Enhancing the Learning Experience: Preliminary Framework for User Individual Differences

A system able to adapt to different user characteristics may increase user's learning outcome and advance her/his personal learning experience. This paper reports on research identifying and appraising user personal differences employed in user modelling for adaptive educational systems. A preliminary set of individual characteristics relevant for adaptation is proposed, along with a framework for their categorization. The framework is derived on the basis of empirical studies and survey papers reviewing the usage of these variables in adaptive and adaptable systems. Each variable is addressed from the perspective of its definition, implementation in existing systems and relevance for adaptation. Methods for variable detection and quantification are discussed as well. Suggested framework represents authors' perspective of the state-of-the-art in analyzing user individual differences and adds to the body of knowledge related to the user analysis as an essential part of an adaptive system development process.