Some principles of intelligent tutoring

Research on intelligent tutoring systems is discussed from the point of view of providing moment-by-moment adaptation of both content and form of instruction to the changing cognitive needs of the individual learner. The implications of this goal for cognitive diagnosis, subject matter analysis, teaching tactics, and teaching strategies are analyzed. The results of the analyses are stated in the form of principles about intelligent tutoring. A major conclusion is that a computer tutor, in order to provide adaptive instruction, must have a strategy which translates its tutorial goals into teaching actions, and that, as a consequence, research on teaching strategies is central to the construction of intelligent tutoring systems.