Backward Educational System

[Note that this is not the technical version of the article. This is written just as a blog post. You can directly ask me for the technical version.]

In our new world that the speed of developments of sciences is incredibly high, traditional educational systems are no more useful. In this article I introduce a new educational system, based on backward chaining, which can be substituted with the traditional ones. I believe that it is more effective while the students can find their original goals through an active academic process.

The contents are:
1. Definition of Backward Chaining-(In this chapter you’ll realize from where we got the intuition.)
2. The Backward educational system
3. Conclusion

Definition of Backward Chaining

Backward chaining is a means of utilizing a set of condition-action rules. In backward chaining, we work back from possible conclusions of the system to the evidence, using the rules backwards. Thus backward chaining behaves in a goal-directed manner. Consider the following example:

Suppose we want the system to answer the query ‘Is X a tiger?’ A backward chaining engine starts with our query as its goal. The engine will then try to prove the goal by inferring the then part of a rule in the knowledge base. Rule 3 matches. To prove rule 3, the engine needs to prove the premise (the if part of the rule). This leads to two subgoals: X is a carnivore; X has stripes the engine will now try to match the first of the two subgoals, ‘X is a carnivore,’ with the goals in the knowledge base. Rule 1 matches. The engine must now attempt to match the premise ‘if X eats meat’. This becomes the next subgoal. Because there are no rules which have ‘X eats meat’ as a goal, the system will prompt the user. Because the user responds ‘yes’, the engine has proven that X is a carnivore. Now, the engine must prove one more subgoal, ‘X has stripes,’ to reach the goal. Because there are no rules which have ‘X has stripes’ as a goal, the system must prompt the user. The user responds ‘yes,’ which allows the engine to reach its second subgoal. Since both subgoals have been proven, the main goal is also proven.

Backward chaining systems are more effective at analysis or diagnosis, which involve breaking complex problems down into smaller ones via subgoaling. You may have seen the examples of backward chaining in various problems such as troubleshooting a car or diagnosing a disease. Backward chaining is also a very common method in artificial intelligence. Now, we will see how one can design a backward educational system.

The Backward educational system

People are naturally curious. In their learning process, they are searching for the goals, with the highest priority, which are unsatisfied and their ego makes them the focus of their cognitive attention. If all goals are satisfied, or no precise goal is defined, then the system has no focus on that cycle. As a result they will soon forget what they were learnt without focus and this will make serious problems during the time they find their goals and decide to pursue. They might think either they are not good in the prerequisites, or the target is so hard to achieve! And this is while people are not good, ONLY in the stuff they have forgotten or have no motivation to practice!
A skill is applicable if its target which you learn this skill for is not satisfied and its requirements are satisfied.

The process is to use the students’ curiosity as a motivation and let them to choose their applicable skills to learn. Imagine a university in which the following program is considered as an undergraduate program:

-The Module of Everything: In this module they study every possible field they can follow after their graduation in general. They will realize what can they do after the undergraduate course.(one year)
-Prerequisites Period: In this period they study their applicable skills, related to the target they have chosen.(two years)
-Research Module: In this module they learn how to search for a specific topic. In addition to that they choose a topic to do a research.(one year)

We just need an appropriate system for assessment. This is ridiculous to evaluate ones knowledge with a piece of paper, in a limited time and limited resources! This is just to test his memory! A proper assessment is one which examines ones ingenuity and creativity, one which tests how much of the topic is understood by the student. My suggestion is to give them some general problems during the courses. The most complete answers, from different points of view receive the highest score. Just like when you want to submit a paper to the real scientific world. At the end of the semester, the students who didn’t manage to give solutions to any of the problems must do a project on a related topic. The project must worth from educational point of view. Presentations certainly are part of the assessment.

conclusion

Since the traditional educational systems use a forward chaining process, I claim that they bound the student’s creativity and do not let them to find their visions and focus on them. I define a backward educational system for undergraduate studies and a method for assessment. Researchers have proven that this system is more effective even for students with mental retardation.

Educational system sucks!

I’m neither a sociologist nor an educationalogist. So I can’t say anything about the public education. However, while I was always been studying among the most talented students, I have some ideas to improve the educational level of this class of people exponentially!  

It is obvious that education is a goal directed process. So first of all we have to investigate the goal! Naturally the goal of educational system is to train the students and pass the young experts to science and technology.

 

In the traditional educational system, students study some basics at schools, and then they get in a specific field and study its bases in their undergraduate level. They study the details of the field in the post-graduations, which is mostly research based. This will probably be fine for the ordinary people. Yet, it’s totally wasting of time for talented students! Twelve years of studying the basics is a huge time wasting! Three to four years of getting in a field is so silly! Moreover, you may have mentioned that technically students are not able to come up with a real vision of their scientific lives during the undergraduate level. Instead, their tutors try to shape their minds! This is the fact! A bulk of useless information are taught, which are mostly being forgotten after a few years! The students even don’t know how they might be useful! Furthermore, do you really think that public education can support the students finding their interest and lead them to their original ideas? Do you think that they can look after any single young eager mind?! Certainly it is totally a restriction of the creativity! It just keeps the students out of the science!  

You may ask how we can fight this! While my answer about the school period is just to compress, I have a better suggestion for the undergrad level! As I mentioned the goal of people to do this level is to get in a field and learn the bases. To find which specialist topic they are interested in. They have to come up with a vision and find their original idea. This will never be achieved in any way other than research! Now the question is how we can prepare the students to do some research on the topics that they have no background on and haven’t studied its prerequisite information! Well, imagine once you face a new scientific text! The best thing to get started is to study its introduction. This will tell you what the topic is about! Tells you which perquisites will you need!

Two little problems remain! Firstly even if you know the preliminary topics, say the linear algebra to study the quantum computation, you still don’t know which references of the linear algebra, for example, are more appropriate and how you can use the references. Second, you are not fluent in the usage of the techniques! Through this process whole the things the tutor is obliged to say is to introduce the references, and why he have chosen them, and what can you do after studying every single chapter! For the linear algebra, for example, I estimate that this will take about three to four sessions, not a complete semester!!!

But about the techniques! Nowadays, at least for the sciences with mathematical basis using the techniques is one of the machines’ jobs, and nobody needs to be fluent at those! It will be sufficient to realize the logic of the process! The final problem: How the students can start the introductory survey on research topics and how they can get in! It is necessary to add some courses on the scientific survey. Moreover there must be some weekly seminars added to the academic curriculum, describing new technological ideas and scientific horizons for the undergraduate students.