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Abstract. We describe a portable coaching environment used within a domain-independent inquiry-learning infrastructure. This coach reasons about a student's knowledge and offers pertinent, domain-specific feedback. It promotes good inquiry behavior by critiquing the student's hypotheses and supporting data and relationships among propositions. Four inquiry tutors in separate disciplines have been developed that use embedded expert knowledge bases and reusable domain-independent rules. We describe the functionality of the coach within an art history domain, discuss the implementation of the coach, and elaborate on the options given to domain authors for customization.

This paper presents Metafora, both a platform for integrated tools as well as an emerging pedagogy for supporting Learning to Learn Together in science and mathematics education. Our goal is to design technology that brings education to a higher level; a level where students not only learn subject matter, but also gain a set of critical skills needed to engage in and self-regulate collaborative learning experiences in science and math education. To achieve this goal, we need to understand how educational technology can bring students' attention to, and promote these higher level skills. We first discuss the core skills that students need as they learn to learn together. We then present a platform and pedagogy to support the acquisition of the critical skills. Finally, we present an example use of our system based on results from pilot studies. This example demonstrates interaction with the platform to highlight potential benefits and limitations of our approach to promoting the associated skills.

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Abstract. This paper presents our research efforts to support students' collaborative process when learning mathematics and science as they interact in microworlds and engage in discussions and structured arguments. From a pedagogical perspective, the system provides students with an environment to explore challenging problems and encourages them to collaborate. The collaboration takes place in a discussion environment that is integrated with microworlds, allowing students to discuss and argue with one another and share their rationales and insights. The challenge of this work lies in providing students, teachers, and researchers with coherent, unified feedback within the system as a whole. To accomplish this, the system must combine and analyze student actions across tools, and results of those actions. We conclude that the integration of these two types of software tools provides a solid foundation for intelligent analysis of student collaboration.

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This paper describes the use of wireless sensors to recognize student emotion and the use of pedagogical agents to respond to students with these emotions. Minimally invasive sensor technology has reached such a maturity level that students engaged in classroom work can us sensors while using a computer-based tutor. The sensors, located on each of 25 student's chair, mouse, monitor, and wrist, provide data about posture, movement, grip tension, facially expressed mental states and arousal. This data has demonstrated that intelligent tutoring systems can provide adaptive feedback based on an individual student's affective state. We also describe the evaluation of emotional embodied animated pedagogical agents and their impact on student motivation and achievement. Empirical studies show that students using the agents increased their math value, self-concept and mastery orientation.