An Open Learner Model for Children and Teachers: Inspecting Knowledge Level of Individuals and Peers

This paper considers research on open learner models, which are usually aimed at adult learners, and describes how this has been applied to an intelligent tutoring system for 8-9 year-old children and their teachers. We introduce Subtraction Master, a learning environment with an open learner model for two and three digit subtraction, with and without adjustment (borrowing). It was found that some children were quite interested in their learner model and in a comparison of their own progress to that of their peers, whereas others did not demonstrate such interest. The level of interest and engagement with the learner model did not clearly relate to ability.