Discourse Initiative: Its Role in Intelligent Tutoring Systems

Research suggests that a student who is actively involved in the learning process has a higher rate of achievement than does a student who is merely a passive recipient of information. Active learning implies that the student will occasionally take the discourse initiative and attempt to shape the information provided by the instructor. However, relatively little attention has been given to the role of discourse initiative in intelligent tutoring systems. This paper argues that intelligent tutoring systems must allow for more initiative on the part of the student.