed in July 2009 at Karlsruhe University, Germany
Thesis titled: "How Much Assistance is Helpful to Students in Discovery Learning?"

Published Paper Based on Alexander's Masters Thesis:

Borek, A., McLaren, B.M., Karabinos, M.,  & Yaron, D. (2009). How much assistance is helpful to students in discovery learning?  In U. Cress, V. Dimitrova, & M. Specht (Eds.), Proceedings of the Fourth European Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning, Learning in the Synergy of Multiple Disciplines (EC-TEL 2009), LNCS 5794, September/October 2009, Nice, France. (pp. 391-404). Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. [ pdf ]

Jan Mikšátko, M.S. completed in December 2007 at Charles University, Czech Republic
Thesis titled: "Using Machine Learning Techniques to Analyze and Recognize Complex Patterns of Student E-Discussions"

Published Paper Based on Jan's Masters Thesis:

Mikšátko, J.  & McLaren, B.M. (2008). What’s in a cluster? Automatically detecting interesting interactions in student e-Discussions.  In B. Woolf, E. Aimeur, R. Nkambou, S. Lajoie (Eds.), Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS-08), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 5091 (pp. 333-342). Berlin: Springer. [ pdf ]

Bruce M. McLaren: bmclaren@cs.cmu.edu