An expert system for improving web-based problem-solving ability of students

Although previous research has demonstrated the benefits of applying the Internet facilities to the learning process, difficulty in using this strategy has also been identified. One of the major difficulties is owing to the lack of an online instructional environment that can advise the students in using the Internet facilities to solve problems. In this paper, an innovative approach is proposed, and it develops the knowledge base of an expert system by analyzing the online problem-solving behaviors of the teachers. Consequently, the expert system works as an instructor to assist the students in improving their web-based problem-solving ability. To demonstrate the innovative approach, two experts are asked to evaluate the performance of the expert system. Experimental results show that, the novel approach is able to provide accurate and constructive suggestions to students in improving their problem-solving ability.

Research highlights
► An innovative approach is proposed for analyzing the online behaviors of teachers in solving problems using search engines.
► A set of rules is developed based on the analysis results.
► A rule-based expert system is developed for assisting students in improving their web-based problem-solving ability.
► An experiment has been conducted to evaluate the performance of the expert system.