Ivon M. Arroyo MS Ed D
Ivon Arroyo is a research associate at the Center for Knowledge Communication , Computer Science Department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Dr. Arroyo is an active researcher in the area of intelligent multimedia tutoring systems and software learning environments for
mathematics. Her interdisciplinary work is at the forefront of
Mathematics and Technology Education and Computer Science. She
interacts daily with Computer Scientists, psychologists, educators,
graduate students, post-docs and K-12 students around the topic of how
to best teach and learn mathematics with technology.
She has long been interested in the creation of pedagogically effective help modules for all students, which are used in local schools in Western Massachusetts. Rigorous evaluations of this software are carried out every semester, testing for the impact of software not only on students' achievement but also on student motivation and affect.
Dr. Arroyo has been working on empirical approaches to the design of Learning Environments: on formative evaluations of tutoring software, and in the use of logs from past users to improve new versions of tutoring software (educational data mining).
Part of her work has focused on customizing math tutoring software to student groups, adapting instruction to characteristics such as gender and cognitive traits. She has used cognitive skills (memory, spatial) basic research, theories of learning (Vygotsky) and cognitive development (Piaget) to make software smarter and better at teaching K-12 students. She believes that these theories, as well as teachers' informal knowledge about how to teach, can be applied to the design of highly effective tutoring systems.
A Fulbright Fellow and recepient of several awards (2009 best AIED paper award, 2010 best EDM and ITS paper nominee), Dr. Arroyo has participated in several multidisciplinary educational-technology projects:
- AnimalWatch – enhancing young girls’ math competence and attitudes towards mathematics and computers
- Wayang Outpost/AnimalWorld --enhancing high school women’s mathematical competence
- Learning to Teach --using machine learning techniques to learn how to teach Customizing Resources for NSDL --customizing mathematics material within a digital library to each student
- “What kind of Math Software Works for Girls?” --unveiling principles for design of software for girls
- Modeling and supporting emotion during learning --predicting and acting upon students' emotions while learning
- "Teaching Every Student: Using Intelligent Tutoring and Universal
Design to Customize the Mathematics Curriculum”