Automated Blended-Learning Curriculum Generation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Traditional education methods struggle to accommodate students with diverse backgrounds and interests, as they cannot efficiently select and organize suitable course content from vast digital resources, leading to inadequate learning experiences for students with varying levels of understanding.

Innovation Solution

An automated blended-learning approach that integrates traditional classroom settings with web-based learning, using processors to generate curricula that include common and private course content tailored to individual student groups, optimized within predetermined constraints.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If traditional classroom teaching is used, then instructor-student interaction is maintained, but the course content cannot be adapted to diverse student backgrounds and interests

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecourse content adaptabilityVSAvoidcurriculum generation complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the course content into common topics applicable to all students and private topics tailored to specific student sub-groups. This segmentation allows the curriculum to be customized for different student backgrounds and interests while maintaining a unified instructional framework, directly resolving the contradiction between adaptability and complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements dynamic curriculum generation where the course content is automatically adjusted based on student attributes, performance levels, and interests. The system dynamically creates personalized learning paths using computational algorithms, enabling adaptive content delivery without requiring manual intervention for each student, thus resolving the complexity issue.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

2Adaptability or versatility

If web-based learning is used, then adaptive content is provided, but collaborative learning and teacher-student interactions are reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvelearning content adaptabilityVSAvoidcollaborative learning accessibility
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges web-based adaptive learning content with traditional classroom instruction to create a blended learning model. The system generates personalized curricula that are delivered through web platforms while scheduled classroom sessions provide collaborative learning opportunities and direct instructor-student interaction, thus combining the advantages of both approaches.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent uses an automated curriculum generation system as an intermediary between web-based content delivery and classroom instruction. This intermediary coordinates personalized learning materials with scheduled face-to-face sessions, ensuring that adaptive content complements rather than replaces collaborative learning opportunities.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Productivity

If manual curriculum selection is used, then course content quality can be controlled, but the process is time-consuming and cannot cover all student needs

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecurriculum generation efficiencyVSAvoidcourse content selection accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements a self-service curriculum generation system that automatically selects and organizes course content based on student attributes, performance data, and learning objectives. The system uses computational algorithms to autonomously generate personalized curricula without requiring manual review of each student's learning materials, dramatically improving productivity while maintaining content quality through automated quality control mechanisms.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The patent incorporates feedback loops where student performance data and learning outcomes are continuously monitored and used to refine curriculum recommendations. The system uses this feedback to automatically adjust and optimize course content selection, ensuring high accuracy in matching students with appropriate learning materials while maintaining efficient automated generation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

4Adaptability or versatility

If fixed curriculum is used, then instructional time is well-organized, but students with varying performance levels are not adequately addressed

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestudent performance accommodationVSAvoidcurriculum optimization time
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary action by pre-generating personalized curricula for all students before the instructional period begins. The system analyzes student attributes, performance levels, and learning objectives in advance to create customized learning paths, allowing instructional time to be fully utilized without wasting time on on-the-fly curriculum adjustments during classes.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements dynamic curriculum optimization where the system automatically adjusts course content and pacing based on real-time student performance data. The curriculum is designed to be flexible and adaptive, automatically reconfiguring learning paths to accommodate students with varying performance levels while maintaining efficient use of instructional time through automated scheduling and content delivery.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentUS10373511B2Automatic learning curriculum generation
Publication Date: 2019.08.06 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINE CORPORATION
  • US10373511B2 patent drawing
  • US10373511B2 patent drawing
  • US10373511B2 patent drawing

AI summary

Techniques pertaining to automating generation of curricula for a class of students with blended-learning contents are presented. The blended-leaning contents provide common topics shared by all the students in a class as well as self-learning materials for sub-groups of the class. This approach creates curricula optimally attending to students with different interests and backgrounds. The course materials are selected by searching multiple external sources publically available while filtering the search results through inputs of the students and requirements set by the instructors. The course contents and schedules of the curricula are further optimized by organizing the filtered search results with respect to a set of constraints.