The design of an exploratory learning environment to support Invention

We describe the design of the Invention Coach, an intelligent, ex- ploratory learning environment (ELE) to support Invention, an exploratory learning activity. Our design is based on a two-pronged approach. Our own study of naturalistic teacher guidance for paper-based Invention uncovered phases in the Invention process. Prior research on the mechanisms of learning with Invention activities revealed specific instructional strategies. These two sources informed the design of the guidance offered by the Invention Coach. To our knowledge, this is the first design of a guided environment for Invention ac- tivities inspired by a model of naturalistic teacher guidance. Our work offers in- sight into styles of guidance that could apply to other exploratory learning envi- ronments.