Intelligent Tutoring Systems

Graesser, A. C., Conley, M.W., & Olney, A. (in preparation). Intelligent tutoring systems. In S. Graham and K. Harris (Eds.), APA Handbook of Educational Psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

http://epistemicgames.org/eg/wp-content/uploads/graesser-Harris-Graham-011010.pdf

Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) are computerized learning environments that incorporate computational models in the cognitive sciences, learning sciences, computational linguistics, artificial intelligence, mathematics, and other fields that develop intelligent systems that are well-specified computationally. An ITS tracks the psychological states of learners in fine detail, a process called student modelling. The psychological states may include subject matter knowledge, skills, strategies, motivation, emotions, and other student attributes. An ITS adaptively responds with activities that are both sensitive to these states and that advance the instructional agenda. The interaction between student and computer evolves in a flexible fashion that caters to the constraints of both the student and the instructional agenda. This is a marked departure from a book or a lecture, which unfold in a rigid linear order and are not tailored to individual students.