A separation of concerns for engineering intelligent support for exploratory learning environments

Exploratory learning environments (ELEs) can have a positive effect on learn- ing as long as they have proper support. However, the difficulty of supporting exploration and unstructured interaction means that there are few systems with intelligent computer-based support. The paper presents a divide-and-conquer strategy to approach the difficult tasks of development and evaluation of intel- ligent support in ELEs. The strategy considers three parts, each one focusing on the three most important questions related to support at any given moment: (i) what is the situation now? (evidence), (ii) which aspect needs support? (rea- soning), and (iii) how should the support be presented for maximum efficacy? (presentation). The benefits of this approach include easier testing and valida- tion, more reliable progress, and better communication and management of the members of the interdisciplinary team required to design and evaluate the system.