The AACR group partnered with SimBio to investigate how well our machine learning scoring models apply to new written explanations of cellular respiration!

Our friends at SimBio designed a version of their Cellular Respiration Explored tutorial that incorporated AACR developed items. Many SimBio users at different institutions volunteered to use this version of the tutorial in a total of 19 different courses. In a study led by Dr. Megan Shiroda, the group compared accuracy across responses provided by students at community college, primarily undergraduate institutions and research intensive universities.  We found that previously developed CRC models scored new student explanations at similar accuracy rates as when developed and no significant differences between institution types.  Only one of the seven tested models showed small loss of accuracy, but these ideas tend to be included using very diverse language.  If you're interested in the research, check out the paper.

If you want to use the AACR questions and models in this study, click here and search for cellular respiration (or whatever topic you're interested in!)

Visit SimBio to check out their many other tutorials!