Enhancing Education with AI-Generated QA Pairs

By Soham NandiReviewed by Susha Cheriyedath, M.Sc.Jul 12 2024

In an article published in the journal Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence, researchers investigated various methods for generating question-answer (QA) pairs using pre-trained large language models (LLM) in higher education.

They evaluated the performance of different approaches—pipeline, joint, and multi-task—on three course-related datasets using automated methods, teacher assessments, and real-world educational evaluations. The findings highlighted the potential benefits of these methods in improving students' understanding and overall performance.

Background

The utilization of pre-trained language models has significantly advanced natural language processing (NLP), enabling the generation of QA pairs for educational purposes. Previous methodologies, categorized into pipeline, joint, and multi-task learning approaches, have demonstrated enhanced performance in generating QA pairs. The pipeline approach involves sequential generation, while the joint approach integrates question and answer generation for improved coherence. The multi-task model uses shared encoders for mutual learning between tasks.

Despite their potential, these methodologies have primarily been assessed on non-educational datasets, lacking empirical validation in real-world educational settings. Furthermore, inconsistent evaluation metrics pose challenges in comparing their effectiveness. This paper addressed these gaps by evaluating pipeline, joint, and multi-task learning approaches using three educational datasets, specifically created for this study. It assessed their performance through automated methods, teacher evaluations, and real-world educational settings, revealing that the multi-task learning approach, particularly with the text-to-text transfer transformer (T5) model, significantly enhanced student academic performance and teacher satisfaction with QA pair accuracy and relevance.

Comprehensive Methodology for Evaluating QA Pair Generation in Higher Education

The researchers aimed to evaluate the efficacy of different approaches for generating QA pairs and fine-tuning LLMs within higher education. The methodology consisted of three phases, namely, data collection, experimentation, and evaluation. In the data collection phase, fine-tuning datasets (Stanford question answering dataset (SQuAD) and DG-RACE) and benchmark datasets were gathered.

The second phase involved selecting three approaches (pipeline, joint, and multi-task learning) for generating QA pairs, each paired with pre-trained LLMs (T5, bidirectional and auto-regressive transformers (BART), and ProphetNet). Fine-tuning the models involved preprocessing data, tokenization, and training on NVIDIA V100 graphic processing units (GPU) using specific learning parameters.

The evaluation phase included automatic evaluation using metrics like bilingual evaluation understudy (BLEU), metric for evaluation of translation with explicit ordering (METEOR), and recall-oriented understudy for gisting evaluation (ROUGE), followed by teacher evaluations through interviews and assessment creation. Finally, a real-world educational evaluation assessed the impact of generated assessments on students' academic performance, using statistical tests to compare performance and analyze correlations.

The study meticulously selected models and datasets to ensure relevance and applicability, aiming to enhance the educational experience through effective QA generation and rigorous evaluation. The findings aimed to identify the most effective combinations of approaches and LLMs for practical educational use, contributing to improved academic outcomes and refined machine learning techniques in the educational domain.

Evaluation Outcomes and Impact on Student Performance

The authors evaluated the effectiveness of different approaches for generating QA pairs and their impact on student performance. Automatic evaluation metrics, such as BLEU, ROUGE, and METEOR, were used to assess the quality of QA pairs generated by pipeline, joint, and multi-task models. The results showed that the multi-task approach generally outperformed the others, with T5 models achieving the highest scores across various metrics.

Teacher evaluations highlighted the correctness and understandability of the QA pairs but suggested improvements in difficulty levels and advanced knowledge coverage. Thematic analysis identified five key themes, namely, correctness, understandability, difficulty level, knowledge impact, and utility impact. In real-educational settings, students were divided into two groups, one with access to assessments and one without.

Statistical analyses, including t-tests and correlation analyses, revealed that students who engaged in assessments performed better on final exams. The Programming course showed the highest correlation between assessment attempts and academic performance, indicating a significant positive impact of regular assessments on learning outcomes.

Discussion and Implications

Evaluations on benchmark datasets from three courses, combining automatic methods, teacher assessments, and real-world educational evaluations, revealed that the multi-task approach outperformed other methods, especially in programming and big data courses. Teachers praised the QA pairs' accuracy and relevance, though feedback indicated a need for improvements in coverage of advanced topics. Generated QA pairs positively impacted student performance, with higher assessment attempts correlating with better final exam scores. The study highlighted implications for QA tools in higher education and suggests future research to address limitations.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the researchers evaluated the effectiveness of pipeline, joint, and multi-task approaches for generating QA pairs using pre-trained LLMs in higher education. Results showed the multi-task approach, particularly with the T5 model, outperformed others in accuracy and relevance, especially for programming and big data courses.

Teacher and student feedback indicated that generated QA pairs positively impacted academic performance, with higher assessment attempts correlating with better final exam scores. The authors highlighted the potential of automated QA generation in improving educational practices and suggested future research to enhance and expand these methodologies across diverse subjects.