Mainstreaming AIED into Education?
In IJAIED
11 (2): "Special Issue on AIED 2010"
Publication information
Abstract
What will Education look like in 2010, and what will be its problems? Will AIED
have anything substantial to offer, and what can we do to maximise its contributions? We argue
that Education is, for understandable reasons, the discipline of classroom teaching and learning,
with some attention paid to learning by individuals but very little indeed to teaching that is
effective in a one-to-one situation. Further, it is not strong in formulating precise theories of
learning and teaching. It is therefore not well-equipped to support the inevitable increase in
learning activities that will be undertaken at computers. We argue that AIED has made great
progress in adopting broader and more sophisticated conceptions of learning, and should thus at
last be able to communicate well with Education. It can offer ways to develop and test precise
theories, and also important concepts relevant to individualised learning that have largely been
overlooked by Education, such as that of learner modelling by teachers. By 2010 AIED has the
potential to be making a much broader contribution to Education. If this optimistic prediction
can be achieved, and the educational mainstreaming of AIED does occur, both AIED and
Education will benefit.
