NEOMYCIN: Reconfiguring a Rule-Based Expert System for Application to Teaching

Abstract

NEOMYCIN: RECONFICURINC A RULE-BASED EXPERT SYSTEM FOR APPLICATION TO TEACHING William J. Clancey and Reed Letsinger Computer Science Department Stanford University; Stanford, CA tfS06 ABSTRACT NFOUVCIN" Is e medicel conaultelion system In which t.AYCIN's kfiOWiedge base is reorg1nized end extended for use in GUIDON, e l11chlng proge~m. The new system constitutes e psycholoaicel model for doing di1gnosis, designed to provide e b!Sis for Interpreting student beh1vior 1nd te~ehing di1gnostic strategy. The model aep1r11es out kinds of knowledge thet ,,. procedurally embedded In hAVCIN's rules 1nd so inaccessible to the te~ching progrem. The key ide• is to represent explicitly end sepertlely: 1 dOm!ln-lndependenl di1gnoslic strategy in the form of mel1-rules, knowledge •bout the structure of the problem spiCe, c•us•l end dele/hypothesis rules, end world feels. As 1 psychologlcel model, NEOMYCIN ceplures the forw~rd direcled, 'compiled !Ssoci!tion" mode ot re~sonlng th•l ch~reclerlzes expert beh•vior. Collection and lnlerprel•lion of dele ere focused by the "differenliel" or working memory of hypolhests. Moreover, the knowledge b11e Ia broldened so the! GUOON cen leech 1 student when to conaider 1 specific infectious di11111 end what compel ina hypotheses to consider, essenllelly the knowledae 1 humen would need In order to use the t.AYCIN consultation eyslem properly.