JP7670534B2 - Educational support device, educational support method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an educational support device that supports students' education.

A known prior art technique is to provide instructional information for test questions answered by a learner based on the learner's past behavioral history (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2020-98253 A (page 1, Figure 1, etc.)

However, in the past, there was no effort to utilize the relationships between three or more units to appropriately support students' learning.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide an educational support device, an educational support method, and a program that can appropriately support students' learning.

The educational support device of the present invention is an educational support device that includes a correlation storage unit that stores correlation information regarding the correlation between units obtained using two or more pieces of grade information, each of which has information regarding grades for three or more units associated with a unit identifier that identifies the unit, a unit selection unit that uses the correlation information to obtain one or more unit identifiers from among the three or more unit identifiers, and an output unit that outputs information corresponding to the one or more unit identifiers obtained by the unit selection unit.

This configuration makes it possible to utilize the correlations between three or more units to appropriately support students' learning.

The educational support device of the present invention may further include a grade storage unit in which two or more pieces of grade information are stored, and a correlation acquisition unit that acquires correlation information between two units using the two or more pieces of grade information stored in the grade storage unit and accumulates the correlation information in the correlation storage unit.

With this configuration, it is possible to appropriately support students' learning by utilizing correlation information between units obtained using grade information.

The educational support device of the present invention may further include a group storage unit in which group information indicating groups of unit identifiers grouped into two or more groups based on correlation information is stored, and the unit selection unit may obtain one or more unit identifiers by using the groups of unit identifiers.

This configuration makes it possible to appropriately support students' learning by using groups of units that are grouped according to correlation.

The educational support device of the present invention may further include a group generation unit that uses the correlation information stored in the correlation storage unit to group unit identifiers of three or more units into two or more groups, and accumulates group information indicating the groups of unit identifiers of the three or more units in the group storage unit.

With this configuration, it is possible to appropriately support students' learning by using the groups between units that are grouped using correlation information.

In addition, in the educational support device of the present invention, the unit selection unit may use the correlation information stored in the correlation storage unit for each of the three or more units to obtain importance information indicating that the stronger the correlation between a unit and other units, the higher the importance of the unit, and obtain one or more unit identifiers whose obtained importance information satisfies the selection condition.

This configuration makes it possible to obtain unit identifiers with high importance, thereby providing appropriate support for students' learning.

In addition, in the educational support device of the present invention, the unit selection unit may acquire importance information among all units for each of three or more units.

This configuration makes it possible to obtain the unit identifiers that are most important among all units, thereby providing appropriate support for students' learning.

In addition, in the educational support device of the present invention, the unit selection unit may use correlation information stored in the correlation storage unit for each of three or more units, which is two or more pieces of correlation information between each unit and other units in the group to which it belongs, to obtain importance information within the group indicating that the stronger the correlation between a unit and other units in the group, the higher the importance of the unit within the group, and obtain one or more unit identifiers whose obtained importance information satisfies the selection condition.

This configuration makes it possible to obtain the unit identifiers of the most important units within each group, thereby providing appropriate support for students' learning.

The educational support device of the present invention may further include a constraint storage unit in which constraint conditions for unit selection are stored, and the unit selection unit may acquire a number of unit identifiers that satisfy the constraint conditions.

This configuration allows you to obtain the number of unit identifiers according to the constraints.

The educational support device of the present invention may further include a question storage unit in which one or more pieces of question information associated with a unit identifier are stored, and a question acquisition unit that acquires from the question storage unit one or more pieces of question information corresponding to each of the one or more unit identifiers acquired by the unit selection unit, and the output unit may output information having the one or more pieces of question information acquired by the question acquisition unit as information corresponding to the one or more unit identifiers acquired by the unit selection unit.

With this configuration, it is possible to use the correlations between three or more units to output problem information for one or more appropriate units, thereby providing appropriate support for students' learning.

The educational support device of the present invention may further include an academic ability storage unit in which academic ability information having information on the academic ability of each student in each unit is stored, and the unit selection unit may further use the academic ability information to obtain one or more unit identifiers for the student.

With this configuration, students' academic ability information can be used to provide appropriate support for students' learning.

The educational support device according to the present invention can provide appropriate support for students' learning.

1 is a block diagram of an educational support device according to an embodiment of the present invention; A flowchart illustrating the operation of the educational support device. A flowchart illustrating the operation of the educational support device. FIG. 4( a ) is a diagram showing an example of a grade management table of the educational support device, and FIG. 4( b ) is a diagram showing an example of a unit identifier acquired from the grade management table. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a correlation management table of the educational support device. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a group management table of the educational support device. FIG. 7( a ) and FIG. 7 ( b ) are diagrams showing examples of a constraint management table of the educational support device. FIG. 8( a ) is a diagram showing an example of an importance management table of the educational support device, and FIG. 8( b ) is a diagram showing an example of an importance management table obtained when academic ability information is used. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a question management table of the educational support device. FIG. 13 shows a display example of the educational support device. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an academic achievement management table of the educational support device. FIG. 13 shows a display example of the educational support device. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the appearance of a computer system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of the computer system.

Embodiments of an educational support device and the like will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that components with the same reference numerals in the embodiments perform similar operations, and therefore repeated explanations may be omitted.

(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an educational support device 1 according to the present embodiment.

The educational support device 1 includes a grade storage unit 101, a correlation acquisition unit 102, a correlation storage unit 103, a group generation unit 104, a group storage unit 105, an academic ability storage unit 106, a constraint storage unit 107, a question storage unit 108, a unit selection unit 109, a question acquisition unit 110, an output unit 111, and a reception unit 112.

Two or more pieces of grade information are stored in the grade storage unit 101. The grade information is information that has information on grades for three or more units.
The grade information has information on the grades for each of three or more units in association with a unit identifier that identifies the unit. For example, one piece of grade information is information on the grades for each of three or more units of one student in association with a unit identifier that identifies each unit. One piece of grade information is usually information on the grades for each of three or more units included in one subject. The two or more pieces of grade information stored in the grade storage unit 101 may be grade information for multiple students or information for one student. For example, the two or more pieces of grade information may be two or more pieces of grade information for each of multiple students. The unit identifier may be a name that identifies the unit, or may be a code assigned to the unit. The information on the grades for each unit may be referred to as unit grade information hereinafter.

The unit performance information is, for example, the percentage of correct answers, scores, standard deviations, etc., in tests conducted on a unit. The score may be the total score of multiple tests, or a representative value of the scores of multiple tests, such as the average score or midpoint. The unit performance information may be, for example, an evaluation value for grades or an index of grades. The unit performance information is, for example, information that is expressed as a numerical value or information that can be expressed as a numerical value. It is more preferable that the unit performance information is, for example, normalized information, standardized information, information that can be normalized, or information that can be standardized.

A subject is, for example, an organization of educational teaching contents classified according to characteristics, etc. Examples of subjects are Japanese, social studies, arithmetic, mathematics, science, and foreign language (e.g., English, French, etc.).
A unit is a series of groups within an educational subject. A unit can also be said to be a certain range of learning subjects. A unit is, for example, a unit of instructional content that is subdivided further than a subject. For example, Japanese language units include metaphorical expressions, themes of novels, logical relationships, and the contents of demonstrative pronouns. Mathematics units include numbers and expressions, quadratic functions, properties of shapes, probability, expressions and proofs, properties of integers, trigonometric functions, etc. English units include tenses, infinitives, gerunds, passive voice, auxiliary verbs, metaphors, and the conditional mood. The size and breadth of a unit does not matter.

In addition, the grade information may be information that contains information regarding grades for three or more units included in one subject. A subject is, for example, a unit into which a subject is subdivided, and is a unit that includes one or more units. For example, subjects included in science include physics, chemistry, biology, etc. Furthermore, subjects included in Japanese include modern Japanese, classical Japanese, classical Chinese, etc.

The grade storage unit 101 may store multiple pieces of grade information each associated with multiple subjects. The grade information may be stored in the grade storage unit 101, for example, in association with the subject identifier of the corresponding subject. For example, the grade storage unit 101 may store multiple pieces of grade information each associated with the subject identifier of the multiple subjects. A subject corresponding to grade information is, for example, a subject that includes a unit corresponding to unit grade information contained in the grade information. The subject identifier is, for example, information having a subject name, a code assigned to a subject, etc. The grade information may be stored in the grade storage unit 101, for example, in association with the subject identifier of the corresponding subject. The subject identifier is, for example, information having a subject name, a code assigned to a subject, etc.

Furthermore, the grade information may be stored in the grade storage unit 101, for example, in association with the student identifier of the corresponding student. The student identifier may be the student's name, or a code assigned to the student, such as a student ID number or a student number. Note that the student here may be considered to be a user for whom education is provided. The student here may be a student, a cram school student, a cram school student, or a student.

In addition, the score information may be stored in the score storage unit 101, for example, in association with the test identifier of the corresponding test. The test identifier is information that includes one or more of the following: a code assigned to the test, the name of the test, the grade for which the test is to be conducted, at least a portion of the test date, the subject identifier of the subject of the test, and the unit identifier of the unit of the test.

In addition, grade information may be stored in association with attribute information indicating the attributes of the student corresponding to the grade information, such as the grade, course taken, school to which the student belongs, or school of choice.

The score storage unit 101 is preferably a non-volatile recording medium, but can also be realized as a volatile recording medium. The same applies to the other storage units.

The correlation acquisition unit 102 acquires correlation information between two units using two or more grade information stored in the grade storage unit 101, and accumulates it in the correlation storage unit 103. The two units are, for example, between two units in each set when a set of two units is extracted from three or more units contained in the grade information. The two units here may be, for example, between a plurality of sets of two units acquired using two or more grade information, or may be between a plurality of sets of two units prepared in advance. The correlation information is information on the correlation between two units. The correlation information is information on the correlation between units based on the grade information. The correlation information is, for example, a correlation coefficient between two units. The correlation coefficient between two units is calculated using, for example, a set of unit grade information corresponding to each of the two units acquired from a plurality of grade information. In addition, the correlation information is not limited to a correlation coefficient as long as it is information indicating the correlation between two units. The correlation information is, for example, the similarity between a first vector ( _P11 , _P12 , ..., _P1n ) whose elements are the scores for two or more tests or questions corresponding to a first unit, and a second vector ( _P21 , _P22 , ..., _P2n ) whose elements are the scores for two or more tests or questions corresponding to a second unit. Note that the technology for calculating the similarity between vectors is a publicly known technology. The correlation information may also be, for example, the similarity between the distribution of scores for two or more tests or questions corresponding to a first unit and the distribution of scores for two or more tests or questions corresponding to a second unit.

For example, the correlation acquisition unit 102 acquires a set of unit performance information corresponding to each unit for each combination of two units from each of two or more pieces of grade information, and acquires a correlation coefficient, which is correlation information between two units, using two or more sets of unit performance information acquired from each piece of grade information for each combination of the same two units. For example, when the unit performance information is a numerical value, the correlation acquisition unit 102 uses this numerical value to calculate the correlation coefficient between two units, and when the unit performance information is not a numerical value, the correlation acquisition unit 102 acquires a numerical value corresponding to each piece of unit performance information, and acquires correlation information between two units corresponding to the sets of unit performance information using two or more sets of the acquired unit performance information. Note that the process of acquiring correlation information described above is an example, and the process of acquiring correlation information by the correlation acquisition unit 102 is not limited to the above process. The process of calculating the correlation coefficient is a publicly known technology, so a detailed description is omitted here.

For example, the correlation acquisition unit 102 stores the correlation information between the two acquired units in the correlation storage unit 103 in association with the unit identifiers of the two corresponding units.

In addition, when the grade information is stored in association with a subject identifier, the correlation acquisition unit 102 may acquire correlation information for each subject identifier and store the acquired correlation information in association with the subject identifier.

In addition, when grade information is stored in association with a subject identifier, the correlation acquisition unit 102 may acquire correlation information for each subject identifier and store the acquired correlation information in association with the subject identifier.

In addition, when grade information is stored in association with a student identifier, the correlation acquisition unit 102 may acquire correlation information for each student identifier and store the acquired correlation information in association with the student identifier.

In addition, when grade information is stored in association with student attribute information, the correlation acquisition unit 102 may acquire correlation information for each attribute information such as grade level, and store the acquired correlation information in association with the student attribute information.

The correlation storage unit 103 stores correlation information regarding the correlation between multiple sets (e.g., three or more sets) of units obtained using two or more sets of grade information. For example, the correlation information is stored in the correlation storage unit 103 in association with the unit identifiers of the two units corresponding to the correlation information. The stored correlation information is, for example, a correlation coefficient. The correlation storage unit 103 may further store the correlation information in association with one or more of a subject identifier, a course identifier, a student identifier, and attribute information.

In this embodiment, as an example, a case will be described in which correlation information acquired by the correlation acquisition unit 102 using two or more pieces of grade information stored in the grade storage unit 101 is stored in the correlation storage unit 103. However, the correlation information stored in the correlation storage unit 103 is not limited to correlation information acquired by the correlation acquisition unit 102 using the grade information stored in the grade storage unit 101. For example, correlation information received from a device (not shown) that acquires correlation information similar to that of the correlation acquisition unit 102 using grade information similar to that stored in the grade storage unit 101 by a receiving unit (not shown) may be stored in the correlation storage unit 103. Note that when correlation information other than the correlation information acquired by the correlation acquisition unit 102 is stored in the correlation storage unit 103, the grade storage unit 101 and the correlation acquisition unit 102 may be omitted.

The group generation unit 104 uses the correlation information stored in the correlation storage unit 103 to group the unit identifiers of three or more units into two or more groups, and accumulates group information indicating the groups of the unit identifiers of the three or more units in the group storage unit 105. The group information may be, for example, information having the unit identifiers belonging to each group. The group information may also be information having the unit identifiers and the group identifiers of the groups to which the unit identifiers belong in association with each other. The group identifiers may be, for example, group names or codes assigned to groups. However, the group identifiers are not limited to these pieces of information. Note that the group information is not limited to the above information, as long as it is information capable of identifying unit identifiers belonging to the same group. The grouping here may be considered as grouping or group generation.

For example, the group generation unit 104 groups the unit identifiers so that unit identifiers whose corresponding correlation information indicates a high correlation between units are in the same group. For example, if the correlation information stored in the correlation storage unit 103 is a correlation coefficient, the group generation unit 104 groups the unit identifiers so that two unit identifiers associated with one correlation coefficient with a large value are in the same group.

The group generation unit 104 performs grouping of unit identifiers by clustering using, for example, correlation information. For example, the group generation unit 104 performs clustering using correlation information corresponding to two unit identifiers as a measure of similarity (for example, distance) between the units identified by the two unit identifiers. For example, when the correlation information stored in the correlation storage unit 103 is a correlation coefficient, the group generation unit 104 determines that the larger the correlation coefficient associated with the two unit identifiers, the shorter the distance between the units identified by the two unit identifiers, thereby clustering the unit identifiers and grouping the unit identifiers. The clustering used by the group generation unit 104 may be considered, for example, as one of unsupervised machine learning. Note that the group generation unit 104 may perform clustering by supervised machine learning.

The clustering used for grouping may be hierarchical clustering such as the nearest neighbor method, group average method, or Ward's method, or it may be non-hierarchical clustering such as the k-means method.

Here, the grouping is performed by clustering, but the grouping process performed by the group generating unit 104 is not limited to clustering, and grouping may be performed by a known grouping process other than clustering. For example, when the correlation information is information indicating that the higher the value, such as a correlation coefficient, the higher the correlation, the group generating unit 104 may group the unit identifiers so that unit identifiers whose correlation information between unit identifiers is equal to or greater than a threshold (or is greater than the threshold) are in the same group. Also, for example, when the correlation information is information indicating that the lower the value, the higher the correlation, the group generating unit 104 may group the unit identifiers so that unit identifiers whose correlation information between unit identifiers is equal to or less than a threshold (or is less than the threshold) are in the same group. Also, for example, the group generating unit 104 may group the unit identifiers by performing a grouping process other than clustering by using the correlation information as a measure of similarity (for example, distance) between units identified by corresponding unit identifiers.

The group generation unit 104 may group unit identifiers using correlation information associated with one or more combinations of subject identifiers, course identifiers, student identifiers, and attribute information. The group generation unit 104 may then store the acquired group information in the group storage unit 105 in association with one or more combinations of these. For example, the group generation unit 104 may group unit identifiers associated with correlation information for each subject identifier using correlation information associated with the same subject identifier. For example, the group generation unit 104 may group unit identifiers associated with correlation information for each student identifier using correlation information associated with the same student identifier. The group generation unit 104 may also group unit identifiers associated with correlation information for each subject by grade using correlation information for which the associated attribute information is the same grade and the associated subject identifier is the same.

The group generation unit 104 may, for example, perform grouping using correlation information associated with one or more combinations of the specified subject identifier, course identifier, student identifier, and attribute information in response to information that is received by the reception unit 112 and that specifies one or more combinations of a subject identifier, course identifier, student identifier, and attribute information.

The number of groups generated by the group generation unit 104 through grouping may be two or more, and the number is not important. The number of groups generated by the group generation unit 104 may or may not be determined in advance. For example, if the grouping process is a process that requires the number of groups to be specified in advance, such as the k-means method, the number of groups must be specified in advance. The number of groups may be determined using an increasing function with the number of units as a variable, or a table that associates the number of units with the number of groups, so that the number of groups increases continuously or stepwise as the number of units to be grouped increases. The number of groups may also be determined by the grouping process executed by the group generation unit 104. The upper limit of the number of groups to be generated may also be determined in advance.

It is preferable that the groups divided by the group generation unit 104 are groups in which some unit identifiers do not overlap between two or more groups, but groups in which there is some overlap may also be used.

The group storage unit 105 stores group information. The group information is information indicating groups of unit identifiers of three or more units that have been grouped into two or more groups based on correlation information. It is preferable that some of the unit identifiers in two or more of the groups of unit identifiers stored in the group storage unit 105 do not overlap, but they may overlap.

The group information stored in the group storage unit 105 may further be stored in association with one or more combinations of a subject identifier, a course identifier, a student identifier, and attribute information.

If the unit selection unit 109 described later does not use group information when acquiring a unit identifier, the group generation unit 104, group storage unit 105, etc. can be deleted.

The academic ability storage unit 106 stores academic ability information of one or more students. The academic ability information is information having information on the academic ability of each unit of the student. The academic ability information is, for example, information having information on the academic ability of each unit associated with the unit identifier of each unit (one or more, preferably three or more). The information on the academic ability of each unit may be referred to as unit academic ability information hereinafter. The unit academic ability information is, for example, the student's correct answer rate for one or more tests conducted for each unit, or the difference between the correct answer rate and the target correct answer rate. The unit academic ability information is, for example, the student's score for one or more tests conducted for each unit, or the difference between the score and the target score. The score here may be a representative value such as the average score or the median value of the scores of one or more tests for the same unit. The score here may also be a standardized score or a normalized score. For example, the score here may be a score indicating the ratio of the student's score to the score if all questions in the test were correct. Also, for example, the score here may be the deviation value of the student's score, etc. The same applies to the target score. The unit academic ability information may be an evaluation value that indicates the student's grades or proficiency for the unit, or may be the difference between the evaluation value and a target value for the evaluation value.

In the academic ability storage unit 106, for example, one or more pieces of academic ability information of each student are stored in association with the student identifier of each student. In the academic ability storage unit 106, the academic ability information may be further stored in association with one or more combinations of a subject identifier, a course identifier, and attribute information. For example, the academic ability information associated with a subject identifier and a student identifier is the academic ability information of the subject indicated by the subject identifier of the student identified by the student identifier. The same applies to the subject identifier. The attribute information here is, for example, attribute information of the student corresponding to the academic ability information (for example, the student's grade, etc.). For example, the attribute information is information used when acquiring the attributes of the student corresponding to the academic ability information. Note that if the attribute information associated with the student identifier is stored in advance in the storage unit (not shown), the attributes of the student can be acquired using this attribute information, so the academic ability information does not need to be associated with the attribute information.

The constraint storage unit 107 stores constraint conditions for unit selection. For example, the constraint conditions are conditions that restrict the number of unit identifiers to be acquired, which are used when the unit selection unit 109 described below acquires one or more unit identifiers. For example, the unit selection unit 109 acquires a number of unit identifiers that satisfy the constraint conditions.

The constraint condition may be associated with a student identifier and stored in the constraint storage unit 107, for example. For example, the constraint condition associated with a student identifier is a condition that restricts the number of unit identifiers to be obtained when obtaining one or more unit identifiers for a student indicated by the student identifier.

The constraint condition is, for example, an amount or time. The amount, which is a constraint condition, is, for example, the tuition fee for a lecture or course that a student takes. The tuition fee here is, for example, the budget for a lecture or course that a student takes. For example, if the constraint condition is the tuition fee, the number of units to be taken is restricted so that the product of the number of units to be taken and a predetermined tuition fee per unit is equal to or less than the tuition fee, which is the constraint condition. In addition, if the unit identifier of the unit to be taken and the tuition fee for taking the corresponding unit are stored in advance in a storage unit (not shown), the number of units to be taken is restricted so that the total tuition fees corresponding to the units to be taken, which are obtained from this stored information, is equal to or less than the tuition fee, which is the constraint condition. The tuition fee constraint condition may be associated with a student identifier, as described above.

The time constraint is, for example, the test time or the class time. The time constraint is, for example, the test time of the test taken by the student, or the time of the lectures or courses taken by the student. For example, when the constraint is the test time, the number of units to be tested is restricted so that the product of the number of units and a predetermined time limit per unit is equal to or less than the test time constraint. The time limit may be considered as the answer time set for one or more questions on the corresponding unit. Note that, when the unit identifier of the unit to be taken and the test time of the test to be taken on the corresponding unit are stored in advance in a storage unit (not shown), the number of units to be taken is restricted so that the total time limit corresponding to the units to be taken obtained from this stored information is equal to or less than the test time constraint.

The timing or trigger for storing the constraint conditions in the constraint storage unit 107 is not important. For example, the reception unit 112 may receive an instruction to output a unit identifier having a constraint condition, and upon receiving this instruction, the reception unit 112 may store the constraint conditions in the constraint storage unit 107, and the unit selection unit 109 may acquire one or more unit identifiers as described below.

If constraint conditions are not required, the constraint storage unit 107 may be omitted.

The question storage unit 108 stores one or more pieces of question information associated with a unit identifier. The question information associated with a unit identifier is, for example, question information about the unit indicated by the unit identifier. The question information about the unit is, for example, question information for confirming or evaluating the level of understanding of the unit. The question information is, for example, information used to output a question, and specifically, information having one or a combination of two or more of a character string, an image, a video image, audio, etc. The question information may further include answer information corresponding to the question.

The question information may further be stored in the question storage unit 108 in association with one or more combinations of a subject identifier, a course identifier, and attribute information. The question information associated with a subject identifier is, for example, question information for the subject indicated by the subject identifier. The question information associated with a subject identifier is, for example, question information for the subject indicated by the subject identifier. The question information associated with attribute information is, for example, question information corresponding to the attribute indicated by the attribute information. For example, the question information associated with the attribute information, grade, is a question corresponding to that grade. For example, the question information associated with the attribute information, learning course, is a question corresponding to that learning course.

Note that if question information is not required, such as when question information is not output, the question storage unit 108 may be omitted.

The unit selection unit 109 uses the correlation information to acquire one or more unit identifiers from each of the three or more unit identifiers. The one or more unit identifiers acquired by the unit selection unit 109 are, for example, unit identifiers of one or more units selected from the units indicated by each of the three or more unit identifiers in order to conduct efficient learning, or unit identifiers of one or more units selected to efficiently diagnose the academic ability of students.

The unit selection unit 109, for example, uses the correlation information stored in the correlation storage unit 103 for each of the three or more units to acquire importance information indicating that the stronger the correlation between the unit and other units, the higher the importance of the unit, and acquires one or more unit identifiers for which the acquired importance information satisfies the selection condition. The three or more units are, for example, units identified by unit identifiers associated with multiple pieces of correlation information stored in the correlation storage unit 103. The importance information is information indicating the importance of the corresponding unit. For example, the unit selection unit 109 acquires correlation information indicating the correlation with one or more other units, and calculates the importance information using an increasing function with a value indicated by the acquired correlation information as a parameter. The one or more other units may be all other units or a portion of the units. The portion of the units is, for example, other units in the same group.

For example, the unit selection unit 109 acquires the importance of each of three or more units among all the units. Here, all the units are, for example, all the unit identifiers acquired without overlapping from the unit identifiers associated with the multiple correlation information stored in the correlation storage unit 103. For example, the unit selection unit 109 acquires correlation information indicating the correlation between all the other unit identifiers for the unit identifiers that identify all the units, and acquires the value indicated by the representative value such as the sum, average value, or median value of the values indicated by the acquired correlation information as the importance information of the corresponding unit identifier. For example, when the correlation information is a correlation coefficient, the larger the value of the correlation coefficient, the stronger the correlation between the units, so that the larger the value of the sum or representative value of the correlation coefficient, the stronger the correlation between the units is, and therefore the unit can be considered to have a stronger correlation with other units. Therefore, the importance information acquired in this way is importance information indicating that the importance of the corresponding unit is higher as the value is larger. In addition, when the importance is expressed as the sum of correlations, for example, basic units such as "positive and negative numbers" in mathematics will have a high importance, so it is preferable to further use the difference from the average learning score to obtain the importance, so that even units that tend to have low scores despite being highly relevant can be evaluated as having high learning importance.

Then, from among the unit identifiers that identify all units, the unit selection unit 109 acquires unit identifiers for which the importance information acquired for the unit identifier satisfies a selection condition. For example, the selection condition is a condition that the order of the corresponding importance information, in order from most important to least important, is within a predetermined order, or a condition that the value indicated by the corresponding importance information is a value indicating that the importance is equal to or greater than a threshold value. However, the selection condition is not limited to such conditions.

For example, when the correlation information is a correlation coefficient and the importance information is a representative value such as the sum of the correlation coefficients or the average value of the correlation coefficients, the unit selection unit 109 may acquire, as unit identifiers whose acquired importance information satisfies the selection condition, unit identifiers whose corresponding importance information is ranked from largest to smallest up to a predetermined rank.

Also, for example, when the correlation information is a correlation coefficient and the importance information is a representative value such as the sum of the correlation coefficients or the average value of the correlation coefficients, the unit selection unit 109 may acquire unit identifiers whose corresponding importance information is greater than or equal to a threshold value as unit identifiers whose acquired importance information satisfies the selection condition.

The unit selection unit 109 may, for example, use a group of unit identifiers to acquire one or more unit identifiers. The group of unit identifiers here refers to, for example, a group of unit identifiers indicated by unit identifiers stored in the group storage unit 105 in association with each group. The unit selection unit 109 acquires importance information within a group indicating that a unit has a higher importance within the group as the correlation between the unit and other units within the group is stronger, using correlation information stored in the correlation storage unit 103 for each of three or more units, for example, two or more pieces of correlation information between the unit and other units within the group to which the unit belongs, and acquires one or more unit identifiers whose acquired importance information satisfies the selection condition.

For example, the unit selection unit 109 may acquire importance information for each unit identifier belonging to each group, and acquire one or more unit identifiers for each group whose acquired importance information satisfies the selection condition.

For example, the unit selection unit 109 acquires, for a unit identifier that identifies each unit belonging to each group, two or more pieces of correlation information between each unit and other units in the group to which it belongs, and acquires a value indicated by a representative value such as the sum, average, or median of the values indicated by the acquired correlation information as importance information of the corresponding unit identifier within the group to which the unit identified by the unit identifier belongs. For example, if the correlation information is a correlation coefficient, as above, the larger the value of the acquired importance information, the higher the importance of the corresponding unit within the group.

Then, from among the unit identifiers that identify the units belonging to each group, the unit selection unit 109 acquires, for each group, unit identifiers whose importance information acquired for the unit identifier satisfies a selection condition. For example, the selection condition is a condition that the ranking of the corresponding importance information, in order from most important to least important, is within a predetermined ranking within the group, or a condition that the value indicated by the corresponding importance information is a value indicating that the importance is equal to or greater than a threshold value. However, the selection condition is not limited to such conditions.

The unit selection unit 109 may also acquire importance information for each unit identifier belonging to one group, and acquire one or more unit identifiers whose acquired importance information satisfies the selection condition from the unit identifiers belonging to one group. In this case, the one group is, for example, a group designated by information designating a group received by the reception unit 112 via an input device (not shown) such as a keyboard or a touch panel.

For example, the unit selection unit 109 acquires, for a unit identifier that identifies each unit belonging to a group, two or more pieces of correlation information between the unit identifier and other units belonging to the same group, and acquires a value indicated by a representative value such as the sum, average, or median of the values indicated by the acquired correlation information as importance information for the corresponding unit identifier within the group. For example, if the correlation information is a correlation coefficient, as above, the acquired importance information indicates that the larger the value, the higher the importance of the corresponding unit within the group.

Then, the unit selection unit 109 acquires unit identifiers for which the importance information acquired for the unit identifiers identifying each unit belonging to one group satisfies a selection condition. For example, the selection condition is a condition that the ranking of the corresponding importance information, in order from most important to least important, is within a predetermined ranking, or a condition that the value indicated by the corresponding importance information is a value indicating that the importance is equal to or greater than a threshold value.

The unit selection unit 109 may obtain the importance information of the unit identifier that identifies each unit by combining the correlation information obtained for all units other than each unit and the importance within each group to which each unit belongs. For example, the sum of the correlation information obtained between each unit and all other units and the sum of the correlation information obtained between each unit and other units in the group to which each unit belongs may be obtained as the importance information of the unit identifier that identifies each unit.

The unit selection unit 109 may also acquire, for example, a representative value such as the average value of the correlation information acquired between each unit and all other units, and a representative value such as the average value of the correlation information acquired between each unit and other units in the group to which each unit belongs, and further acquire the representative value (e.g., the average value, etc.) of the acquired representative values as the importance information of the unit identifier that identifies each unit. Instead of this process, the unit selection unit 109 may also acquire, for example, a representative value (e.g., the average value, etc.) of the correlation information acquired between each unit and all other units, and the correlation information acquired between each unit and other units in the group to which each unit belongs, as the importance information of the unit identifier that identifies each unit.

In any of the above cases, if the correlation information is a correlation coefficient, for example, the acquired importance information will be one in which the larger the value, the higher the importance of the corresponding unit within the group.

In any of the above cases, the weighting may be changed between the correlation information obtained with all other units, their total values, and their representative values, and the correlation information obtained with other units in the group to which the unit belongs, their total values, and their representative values.

The unit selection unit 109 may further use the academic ability information stored in the academic ability storage unit 106 to obtain one or more unit identifiers for a student. For example, the unit selection unit 109 may further use the academic ability information stored in the academic ability storage unit 106 in association with a certain student identifier to obtain one or more unit identifiers for a student identified by this certain student identifier. The unit selection unit 109 may use the academic ability information in any of the cases described above, in which one or more unit identifiers are obtained from all unit identifiers, in which a unit identifier is obtained from each group, or in which one or more unit identifiers are obtained from a certain group.

For example, when obtaining one or more unit identifiers for a student identified by a single student identifier, as described above, for each of three or more units, the importance information is obtained using correlation information between each unit and other units in the same manner as in any of the above cases, and further, the difference between the score and the target score corresponding to each unit is obtained from the academic ability information stored in the academic ability storage unit 106 in association with the single student identifier, and the importance information obtained for each unit is corrected using this difference to obtain the importance information for each unit, and one or more unit identifiers that identify units that satisfy the selection conditions described above may be obtained using the importance information obtained in this manner. The score corresponding to each unit may be, for example, the test score, average score, deviation value, etc. of each unit, or may be a score indicating the evaluation of each unit. The score corresponding to each unit may be, for example, a score indicating the student's grades in each unit or a score indicating academic ability.

The correction using the difference between the score corresponding to each unit and the target score here is, for example, a correction in which the greater the difference, the higher the importance indicated by the importance information, and is, for example, a process of multiplying or adding the difference to the value indicated by the importance information. When the academic ability information has a difference between the score and target score of each unit of a student associated with the unit identifier of each unit, the unit selection unit 109 can appropriately read out the difference corresponding to each unit by searching or the like using the unit identifier from the academic ability storage unit 106. When the academic ability information has a score and target score of each unit of a student associated with the unit identifier of each unit, the unit selection unit 109 can read out the score and target score corresponding to each unit and subtract the score from the read target score to obtain the difference between the score and the target score.

The acquisition of importance information for each unit using correlation information here may be acquisition of importance information using correlation information with all units, acquisition of importance information using correlation information with other units in the group to which each unit belongs, or acquisition of importance information using a combination of these.

For example, when obtaining one or more unit identifiers for a student identified by a single student identifier, as described above, when obtaining importance information for each unit, the importance information is obtained for each unit using correlation information between each unit and other units, as in any of the above cases, and further, using the academic ability information stored in the academic ability storage unit 106 in association with a single student identifier, a representative value such as the average value of the difference between the score and the target score corresponding to multiple units (preferably all units) in the group to which each unit belongs is obtained, and the importance information obtained for each unit is corrected using this difference to obtain the importance information for each unit, and the importance information obtained in this way may obtain a unit identifier that identifies a unit that satisfies the selection condition as described above. In this way, for example, in addition to the importance of the unit itself calculated from the correlation, the importance in learning for each student (in other words, priority) is determined.

The correction for each unit here, using the representative value of the difference between the score corresponding to multiple units in the group to which each unit belongs, and the target score, is a correction in the same way as above, in which the greater the difference, the higher the importance indicated by each piece of importance information; for example, it is a process in which the difference is multiplied or added to the value indicated by the importance information.

The unit selection unit 109 may use the academic ability information stored in the academic ability storage unit 106 in association with one student identifier to obtain the difference between the score and the target score for each unit and a representative value such as the average value of the differences between the scores and the target scores for multiple units in the group to which each unit belongs, and may use both to correct the importance information obtained using the correlation information for each unit. For example, the value indicated by the importance information using the correlation information for each unit may be multiplied by the difference between the score and the target score for each unit, and further multiplied by a representative value such as the average value of the differences between the scores and the target scores for multiple units in the group to which each unit belongs, and the obtained value may be used as the corrected importance information. In this way, for example, the importance in learning for each student is determined in the same manner as above.

Note that obtaining corrected importance information by correcting the importance information obtained using correlation information as described above with academic ability information can be considered as obtaining importance information using correlation information and academic ability information.

The reception unit 112 may receive information specifying a single student identifier, and the unit selection unit 109 may acquire one or more unit identifiers using academic ability information corresponding to the received single student identifier. The one or more unit identifiers acquired in this manner may be considered, for example, as unit identifiers that identify one or more units that are important for the student identified by the single student identifier to study efficiently.

The unit selection unit 109 may acquire a number of unit identifiers that satisfy the constraint condition, for example. For example, if the constraint condition is an amount such as the tuition fee, the unit selection unit 109 acquires a number of unit identifiers such that the sum of the amounts corresponding to one or more unit identifiers to be acquired (for example, the amount required to take the unit identified by one or more unit identifiers) is equal to or less than the amount that is the constraint condition. For example, the unit selection unit 109 acquires a number of unit identifiers such that the product of the number of unit identifiers to be acquired and the amount corresponding to the unit identified by one unit identifier (for example, the amount to take one unit) is equal to or less than the amount that is the constraint condition. For example, the constraint condition amount may be divided by the amount to take one unit to acquire the number of units corresponding to the amount, and the unit identifiers for this number of units may be acquired. Also, for example, the unit selection unit 109 may acquire a number of unit identifiers such that the sum of the amounts corresponding to one or more unit identifiers to be acquired is equal to or less than the amount that is the constraint condition. Also, for example, the unit number corresponding to the amount may be obtained from a table that associates the amount with the unit number and is stored in advance in a storage unit (not shown) or the like, and the unit identifier of this unit number may be obtained.

For example, if a constraint condition that is a monetary amount is associated with a student identifier and stored in the constraint storage unit 107, the unit selection unit 109 acquires a number of unit identifiers that satisfy this constraint condition when acquiring one or more unit identifiers for this student identifier. For example, when acquiring one or more unit identifiers as described above using academic ability information associated with a single student identifier, it acquires a number of unit identifiers that satisfy the constraint information that is a monetary amount associated with this single student identifier.

It is preferable that the unit selection unit 109 acquires the maximum number of unit identifiers whose total amount corresponding to the one or more unit identifiers acquired is less than or equal to the amount that is the constraint condition.

For example, if the constraint condition is time such as the test time or class time, the unit selection unit 109 acquires a number of unit identifiers such that the total time required to take an exam having questions on a unit identified by the one or more unit identifiers acquired, or to take a class on a unit identified by the one or more unit identifiers acquired, is equal to or less than the time that is the constraint condition. For example, a number of unit identifiers are acquired such that the product of the number of unit identifiers acquired and the time corresponding to a unit identified by a unit identifier (for example, the time set to answer questions on a unit or the time required to take a class on a unit) is equal to or less than the time that is the constraint condition. Also, for example, a number of unit identifiers may be acquired such that the total time corresponding to each of the one or more unit identifiers acquired is equal to or less than the time that is the constraint condition.

For example, when selecting a unit for a test question to assess a student's academic ability, the test time for this test is stored in the constraint storage unit 107 as a constraint, and the unit selection unit 109 obtains the number of unit identifiers that satisfy the constraint condition of the test time.

It is preferable that the unit selection unit 109 acquires the maximum number of unit identifiers whose total time corresponding to the one or more unit identifiers acquired is less than or equal to the time constraint.

The selection conditions described above may also include a condition that specifies that the number of unit identifiers corresponding to the constraint conditions should be obtained.

The unit selection unit 109 may obtain one or more unit identifiers for one or more combinations of a subject identifier, a course identifier, a student identifier, and attribute information. For example, the unit selection unit 109 may obtain one or more unit identifiers by appropriately using information such as correlation information that is associated with one or more combinations of a subject identifier, a course identifier, a student identifier, and attribute information and stored in the correlation storage unit 103, the group storage unit 105, the academic ability storage unit, the constraint storage unit 107, etc.

For example, when the reception unit 112 receives an instruction to obtain one or more unit identifiers for one or more combinations of a subject identifier, a course identifier, a student identifier, and attribute information, the unit selection unit 109 may obtain one or more unit identifiers for each of the one or more combinations of a subject identifier, a course identifier, a student identifier, and attribute information indicated by the instruction.

Note that the process by which the unit selection unit 109 acquires one or more unit identifiers is not limited to the above process. Furthermore, the process of acquiring importance information is also not limited to the above process. Furthermore, the threshold values described in each of the above processes may be the same value or different values.

The question acquisition unit 110 acquires one or more pieces of question information corresponding to each of the one or more unit identifiers acquired by the unit selection unit 109 from the question storage unit 108. Note that the question acquisition unit 110 may be omitted if there is no need to acquire question information, such as when the output unit 111, which will be described later, does not output question information.

The output unit 111 outputs information corresponding to one or more unit identifiers acquired by the unit selection unit 109. The information corresponding to one or more unit identifiers acquired by the unit selection unit 109 may be, for example, one or more unit identifiers acquired by the unit selection unit 109, or may be information related to a unit identified by one or more unit identifiers acquired by the unit selection unit 109. The information related to the unit is, for example, stored in a storage unit (not shown) in association with one or more unit identifiers. The information related to the unit may be, for example, an identifier of a course or lecture corresponding to the unit. The output unit 111 may output information having one or more problem information acquired by the problem acquisition unit 110 as information corresponding to one or more unit identifiers acquired by the unit selection unit 109. The output unit 111 may output the corresponding unit identifier together with the problem information. When outputting the problem information, the problem information may be arranged in a template or the like stored in a storage unit (not shown) or the like in advance and output.

The term "output" here refers to a concept that includes display on a monitor, printing on a printer, sound output, transmission to an external device, storage on a recording medium, and delivery of processing results to other processing devices or other programs. The output unit 111 may or may not include an output device such as a monitor or printer. The output unit 111 is realized, for example, by driver software for an output device, or a combination of driver software for an output device and an output device.

The reception unit 112 receives, for example, an instruction from a user or another device to obtain one or more unit identifiers using the correlation information stored in the correlation storage unit 103 and output information corresponding to the obtained unit identifier. This instruction may include, for example, an instruction to use the academic ability information stored in the academic ability storage unit 106. In this case, this instruction may include, for example, a student identifier associated with the academic ability information to be used. This instruction may also include an instruction to obtain a unit identifier using group information stored in the group storage unit 105. For example, the instruction received by the reception unit 112 may be an instruction to output problem information corresponding to the obtained unit identifier as information corresponding to the obtained unit identifier. The reception unit 112 may also receive a constraint condition. For example, an instruction to obtain one or more unit identifiers as described above and output information corresponding to the obtained unit identifier, which has a constraint condition, may be received. For example, the reception unit 112 may accumulate the received constraint condition in the constraint storage unit 107.

The receiving unit 112 may also receive an instruction to obtain correlation information using the grade information stored in the grade storage unit 101, or an instruction to obtain group information using the correlation information stored in the correlation storage unit 103, etc.

Note that the instructions and information accepted by the accepting unit 112 are not limited to the instructions and information listed above.

Here, the reception is, for example, reception from an input means, reception of an input signal transmitted from another device, reading of information from a recording medium, etc. This input means may be anything, such as a keyboard, mouse, touch panel, or menu screen. The reception unit 112 is realized, for example, by a device driver for an input means such as a keyboard or touch panel, or control software for a menu screen. Note that if the reception unit 112 is not required, such as when the reception unit 112 does not receive an instruction to acquire a unit identifier or when the reception unit does not receive an instruction to acquire correlation information, the reception unit 112 may be omitted.

Next, an example of the operation of the educational support device 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 2. Note that, for simplicity, the explanation will be given by taking as an example a case where only grade information for one subject for multiple students belonging to one grade is stored in the grade storage unit 101.

(Step S101) The correlation acquisition unit 102 determines whether it is time to acquire correlation information. For example, it may determine that it is time to acquire correlation information when a predetermined time has arrived, or it may determine that it is time to acquire correlation information when the reception unit 112 receives an instruction to acquire correlation information. However, the determination of the timing to acquire correlation information is not limited to the above determination. If it is time to acquire correlation information, proceed to step S102, and if it is not time to acquire correlation information, proceed to step S106.

(Step S102) The correlation acquisition unit 102 acquires correlation information for each pair of two unit identifiers among the three or more unit identifiers, using two or more pieces of grade information having three or more unit grade information associated with the unit identifiers stored in the grade storage unit 101.

(Step S103) The correlation acquisition unit 102 stores each piece of correlation information acquired in step S102 in the correlation storage unit 103 in association with the two corresponding unit identifiers.

(Step S104) The group generation unit 104 groups the unit identifiers using the correlation information stored in the correlation storage unit 103 in association with the unit identifiers. For example, the group generation unit 104 performs clustering to group the unit identifiers.

(Step S105) The group generation unit 104 accumulates group information indicating the groups of unit identifiers grouped in step S104 in the group storage unit 105. For example, the group generation unit 104 accumulates group information in which a group identifier is associated with a unit identifier. Then, the process returns to step S101.

(Step S106) The unit selection unit 109 determines whether it is time to acquire one or more unit identifiers. For example, it may determine that it is time to acquire a unit identifier when a predetermined time arrives, or it may determine that it is time to acquire a unit identifier when the reception unit 112 receives an instruction to acquire a unit identifier. However, the determination of the timing to acquire a unit identifier is not limited to the above determination. If it is time to acquire one or more unit identifiers, proceed to step S107, and if it is not time to acquire them, return to step S101.

(Step S107) The unit selection unit 109 determines whether to obtain a unit identifier using academic ability information associated with a student identifier stored in the academic ability storage unit 106. For example, if the instruction to obtain a unit identifier received in step S106, etc., is an instruction to obtain a unit identifier using academic ability information associated with a student identifier, it is determined that the unit identifier is to be obtained using academic ability information. If the unit identifier is to be obtained using academic ability information, the process proceeds to step S117, and if the unit identifier is to be obtained without using academic ability information, the process proceeds to step S108.

(Step S108) The unit selection unit 109 acquires unit identifiers associated with the correlation information stored in the correlation storage unit 103 by performing unique processing or the like to ensure that there are no duplicates. Note that, if all unit identifiers can be acquired without duplicates, unit identifiers may be acquired by processing other than this processing. For example, unit identifiers may be acquired without duplicates from the group storage unit 105. Also, multiple unit identifiers prepared in advance may be acquired from a storage unit (not shown) or the like.

(Step S109) The unit selection unit 109 assigns 1 to the value of counter m.

(Step S110) The unit selection unit 109 acquires importance information for the m-th unit identifier among the unit identifiers acquired in step S108, using multiple pieces of correlation information stored in the correlation storage unit 103 in association with this unit identifier. The importance information acquired here may be importance information acquired using correlation information between the m-th unit identifier and all other unit identifiers, or importance information acquired using correlation information between the m-th unit identifier and other unit identifiers in the group to which the m-th unit identifier belongs, or importance information acquired by a combination of both. The importance information is, for example, associated with the unit identifier and temporarily stored in a storage unit (not shown). Note that the order of the unit identifiers may be determined in any way.

(Step S111) The unit selection unit 109 increments the value of counter m by 1.

(Step S112) The unit selection unit 109 determines whether the mth unit identifier is included in the unit identifiers obtained in step S108. If so, the process returns to step S110; if not, the process proceeds to step S113.

(Step S113) The unit selection unit 109 reads out constraint information from the constraint storage unit 107. For example, the unit selection unit 109 may read out constraint information that is specified in advance to be used when academic ability information is not used. For example, the unit selection unit 109 reads out constraint information that is a time such as a test time.

(Step S114) The unit selection unit 109 acquires one or more unit identifiers whose importance information acquired for the unit identifiers in step S110 satisfies the previously prepared selection conditions, in a number that satisfies the constraint information read out in step S113. The unit identifiers acquired here may be unit identifiers acquired from all unit identifiers using the importance information, or may be unit identifiers acquired from each group using the importance information. Whether the unit identifiers are acquired from all unit identifiers or from each group may be determined in advance, or may be specified by an instruction to acquire unit identifiers accepted by the acceptance unit 112.

(Step S115) The question acquisition unit 110 acquires question information corresponding to the unit identifier acquired in step S114 from the question storage unit 108.

(Step S116) The output unit 111 outputs information corresponding to the unit identifier acquired in step S114. For example, the output unit 111 may acquire the unit identifier acquired in step S113, output the question information acquired in step S115, or output both. Then, the process returns to step S101.

(Step S117) The unit selection unit 109 performs a process of acquiring a unit identifier using the academic ability information associated with one student identifier. The details of this process will be described later. Then, the process returns to step S101.

In the flowchart of FIG. 2, when the unit selection unit 109 obtains unit identifiers from a specific group, for example, instead of the processing of step S108, it obtains unit identifiers belonging to the specific group, and in step S110, it obtains importance information for the m-th unit identifier among these unit identifiers using the corresponding correlation information, and in step S114, it obtains a unit identifier whose importance information satisfies the constraint condition.

Next, an example of the operation of the educational support device 1 to obtain one or more unit identifiers using academic ability information will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 3. This operation corresponds to, for example, the processing of step S117 shown in FIG. 2.

(Step S201) The unit selection unit 109 obtains academic ability information associated with a student identifier from the academic ability storage unit 106.

(Step S202) The unit selection unit 109 acquires unit identifiers associated with the correlation information stored in the correlation storage unit 103 by performing unique processing or the like to ensure that there are no duplicates. Note that, as long as all unit identifiers can be acquired without duplicates, unit identifiers may be acquired by processing other than this processing. Also, multiple unit identifiers prepared in advance may be acquired from a storage unit (not shown) or the like.

(Step S203) The unit selection unit 109 assigns 1 to the value of counter n.

(Step S204) The unit selection unit 109 acquires importance information for the n-th unit identifier among the unit identifiers acquired in step S202, using multiple pieces of correlation information stored in the correlation storage unit 103 in association with this unit identifier and unit academic ability information corresponding to the n-th unit identifier in the academic ability information acquired in step S201. The unit academic ability information corresponding to the n-th unit identifier in the academic ability information is, for example, the difference between the score corresponding to the n-th unit identifier of the student and the target score. Note that the importance information acquired here may be importance information acquired using correlation information between the n-th unit identifier and all other unit identifiers, or may be importance information acquired using correlation information between the n-th unit identifier and other unit identifiers of the group to which the n-th unit identifier belongs, or may be importance information acquired by a combination of both. The importance information is, for example, associated with the unit identifier and temporarily stored in a storage unit (not shown). Note that the order of the unit identifiers may be determined in any way.

(Step S205) The unit selection unit 109 increments the value of counter n by 1.

(Step S206) The unit selection unit 109 determines whether the nth unit identifier is included in the unit identifiers obtained in step S202. If so, the process returns to step S204; if not, the process proceeds to step S207.

(Step S207) The unit selection unit 109 reads out constraint information from the constraint storage unit 107. For example, the unit selection unit 109 may read out constraint information that is specified in advance to be used when academic ability information is used. For example, the unit selection unit 109 reads out constraint information that is an amount such as the tuition fee.

(Step S208) The unit selection unit 109 acquires one or more unit identifiers whose importance information acquired for the unit identifiers in step S204 satisfies the previously prepared selection conditions, in a number that satisfies the constraint information read in step S207. The unit identifiers acquired here may be unit identifiers acquired from all unit identifiers using the importance information, or may be unit identifiers acquired from each group using the importance information. Whether the unit identifiers are acquired from all unit identifiers or from each group may be determined in advance, or may be specified by an instruction to acquire unit identifiers accepted by the acceptance unit 112.

(Step S209) The output unit 111 outputs information corresponding to the unit identifier acquired in step S208. For example, the output unit 111 acquires the unit identifier acquired in step S208. Then, the process returns to the upper level process.

In the flowchart shown in FIG. 3, after the processing of step S208, problem information corresponding to the unit identifier obtained in step S208 may be obtained, similar to step S115 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 2, and the obtained problem information may be output in step S209.

In the flowcharts shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, for example, when grade information associated with a combination of attribute information indicating different grades and different subject identifiers is stored in the grade storage unit 101, the correlation acquisition unit 102 preferably acquires correlation information for each combination of grade and subject, for example, using generation information associated with the combination of each grade and each subject identifier. In addition, it is preferable that the grouping performed by the group generation unit 104 is also performed for each subject of each grade, using correlation information associated with the subject of each grade. In addition, the unit selection unit 109 may acquire a unit identifier for each subject of each grade, using correlation information associated with the subjects, or may acquire a unit identifier for each subject of a specific grade or for a specific subject of a specific grade, using correlation information associated with the subjects. In addition, the unit selection unit 109 may acquire a unit identifier for a specific subject by grade, using correlation information associated with the subjects.

The specific operation of the education support device 1 in this embodiment will be described below.
Here, it is assumed that the grade information of a plurality of students for one subject, mathematics, from the first to third grades of junior high school for the past five years is stored in the grade storage unit 101 .

FIG. 4A shows a grade management table for managing the grade information stored in the grade storage unit 101. The grade management table has attributes such as "grade ID", "grade ID", "unit ID", and "average score". "Grade ID" is an identifier for grade information, and is assumed to be a code assigned to grade information here. "Grade ID" is a name indicating a grade, which is attribute information corresponding to grade information, and "first year of junior high school" indicates a first year of junior high school, "second year of junior high school" indicates a second year of junior high school, and "third year of junior high school" indicates a third year of junior high school. "Unit ID" is a unit identifier, and is assumed to be a unit name here. Multiple records (rows) with the same value of "grade ID" correspond to one piece of grade information for one student, and records with different values of "unit ID" that have the same value of "grade ID" correspond to unit grade information for the unit indicated by the value of "unit ID" for the same grade information. "Grade ID" of records (rows) with the same value of "grade ID" is the same value. "Average score" is the unit performance information for the corresponding unit, and here indicates the average score of one or more tests conducted for the corresponding unit. Note that this average score is calculated by converting the scores of each test into values where the full score is 100 points. Note that the letters "X ₁₀₀₁ " and "X ₁₀₀₂ " in the "average score" are each specific numerical values that indicate the average score.

Here, it is assumed that the reception unit 112 of the educational support device 1 receives an instruction from a user or the like to perform correlation information using the grade information stored in the grade storage unit 101.

The correlation acquisition unit 102 first acquires the "Grade ID" values "first year," "second year," and "third year" from each record in the grade management table shown in FIG. 4, without any duplicates, by performing unique processing or the like. Then, from records (rows) in the grade management table shown in FIG. 4 where the "Grade ID" value matches the first acquired value "first year," it acquires the "Unit ID" values without duplicates, by performing unique processing. Note that although "first year" is set as the first value here, it does not matter which "Grade ID" value is set as the first value.

Figure 4 (b) is a diagram showing the "unit ID" values acquired by the correlation acquisition unit 102. Here, it is assumed that three or more "unit ID" values have been acquired.

Next, all combinations of unit identifiers are obtained when extracting two unit identifiers from the obtained "unit ID" values without duplicates. The combinations of unit identifiers extracted are, for example, the combination of unit identifiers "positive numbers and negative numbers" and "use of positive and negative numbers", the combination of unit identifiers "positive numbers and negative numbers" and "addition and subtraction", the combination of "positive numbers and negative numbers" and "multiplication and division", etc.

Note that, here, three or more sets of two unit identifiers are obtained using grade information, but three or more sets of two unit identifiers may be read out from a storage unit (not shown) that has been previously associated with a grade identifier.

Then, from among the multiple records whose "Grade ID" is the first value "first year of junior high school" and whose "Grade ID" has the same value, two records whose "Unit ID" values match the two unit identifiers in the first set of unit identifiers obtained above are detected, and the sets of "Average Score" values of the two records detected from the multiple records are obtained as multiple sets of values corresponding to each unit identifier.

For example, if the unit identifiers of the first pair are "Positive and Negative Numbers" and "Use of Positive and Negative Numbers," the corresponding pairs of "Average Score" values are obtained from each record with the same "Grade ID" value among records with "Grade ID" of "First Year of Junior High School." It does not matter which pair of unit identifiers is the number of the pair.

Then, using a plurality of pairs of values corresponding to each unit identifier acquired for the first pair, a correlation coefficient is acquired here as correlation information between the unit identifiers of the first pair, "positive numbers and negative numbers" and "use of positive numbers and negative numbers". The process of acquiring a correlation coefficient is a known technique, and therefore will not be described here. If the acquired correlation coefficient value is "y ₁₀₀₁ ", this correlation coefficient is associated with the pair of the first unit identifier, "positive numbers and negative numbers" and "use of positive numbers and negative numbers", and stored in the correlation storage unit 103. Here, the correlation coefficient and the pair of unit identifiers are further associated with the above grade identifier, "first year of junior high school", and stored in the correlation storage unit 103. Note that the characters such as "y ₁₀₀₁ " of the correlation coefficient indicate a specific value representing the correlation coefficient. The same applies to the characters of other correlation coefficients.

Similar processing is performed to obtain correlation coefficients, which are correlation information, for each of the two unit identifiers in the second and subsequent pairs of unit identifiers obtained above, and the obtained correlation coefficients are added to the correlation storage unit 103 in association with the two unit identifiers in each pair and the above grade identifier "first year of junior high school."

Furthermore, when the process of acquiring correlation information as described above for a record whose "Grade ID" value is "first year of junior high school" is completed, the correlation acquisition unit 102 acquires correlation information between unit identifiers as described above for records whose "Grade ID" values are second and subsequent, in this case "second year of junior high school" and "third year of junior high school", and adds the acquired correlation information to the correlation storage unit 103 by associating it with a pair of unit identifiers and a grade identifier.

5 is a correlation management table for managing correlation information stored in the correlation storage unit 103. The correlation management table has attributes of "grade ID", "unit ID", and "correlation". "Grade ID" is a grade identifier. "Unit ID" is a unit identifier, and here, two unit identifiers corresponding to correlation information are arranged in random order, separated by a "," (comma). "Correlation" is correlation information, and here, is a correlation coefficient. For example, a record (row) with "grade ID" of "first year of junior high school", "unit ID" of "positive numbers and negative numbers, multiplication and division", and "correlation" of "y ₁₀₀₃ " indicates that the value of the correlation coefficient between the unit "positive numbers and negative numbers" for first year of junior high school and the unit "multiplication and division" is "y ₁₀₀₃ ".

Next, the group generation unit 104 uses the correlation information managed by the correlation management table shown in FIG. 5 to group the unit identifiers for each grade identifier.

First, the group generation unit 104 reads out information from the correlation management table shown in FIG. 5 for each record (row) whose "Grade ID" value is the first grade identifier "first year of junior high school". Then, the unit identifiers are grouped by performing clustering using the correlation coefficient, which is the "correlation" value of each read record, as the distance between the units identified by the two unit identifiers indicated by the "unit ID" values of the corresponding records. Note that here, clustering is performed so that the larger the correlation coefficient value, the shorter the distance between the units is determined to be. Then, group information in which group identifiers are associated with the unit identifiers grouped by clustering is stored in the group storage unit 105 in association with the grade identifier. Clustering processing is a well-known technique, so a detailed explanation is omitted here.

In the same manner, the group generation unit 104 uses the correlation information acquired for each of the second and subsequent grade identifiers to group the unit identifiers corresponding to each grade identifier to acquire group information, and stores the acquired group information in the group storage unit 105 in association with the corresponding grade identifier.

Figure 6 shows a group management table that manages group information stored in the group storage unit 105. The group management table has attributes called "grade ID", "group ID", and "unit ID". "Grade ID" is a grade identifier. "Group ID" is a group identifier, and is assumed to be information having a consecutive number that is automatically assigned to a group. "Unit ID" is a unit identifier that constitutes each group, and one or more unit identifiers are arranged separated by a "," (comma). Here, it is assumed that a group management table like that shown in Figure 6 has been obtained by the above processing.

Next, assume that the reception unit 112 of the educational support device 1 receives an instruction to output test questions to assess the academic ability of first-year junior high school students. This instruction is information having a grade identifier "first year of junior high school". In addition, here, this instruction is information having information on the test time of 60 minutes as a constraint condition. When the reception unit receives an instruction to output these questions, the constraint condition contained in this instruction is stored in the constraint storage unit 107. For example, the test time of "60 minutes" is associated with information indicating the type of constraint condition, "test time", and stored in the constraint storage unit 107.

Figure 7 (a) shows a constraint management table that manages the constraint conditions stored in the constraint storage unit 107. The constraint management table has an attribute called "type" that indicates the type of constraint condition, and an attribute called "condition" that is the value of the condition. Here, it is assumed that a new record has been stored for a constraint condition whose "type" is "test time" and whose "condition" is "60 minutes."

The unit selection unit 109 has received an instruction to output test questions, so it starts the process of obtaining a unit identifier without using the student's academic ability information.

First, the unit selection unit 109 obtains the "group ID" values from multiple records in the group management table shown in FIG. 6 where the "grade ID" is "first year of junior high school" by performing unique processing or the like to ensure that there are no duplicates. Here, it is assumed that seven group identifiers from "G01" to "G07" are obtained.

The unit selection unit 109 acquires the first group identifier "G01" from the seven acquired group identifiers, and acquires multiple unit identifiers indicated by the "unit ID" values of records in which the "group ID" value in the group management table shown in FIG. 6 is the acquired group identifier "G01". The multiple unit identifiers acquired here are unit identifiers belonging to the first group. Here, it is assumed that multiple unit identifiers such as "surface area and volume of a solid", "how to view and examine a solid", "structure of a solid", "organizing materials", and "approximate values and significant figures" have been acquired. It does not matter which group identifier is designated as which group identifier.

Next, the unit selection unit 109 detects all records in which the two unit identifiers, which are the values of "unit ID", match the first unit identifier among the multiple unit identifiers belonging to the first group obtained above and other unit identifiers belonging to the first group from the correlation management table shown in FIG. 5, and calculates the average value of the correlation coefficient, which is the "correlation" value of all the detected records. Note that it does not matter which unit identifier in the same group is set as the number of the unit identifier. Then, the calculated average value of the correlation coefficient is stored in a storage unit (not shown) in association with the unit identifier and the group identifier as importance information indicating the importance of the first unit identifier in the group. The storage here may be temporary. The importance information obtained here is the average value of the correlation coefficient, so normally, the larger the value, the higher the importance.

In the same manner, importance information is obtained for the second and subsequent unit identifiers belonging to the first group, and is stored in a storage unit (not shown) in association with the unit identifier and group identifier.

Furthermore, for each of the second and subsequent group identifiers among the seven group identifiers acquired above, the unit selection unit 109 similarly acquires importance information, which is the average value of the correlation coefficients, for each unit identifier belonging to each group, using correlation coefficients, which are correlation information between the unit identifiers and other unit identifiers in the same group, acquires the unit identifier with the highest importance indicated by the corresponding importance information as the unit identifier corresponding to each group identifier, and stores the unit identifiers in a storage unit (not shown) in association with the group identifier and the unit identifier.

FIG. 8(a) is an importance management table that manages the importance information acquired and accumulated by the unit selection unit 109. The importance management table has attributes of "group ID", "unit ID", and "importance". "Group ID" is a group identifier. "Unit ID" is a unit identifier. "Importance" is the importance information calculated above for each unit using academic ability information, etc. Note that characters such as "j ₁₀₀₁ " in "importance" indicate a specific value of importance information. The same applies hereinafter.

Next, the unit selection unit 109 determines whether a constraint whose "Type" is "Test Time" is stored in the constraint storage unit 107. Here, because a record (row) whose "Type" is "Test Time" is stored in the constraint management table shown in FIG. 7(a), the constraint value of this record, "60 minutes", is read out. Then, the constraint value "60 minutes" is divided by the predetermined time required to answer a question per unit, "10 minutes", to determine the number of units for which question information is to be obtained. This time "10 minutes" is read out from, for example, a storage unit (not shown) that has been previously stored. Here, the number of units "6" is determined.

The unit selection unit 109 uses the importance information acquired for each unit in each group as described above to acquire unit identifiers that satisfy the selection conditions. Here, the selection conditions are assumed to be "acquire unit identifiers for the number of units determined by the constraint conditions, one at a time, from each group in order, starting from the unit identifier with the highest importance indicated by the importance information acquired for the unit identifiers in each group. However, if there are no constraint conditions, acquire the unit identifier with the highest corresponding importance, one at a time, from each group." Here, since the number of units determined by the constraint conditions is "6" as described above, a total of six unit identifiers are acquired using the importance management table shown in FIG. 8(a).

Note that here, the selection conditions are expressed in natural language, but the selection conditions may be composed of, for example, one or more functions that correspond to these natural languages, method names, or control syntax indicated by "if", "then", etc. The selection conditions may also be algorithms for performing decision processing that correspond to these natural languages. The same applies to the other selection conditions described below.

First, the unit selection unit 109 detects the record with the highest "importance" value from among the multiple records with the same "group ID" in the importance management table shown in FIG. 8(a). Here, the number of detected records is seven, which is more than the number of units "6" determined above due to the constraint conditions, so six records are detected from the seven detected records in order of the "importance" value. Then, the "unit ID" value of each of the six detected records is obtained. Here, as unit identifiers, "calculation of algebraic expressions" from the group with group identifier "G01", "basics of plane figures" from the group with group identifier "G02", "equations using algebraic expressions" from the group with group identifier "G03", "proportional expressions" from the group with group identifier "G04", "movement of figures" from the group with group identifier "G05", and "multiplication and division" from the group with group identifier "G06" are respectively obtained and stored. Note that no unit identifier was obtained from the group with group identifier "G07".

In addition, if the number of records with the highest "importance" value detected from multiple records with the same "group ID" in the importance management table shown in Figure 8 (a) is less than the number "6" determined by the constraint conditions, the unit identifier of the record with the highest "importance" value for each group is obtained, and further, a process of obtaining importance information is performed starting from the record with the next highest "importance" value for each group, until the total number of unit identifiers obtained reaches the number determined by the constraint conditions.

Figure 9 shows a question management table that manages question information stored in the question storage unit 108. The question management table has attributes of "grade ID", "unit ID", and "question". "Grade ID" is a grade identifier, and "unit ID" is a unit identifier. "Question" is the file name of the question information file in which the question text and image are placed. Note that the file format of the question information is not important.

The question acquisition unit 110 uses the question management table shown in FIG. 9 to read from the question storage unit 108 question information files that correspond to the number of unit identifiers that satisfy the constraint conditions obtained above. In this example, a question information file such as "Q1001" is read.

The output unit 111 places the data of the read question information file into a template or the like that is stored in advance in a storage unit (not shown) or the like to create test question data.

The output unit 111 outputs data of the test questions in which the question information acquired by the question acquisition unit 110 is arranged. The output unit 111 may further output a number of unit identifiers that satisfy the constraint conditions acquired by the unit selection unit 109.

Figure 10 is a diagram showing an example of the display of test question data in which question information acquired by the question acquisition unit 110 is arranged, which is displayed on the monitor 111a by the output unit 111. For example, in Figure 10, question 91 is a question indicated by question information corresponding to the unit identifier "Calculation of algebraic expressions", question 92 is a question indicated by question information corresponding to the unit identifier "Basic plane figures", and question 93 is a question indicated by question information corresponding to the unit identifier "Algebraic expressions".

Next, assume that the reception unit 112 of the educational support device 1 receives an instruction to propose an optimal curriculum for improving grades within a budget of 50,000 yen for a student with a student identifier "U001" who is in the first year of junior high school and for whom corresponding academic ability information is already stored in the academic ability storage unit 106. This instruction is information that has the grade identifier "first year of junior high school" and the student identifier "U001". Furthermore, this instruction is information that has a constraint condition of 50,000 yen for tuition fees. When the reception unit receives this instruction, it deletes the constraint condition shown in FIG. 7(a) above, and newly stores the constraint condition of this instruction in the constraint storage unit 107. For example, the tuition fee of "50,000 yen" is associated with information indicating the type of constraint condition, "tuition fee", and is stored in the constraint storage unit 107.

Figure 7 (b) is a constraint management table that manages the constraint conditions newly stored in the constraint storage unit 107. Here, it is assumed that a record of a constraint condition in which "Type" is "Course Fee" and "Condition" is "50,000 yen" has been newly stored.

The unit selection unit 109 has received an instruction to propose a curriculum for a student whose corresponding academic ability information is already stored in the academic ability storage unit 106, and so begins the process of acquiring a unit identifier using the student's academic ability information. Proposing a curriculum here may be considered, for example, as the process of proposing a class unit that the student should take.

FIG. 11 is an academic ability management table that manages academic ability information stored in the academic ability storage unit 106. The academic ability management table has attributes of "student ID", "unit ID", and "academic ability". "Student ID" is a student identifier. "Unit ID" is a unit identifier. "Academic ability" is the unit academic ability information of a student, and is assumed here to be a value indicating the difference between the target value of each unit and the average test score of the student. Normally, the smaller the value of "academic ability" is, the closer the average value is to the target value, and therefore the unit can be considered to have a higher academic ability. Instead of the average test score, a value indicating a grade other than the average score, such as a deviation value, may be used. Information of records (rows) with the same "student ID" corresponds to the academic ability information of the same student. Note that the characters "z ₁₀₀₁ " in "academic ability" are assumed to be specific numerical values indicating the difference between the target value and the average score of each unit.

First, the unit selection unit 109 reads the information of the record whose "Student ID" is "U001" from the academic achievement management table shown in FIG. 11.

Next, the unit selection unit 109 performs unique processing, etc., to obtain unit identifiers from the "Unit ID" values of multiple records in the correlation management table shown in Figure 5 where the "Grade" is "First year of junior high school" to avoid duplication. The obtained unit identifiers are the same information as the unit identifiers shown in Figure 4 (b).

Next, for the first unit identifier among the acquired unit identifiers, the unit selection unit 109 acquires importance information using the academic ability information. Here, for example, it is assumed that the first unit identifier is "positive numbers and negative numbers." It does not matter which unit identifier is set as the number of the unit identifier.

First, the unit selection unit 109 selects the "unit ID" from the record read from the academic achievement management table.
A record is detected in which the value of the first unit identifier "positive number and negative number" is found, and the unit academic ability information "z ₁₀₀₁ " which is the "academic ability" value of the detected record is obtained.

Next, the unit selection unit 109 detects records containing the first unit identifier "positive number and negative number" as the value of "unit ID" in records in which the "grade ID" in the group management table shown in FIG. 6 is "first year of junior high school", and obtains all unit identifiers other than the first unit identifier from the "unit ID" of the detected records. The unit identifiers other than the first unit identifier are other unit identifiers in the same group as the first unit identifier. Then, in records in which the "grade ID" in the correlation management table shown in FIG. 5 is "first year of junior high school", the unit selection unit 109 detects multiple records in which the two unit identifiers in the "unit ID" match the combination of the first unit identifier and other unit identifiers in the same group as the first unit identifier, and calculates the average value of the correlation coefficients, which are the "correlation" values of the detected records. The calculated average value of the correlation coefficients is obtained as the average value of the correlation coefficients between the first unit identifier and other unit identifiers in the group.

Furthermore, the unit selection unit 109 detects all records in which the "Unit ID" includes the first unit identifier "Positive Numbers and Negative Numbers" in the records in which the "Grade ID" in the correlation management table shown in FIG. 5 is "First Year of Junior High School", and calculates the average value of the correlation coefficients, which are the "Correlation" values of the detected records. The calculated average value of the correlation coefficients is obtained as the average value of the correlation coefficients between the first unit identifier and all other unit identifiers corresponding to first year junior high school students.

The unit selection unit 109 then calculates the product of the unit academic ability information " _z1001 " acquired for the first unit identifier, the average value of the correlation coefficients between the first unit identifier and other unit identifiers in the group, and the average value of the correlation coefficients between the first unit identifier and all other unit identifiers corresponding to first-year junior high school students.Then, the calculated value is acquired as importance information indicating the importance corresponding to the first unit identifier, and is stored in a storage unit (not shown) in association with the first unit identifier.The acquired importance information is, for example, importance information in which the larger the value, the higher the importance.

In the same manner, for the second and subsequent unit identifiers, the unit selection unit 109 obtains the corresponding unit academic ability information and the average value of the correlation coefficient between the unit identifier and other unit identifiers in the group to which the unit identifier belongs, and the average value of the correlation coefficient between the unit identifier and all other unit identifiers corresponding to first-year junior high school students, obtains the product of these as importance information corresponding to the unit identifier, and stores (e.g., appends) it in association with the unit identifier.

FIG. 8(b) is an importance management table that manages the importance information acquired and accumulated by the unit selection unit 109. The importance management table has attributes of "unit ID" and "importance". "Unit ID" is a unit identifier. "Importance" is the importance information calculated above for each unit using academic ability information, etc. Note that characters such as "k ₁₀₀₁ " in "importance" indicate a specific value of importance information. The same applies hereinafter.

Next, the unit selection unit 109 determines whether a constraint condition whose "Type" is "Course Fee" is stored in the constraint storage unit 107. Here, because a record (row) whose "Type" is "Course Fee" is stored in the constraint management table shown in FIG. 7(b), the constraint condition "50,000 yen" which is the "Constraint" value of this record is read out. Then, this constraint condition value "50,000 yen" is divided by the predetermined course fee per unit of "10,000 yen" to determine the number of units of lessons to be taken by the student with student identifier "U101". This course fee of "10,000 yen" is read out from, for example, a storage unit (not shown) that has been previously stored. Here, the number of units "5" is determined.

The unit selection unit 109 acquires unit identifiers that satisfy the selection condition using the importance information acquired for each unit as described above. Here, the selection condition is assumed to be a condition that "unit identifiers of the number of units determined by the constraints are acquired in order of importance indicated by the importance information acquired for the unit identifiers, starting from the most important. However, if there are no constraints, 10 unit identifiers are acquired." Here, since the number of units determined by the constraints is "5" as described above, five unit identifiers are acquired in order of importance indicated by the corresponding importance information, using the importance management table shown in FIG. 8(b). Here, five unit identifiers are acquired in order of importance indicated by the largest value of the corresponding importance information, using the importance management table shown in FIG. 8(b). Here, it is assumed that the unit selection unit 109 has acquired "calculation of algebraic expressions," "use of equations," "proportional expressions," "movement of figures," and "basics of spatial figures."

In this case, since the instruction received by the reception unit 112 above is not an instruction to output questions corresponding to the acquired unit, the question acquisition unit 110 does not acquire question information corresponding to the unit identifier acquired by the unit selection unit 109 above.

Then, the output unit 111 outputs the five unit identifiers acquired by the unit selection unit 109. For example, the output unit 111 arranges the five unit identifiers in a template prepared in advance and outputs (e.g., displays) them.

Figure 12 shows an example of a unit identifier displayed by the output unit 111 on the monitor 111a.

The unit selection unit 109 may acquire unit identifiers that satisfy a selection condition including the condition "acquire the unit identifier with the highest importance indicated by the importance information acquired for the unit identifier, and as the pth (p is an integer of 2 or more) unit identifiers after the first, acquire unit identifiers with high correlation with the p-1th unit identifier in the same group as the acquired unit identifier in sequence." As an example of a process for acquiring unit identifiers that satisfy such a selection condition, for example, the unit selection unit 109 acquires the unit with the highest importance as the first unit identifier, and then acquires the unit identifier with high correlation with the first unit identifier in the same group as the second unit identifier, and then acquires the unit identifier with high correlation with the second unit identifier in the same group as the third unit identifier, thereby acquiring unit identifiers with high correlation in the same group in sequence. By outputting the unit identifiers acquired in this way by the output unit 111, it is possible to acquire unit identifiers in an order according to the correlation between groups and units, for example, and to output unit identifiers that enable continuous learning of related units. In addition, unit identifiers will be obtained so that there are no duplicates.

As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to obtain an appropriate unit identifier according to the correlation between three or more units, and to appropriately support students' learning.

For example, a unit identifier indicating one or more units that a student is studying can be obtained depending on the student's academic ability and the correlation between units.

In addition, for example, in order to properly diagnose a student's academic ability based on the correlation between three or more units, it is possible to obtain a unit identifier indicating one or more units to be checked and problem information corresponding to this unit identifier.

In each of the above embodiments, each process (each function) may be realized by centralized processing in a single device (system), or may be realized by distributed processing in multiple devices.

In addition, in each of the above embodiments, the educational support device is described as being standalone, but the educational support device may be a standalone device or a server device in a server-client system. In the latter case, the output unit and the reception unit will receive input and output the screen via a communication line.

In addition, in each of the above embodiments, each component may be configured with dedicated hardware, or components that can be realized by software may be realized by executing a program. For example, each component may be realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or semiconductor memory. During execution, the program execution unit may execute the program while accessing a storage unit (for example, a recording medium such as a hard disk or memory).

The software for realizing the educational support device in each of the above embodiments is a program as follows. In other words, this program is a program for causing a computer that can access a correlation storage unit in which correlation information regarding the correlation between units obtained using two or more pieces of grade information each having information regarding the grades for three or more units associated with a unit identifier that identifies a unit to function as a unit selection unit that obtains one or more unit identifiers from among the three or more unit identifiers using the correlation information, and an output unit that outputs information corresponding to the one or more unit identifiers obtained by the unit selection unit.

In addition, in the above program, the functions realized by the above program do not include functions that can only be realized by hardware. For example, functions that can only be realized by hardware such as a modem or interface card in an acquisition unit that acquires information or an output unit that outputs information are not included in the functions realized by the above program.

The program may be executed by a single computer or multiple computers. In other words, it may be executed by centralized processing or distributed processing.

Figure 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the appearance of a computer that executes the above program to realize an educational support device according to the above embodiment. The above embodiment can be realized by computer hardware and a computer program executed thereon.

In FIG. 13, the computer system 900 includes a computer 901 including a CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory) drive 905, a keyboard 902, a mouse 903, and a monitor 904.

Figure 14 is a diagram showing the internal configuration of a computer system 900. In Figure 14, the computer 901 includes, in addition to a CD-ROM drive 905, an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) 911, a ROM 912 for storing programs such as a boot-up program, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 913 connected to the MPU 911 and temporarily storing application program instructions and providing temporary storage space, a hard disk 914 for storing application programs, system programs, and data, and a bus 915 for interconnecting the MPU 911, the ROM 912, etc. Note that the computer 901 may also include a network card (not shown) for providing a connection to a LAN.

A program that causes the computer system 900 to execute the functions of the educational support device according to the above embodiment may be stored on a CD-ROM 921, inserted into the CD-ROM drive 905, and transferred to the hard disk 914. Alternatively, the program may be sent to the computer 901 via a network (not shown) and stored on the hard disk 914. The program is loaded into the RAM 913 when executed. The program may also be loaded directly from the CD-ROM 921 or the network.

The program does not necessarily have to include an operating system (OS) or a third-party program that causes the computer 901 to execute the functions of the educational support device according to the above embodiment. The program may include only an instruction portion that calls appropriate functions (modules) in a controlled manner to obtain the desired results. How the computer system 900 operates is well known, and a detailed description will be omitted.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible, and it goes without saying that these are also included within the scope of the present invention.

As described above, the educational support device of the present invention is suitable as a device for supporting education, and is particularly useful as a device for supporting education on multiple subjects.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Educational support device 101 Grade storage unit 102 Correlation acquisition unit 103 Correlation storage unit 104 Group generation unit 105 Group storage unit 106 Academic ability storage unit 107 Constraint storage unit 108 Question storage unit 109 Unit selection unit 110 Question acquisition unit 111 Output unit 111a Monitor 112 Reception unit

Claims (14)

a correlation storage unit in which correlation information regarding a correlation between units obtained using two or more pieces of grade information each having information regarding grades for three or more units associated with a unit identifier that identifies the unit is stored;
a unit selection unit that acquires one or more unit identifiers from among the three or more unit identifiers using the correlation information;
an output unit that outputs information corresponding to one or more unit identifiers acquired by the unit selection unit ,
The unit selection unit uses the correlation information stored in the correlation storage unit to obtain importance information for each of three or more units, indicating that the stronger the correlation with other units, the more important the unit is, and the educational support device obtains one or more unit identifiers whose obtained importance information satisfies a selection condition. a group storage unit for storing group information indicating groups of unit identifiers grouped into two or more groups based on the correlation information;
2. The educational support device according to claim 1 , wherein the unit selection unit acquires one or more unit identifiers by using a group of the unit identifiers. The educational support device of claim 2, further comprising a group generation unit that uses the correlation information stored in the correlation storage unit to group the unit identifiers of the three or more units into two or more groups, and accumulates group information indicating the groups of the unit identifiers of the three or more units in the group storage unit. 4. The education support device according to claim 1 , wherein the unit selection unit acquires, for each of three or more units, importance information among all the units. A constraint storage unit is further provided in which a constraint condition for the selection of a unit is stored,
The education support device according to claim 1 , wherein the unit selection unit acquires a number of unit identifiers that satisfy the constraint condition. a correlation storage unit in which correlation information regarding a correlation between units obtained using two or more pieces of grade information each having information regarding grades for three or more units associated with a unit identifier that identifies the unit is stored;
a unit selection unit that acquires one or more unit identifiers from among the three or more unit identifiers using the correlation information;
an output unit that outputs information corresponding to one or more unit identifiers acquired by the unit selection unit;
a group storage unit for storing group information indicating groups of unit identifiers grouped into two or more groups based on the correlation information;
The unit selection unit utilizes the group of unit identifiers to obtain importance information within the group indicating that the stronger the correlation between a unit and other units in the group, the higher its importance within the group, using correlation information stored in the correlation storage unit for each of three or more units, including two or more correlation information between each unit and other units in the group to which it belongs, and obtains one or more unit identifiers whose obtained importance information satisfies a selection condition. The educational support device of claim 6, further comprising a group generation unit that uses the correlation information stored in the correlation storage unit to group the unit identifiers of the three or more units into two or more groups, and accumulates group information indicating the groups of the unit identifiers of the three or more units in the group storage unit. A grade storage unit in which two or more pieces of grade information are stored;
The educational support device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a correlation acquisition unit that acquires correlation information between two units using two or more grade information stored in the grade storage unit and accumulates the correlation information in the correlation storage unit. a question storage unit for storing one or more pieces of question information associated with a unit identifier;
a question acquisition unit that acquires from the question storage unit one or more pieces of question information corresponding to each of the one or more unit identifiers acquired by the unit selection unit,
The educational support device according to claim 1 , wherein the output unit outputs information having one or more pieces of question information acquired by the question acquisition unit as information corresponding to one or more unit identifiers acquired by the unit selection unit. The system further includes an academic ability storage unit in which academic ability information having information on the academic ability of each student in each unit is stored,
The education support device according to claim 1 , wherein the unit selection unit further uses the academic ability information to obtain one or more unit identifiers for the student. An educational support method using a correlation storage unit that stores correlation information regarding a correlation between units obtained using two or more pieces of grade information each having information regarding grades for three or more units associated with a unit identifier that identifies the unit, a unit selection unit, and an output unit,
a unit selection step in which the unit selection unit acquires one or more unit identifiers from among the three or more unit identifiers by using the correlation information;
an output step in which the output unit outputs information corresponding to one or more unit identifiers acquired in the unit selection step ,
The unit selection step is an educational support method in which, for each of three or more units, correlation information stored in the correlation storage unit is used to obtain importance information indicating that the stronger the correlation between a unit and other units, the more important the unit is, and one or more unit identifiers whose obtained importance information satisfies a selection condition are obtained . An educational support method using a correlation storage unit that stores correlation information regarding a correlation between units obtained using two or more pieces of grade information each having information regarding grades for three or more units associated with a unit identifier that identifies a unit, a unit selection unit, an output unit, and a group storage unit that stores group information indicating groups of unit identifiers grouped into two or more groups by the correlation information,
a unit selection step in which the unit selection unit acquires one or more unit identifiers from among the three or more unit identifiers by using the correlation information;
an output step in which the output unit outputs information corresponding to one or more unit identifiers acquired in the unit selection step,
The unit selection step utilizes the group of unit identifiers to obtain importance information within the group, which indicates that the stronger the correlation between a unit and other units in the group, the more important the unit is within the group, using correlation information stored in the correlation storage unit for each of three or more units, including two or more correlation information between each unit and other units in the group to which it belongs, and obtains one or more unit identifiers whose obtained importance information satisfies a selection condition. A computer that can access a correlation storage unit that stores correlation information regarding correlations between units obtained using two or more pieces of grade information each having information regarding grades for three or more units associated with a unit identifier that identifies the unit,
a unit selection unit that acquires one or more unit identifiers from among the three or more unit identifiers using the correlation information;
functioning as an output unit that outputs information corresponding to one or more unit identifiers acquired by the unit selection unit ;
The unit selection unit uses the correlation information stored in the correlation storage unit to obtain, for each of three or more units, importance information indicating that the stronger the correlation between a unit and other units, the more important the unit is, and obtains one or more unit identifiers whose obtained importance information satisfies a selection condition . A computer that can access a correlation storage unit that stores correlation information regarding correlations between units obtained using two or more pieces of grade information each having information regarding grades for three or more units associated with a unit identifier that identifies the unit, and a group storage unit that stores group information indicating groups of unit identifiers that are grouped into two or more groups based on the correlation information,
a unit selection unit that acquires one or more unit identifiers from among the three or more unit identifiers using the correlation information;
functioning as an output unit that outputs information corresponding to one or more unit identifiers acquired by the unit selection unit;
The unit selection unit utilizes the group of unit identifiers to obtain importance information within the group indicating that the stronger the correlation between a unit and other units in the group, the higher its importance within the group, using correlation information stored in the correlation storage unit for each of three or more units, including two or more correlation information between each unit and other units in the group to which it belongs, and obtains one or more unit identifiers whose obtained importance information satisfies a selection condition.

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