Kristy Elizabeth Boyer

General Information

I am a Ph.D. student in Computer Science at North Carolina State University.

My dissertation work is in the area of artificial intelligence with a research focus on tutorial dialogue systems in the domain of introductory computer science. I also conduct research in computer science education including investigations into curriculum design and course delivery for introductory computer science, along with examining the participation of underrepresented groups in computing. My advisors are Dr. James Lester and Dr. Mladen Vouk.

I am originally from Valdosta, Georgia. I earned a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from Valdosta State University. I hold a Master's degree in Applied Statistics from the Industrial and Systems Engineering Department at Georgia Institute of Technology.

From 1999 until 2001, I worked for Delta Technology, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines. I was part of the Operations Research department. I developed software for and performed statistical analyses of the baggage transfer system at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport.

From 2002 until 2005, I taught mathematics and introductory computer science as a lecturer at Valdosta State University.

Education

M.S., Applied Statistics (2001)
Georgia Institute of Technology

B.S., Mathematics and Computer Science (1999)
Valdosta State University

Papers

Learner Characteristics and Feedback in Tutorial Dialogue. Kristy Elizabeth Boyer, Robert Phillips, Michael D. Wallis, Mladen A. Vouk, and James C. Lester. To appear in Proceedings of the ACL '08 Workshop on Innovative Use of NLP for Building Educational Applications, Columbus, Ohio, 2008.

A Development Environment for Distributed Synchronous Collaborative Programming. Kristy Elizabeth Boyer, August A. Dwight, R. Taylor Fondren, Mladen A. Vouk, and James C. Lester. To appear in ITiCSE '08, Proceedings of the 13th Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, Madrid, Spain, 2008.

Balancing Cognitive and Motivational Scaffolding in Tutorial Dialogue. Kristy Elizabeth Boyer, Robert Phillips, Michael Wallis, Mladen Vouk, and James Lester. To appear in ITS '08, Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems, Montreal, Canada, 2008.

The Influence of Learner Characteristics on Task-Oriented Tutorial Dialogue. Kristy Elizabeth Boyer, Mladen A. Vouk, James C. Lester. AIED '07, Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education, Marina Del Rey, California, 2007. *

A Case for Smaller Class Size with Integrated Lab in Introductory Computer Science. Kristy Elizabeth Boyer, Rachael S. Dwight, Carolyn S. Miller, C. Dianne Raubenheimer, Matthias F. Stallmann, Mladen A. Vouk. SIGCSE '07, Proceedings of the 38th SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, Covington, Kentucky, 2007.

Posters and Presentations

Developing Student Leaders to Invent the Future. Teresa Dahlberg, Tiffany Barnes, Mia Lustria, Cheryl Seals, Andrea Lawrence, Kristy Elizabeth Boyer, Julie Strothman. (Panel) Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, Orlando, Florida, 2007.

Virtual Programming Partner: A Learning Companion for Introductory Computing. Kristy Elizabeth Boyer. Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS 2006) Student Track, Jhongli, Taiwan, 2006.

Projects

STARS: A Southeastern Alliance for Broadening Participation in Computing
I currently serve as a member of the Alliance Steering Committee, as well as the NC State Academic Liaison, for the STARS Alliance (NSF grant CNS-0540523).

Women and Information Technology
I worked as a research assistant on the Women and Information Technology project (NSF grant EIA-0204222) during the 2005-2006 academic year.

Awards

* Best Paper by a Student First Author, AIED '07, the 13th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education, Marina del Rey, California, 2007.

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, 2007.