An intelligent tutoring system prototype for learning to program Java/spl trade/

The "Java/spl trade/ Intelligent Tutoring System" (JITS) research project involves the development of a programming tutor designed for students in their first programming course in Java/spl trade/ at the college and university level. We present an overview of the architectural design, the AI techniques used, and the user interface. This project is a prototype being constructed which will model the domain of a small subset of the Java/spl trade/ programming language in a very specific context. Research is in progress and it is hypothesized that the completed prototype will be sufficient to prove the concept and that a fully developed Java/spl trade/ intelligent tutoring system will provide an interactively-rich learning environment for students resulting in increased achievement. Based on the success of similar intelligent tutoring systems, it is also hypothesized that these students will be able to learn programming skills and knowledge more quickly and effectively than students in traditional educational settings.