Press Releases
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Al Renshaw
Phone: 1-800-577-9040
e-Mail: Al Renshaw
QUANTUM® ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TUTORING
SOFTWARE FOR ACCOUNTING PROVEN TO INCREASE TEST SCORES AND MAXIMIZE
EFFECTIVENESS OF STUDENT STUDY TIME
Research studies indicate that Quantum’s
tutoring software is more effective in improving student test performance
and accelerating learning when compared to students who only used
a textbook or online homework system for study.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — September
3, 2008, Quantum Simulations, Inc., a developer of artificial intelligence
(AI) tutoring, assessment and professional development software announced
the results of two research studies conducted at Baldwin-Wallace College
in Berea, OH and the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, SK to
evaluate the pedagogical effectiveness of the Quantum Tutors® for the
Accounting Cycle.
At Baldwin-Wallace College, students
using the Quantum Tutor for transaction analysis achieved 3.5 times
more gain in test scores over students who studied with the textbook.
In addition, 86.6 percent of the Tutors’ responses were rated
as “Very Helpful” or “Helpful” which is equivalent
to students rating an instructor on every explanation or answer given
during a lecture. The full paper can be downloaded at http://ssrn.com/abstract=1151791.
In a separate study conducted at the
University of Saskatchewan, empirical findings indicated that after
one group of students completed a homework assignment for the topic
of transaction analysis using the Quantum Tutor, their test scores
improved 1.9 times more than that of a comparable group of students
who completed the same homework problems using a textbook publisher’s
online homework management system. When the Quantum Tutor was removed
from the first group of students and given to the other group, the
pattern of performance differences was reversed, with the tutored
group gaining 2.6 times more than the online homework group. The complete
paper can be downloaded at http://ssrn.com/abstract=1151804.
In both studies, the Quantum Tutor enabled
students with initially weaker performance to catch up quickly to
higher performing students. Furthermore, when the higher performing
students used the Quantum Tutor, their test scores climbed even higher.
Results also indicated that students’ ability to account for
transactions increased at a significantly faster rate when students
used Quantum®, suggesting their study time was more productive and
targeted with the Quantum Tutors®.
"From working with the Quantum Tutors®, it's easy to see how this technology is beneficial to students,”
states Fred Phillips, Ph.D., Professor and Baxter Scholar at the Edwards
School of Business, University of Saskatchewan and textbook author.
“These studies show that Quantum’s software yields highly
significant learning effects, in both the statistical and practical
sense. Students who use the Quantum Tutors® demonstrate far greater
gains than students who only used a textbook or online homework system.
The research evidence is very persuasive that the Tutors have high
value for students and instructors alike."
Unlike homework systems where “canned”
responses are stored in a database, providing little feedback beyond
whether a student’s answer is right or wrong, the Quantum Tutors®
provide feedback on far more than just the correctness of an answer.
The Quantum Tutors® also give detailed step-by-step reasoning that
essentially “teaches” the process used to reach a solution.
Another unique feature of the software is the ability for students
to ask very specific questions about a concept in the context of their
own problem. By giving students feedback specific to their own work
and teaching them to ask good questions, study time is optimized and
knowledge of the subject greatly improves.
Designed as a supplemental tool for
instructor lectures, textbook reading and homework assignments, the
Quantum Tutors® for the Accounting Cycle provide a level of intelligent
homework help and tutoring not available with any other accounting
software. For more information, visit http://www.quantumsimulations.com/accounting.html.
About Quantum®
Quantum Simulations, Inc. develops artificial intelligence (AI) tutoring,
assessment and professional development software for accounting, science
and mathematics that empowers teachers and inspires students from
middle school through college to achieve more. Quantum's intelligent
learning software is available stand-alone or integrated with our
partners' web-based homework products and learning management systems.
A "technology think tank", Quantum® is funded and supported
by the U.S. Department of Education, the National Science Foundation
and the National Institutes of Health.
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