Overview

This full-day workshop at the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED 2025) invites submissions exploring how AI can meaningfully support exploratory learning. We take a broad perspective on exploratory learning including simulations, microworlds, serious games, inquiry tools, and other open-ended learning experiences and environments collectively referred to as Exploratory Learning Environments (ELEs). Digital ELEs in particular offer powerful pedagogical affordances (e.g., agency) but present significant challenges for learners and educators alike, particularly around self-regulation, personalisation, adaptivity, support, explainability, and equity.

We aim to foster discussion on how AI can scaffold learners’ problem-solving processes and empower learners and educators to facilitate effective, inclusive learning. We refer to AI broadly,  including generative AI, more traditional approaches to learner modelling as well as multimodal analytics and learning analytics. The workshop provides a timely venue to reflect on the recent history of research on ELEs and catalyse new collaborations around today’s most promising innovations.

Topics of Interest

We welcome empirical, design-oriented, theoretical syntheses, or system-focused contributions on topics including (but not limited to):

• AI-based modelling
• Pedagogical strategies (e.g. PS-I, inquiry learning) in AI-supported exploratory learning
• Generative AI as co-designer, tutor, or agent in open-ended learning
• Authoring tools for teachers: designing and interpreting AI-driven ELEs
• Explainability, transparency, and trust in adaptive systems for open-ended tasks
• Integration of multimodal data (e.g., clickstreams, gaze, speech, physiological signals)
• Design process (e.g., design-based research, participatory design) and evaluation frameworks for ELEs

Format and Participation

This interactive, discussion-oriented workshop will be grounded in submitted research and framed around key questions for the field. The format includes:

• Community-building via pre- and post-workshop channels
• Brief plenary presentations to seed discussion
• Thematic roundtables (using the Learning Café model) led by moderators
• Interactive demos and collaborative brainstorming

Important Dates

• Submission Deadline: May 30, 2025
• Notification of Acceptance: June 15, 2025
• Workshop Date: tbc (probably July 22/23) with AIED205 [link] Palermo, Italy

Submission Guidelines

• Submissions should be up to 5 pages (excluding references), fully anonymized
• Please use the same format as the conference  
• Submit via EasyChair (link to follow)
• Accepted papers will be published in open-access proceedings (e.g., CEUR-WS). Note that workshop papers are not included in the official conference proceedings.

We particularly encourage submissions that include datasets, tools, or code, and we welcome novel or early-stage work that provokes reflection and discussion.

Organizers

Manolis Mavrikis Professor in Artificial Intelligence and Analytics in Education, UCL, Knowledge Lab

Sébastien Lallé Associate Professor, Sorbonne University, LIP6

Roger Azevedo Pegasus Professor, University of Central Florida, School of Modeling Simulation and Training

Gautam Biswas Professor of Engineering, Cornelius Vanderbilt, School of Computer Science and Engineering

Jade Mai Cock PhD Student, EPFL, School of Computer and Communication Sciences

Cristina Conati Professor, University of British Columbia, School of Computer Science

Sokratis Karkalas Senior Lecturer in Software Engineering, University of Derby

Tanja Käser Tenure Track Assistant Professor, EPFL, School of Computer and Communication Sciences

James Lester Goodnight Distinguished University Professor, North Carolina state University

Ido Roll Associate Professor, Technion, Faculty of Education in Science and Technology

Janan Saban Lecturer, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Learning Sciences Design-Based Research

Megan Wiedbusch PostDoc, University of Central Florida

Additional members of the international AIED community will serve on the program committee and facilitate workshop sessions.