Differential Efficacy of an Intelligent Tutoring System for University Students: A Case Study with Learning Disabilities

Computer-Based Learning Environments (CBLEs) have emerged as an almost limitless source of education, challenging not only students but also education providers; teaching and learning in these virtual environments requires greater self-regulation of learning. More research is needed in order to assess how self-regulation of learning strategies can contribute to better performance. This study aims to report how an Intelligent Tutoring System can help students both with and without learning difficulties to self-regulate their learning processes. A total of 119 university students with and without learning difficulties took part in an educational experiment; they spent 90 min learning in a CBLE specifically designed to assess and promote self-regulated learning strategies. Results show that as a consequence of the training, the experimental group applied more self-regulation strategies than the control group, not only as a response to a system prompt but also self-initiated. In addition, there were some differences in improvement of learning processes in students with and without learning difficulties. Our results show that when students with learning difficulties have tools that facilitate applying self-regulated learning strategies, they do so even more than students without learning difficulties.