Leveraging Intelligent Tutoring Systems to Enhance Project-Based Learning in Workforce Training at Community Colleges

To meet the growing demand for IT and cybersecurity professionals, community colleges in the United States face the challenge of enhancing workforce training within their resource constraints. Reflecting on an online Project-Based Learning (PBL) training pathway for cloud administrator jobs developed with community colleges, we acknowledge PBL’s value while also noting its overheads. To explore more efficient approaches for training fundamental skills, we integrated Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) with PBL. Through curriculum analysis, we identified areas where ITS functionality could be particularly beneficial. A collaborative effort between learning scientists, subject matter experts, and instructors led to the development of an ITS tailored for essential cloud administration skills. We conducted a pilot study with six participants to preliminarily assess its efficacy. This randomized controlled trial compared ITS with a control group using reading materials and multiple-choice questions. Given the very small sample size, we interpret our results with caution. Despite these limitations, we observed a discernible improvement in post-test performance for participants using ITS compared to those in the control condition. Encouraged by these findings, we plan to expand the adoption of ITS in IT and cybersecurity workforce training at community colleges. Our goal is to facilitate a seamless transition for students from foundational training to practical application, thereby improving their technical skills and career readiness.