mwang (12/07/82)
DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO SEMINAR ACTIVITIES Artificial Intelligence Seminar - Friday, December 17, 1982. Prof. M.J. Colbourn of the University of Saskatchewan will speak on "An Expert System for the Diagnosis of Reading Difficulties". TIME: 10:30 AM ROOM: M&C 5158 ABSTRACT An expert system is an automated consulting system which provides the user with expert advice within a particular domain. We briefly review some of the re- cent literature pertaining to the development and uses of expert systems. In particular, we discuss the design and implementation of an expert system which we have developed to guide a teacher/diagnostician through the various stages of diagnosing reading difficulties. The system is implemented as a production system and is programmed in LISP. Information regarding diag- nostic procedures is encoded in the system's produc- tion rules. These rules are based upon previous di- agnoses undertaken at the Institute of Child Guidance and Development at the University of Saskatchewan. Hence, the system incorporates the opinions of many diagnosticians. In addition to an explanation of the system's design - including the underlying model of educational diag- nosis, the development of the system's production rules, representation of test-specific or case- specific knowledge - the system's performance is dis- cussed, including examples illustrating interaction with the system. In conclusion, directions for fu- ture research will be presented. December 7, 1982