An assessment engine includes a definition of inquiry skills being assessed. Assessment models are used to infer skill demonstration as one or more students engage in inquiry within computerized simulations and/or microworlds. A pedagogical agent and/or help system provides real-time feedback to one or more students based on the assessment model outputs, and/or based on additional models that track one or more students developing proficiency across inquiry tasks over time. A pedagogical agent and/or help system for science inquiry tutoring responds in real-time on the basis of knowledge-engineered and data-mined assessment and/or tracking models.
Please help me write a proper abstract based on the patent claims. CLAIM: 1. A method, comprising: in a processor, defining one or more measurable science inquiry skills; in a computer, measuring the one or more science inquiry skills of a subject person, the measuring being in real-time and using at least one of an assessment model and a tracking model programmed to infer science inquiry skill demonstration from interactive engagement by the subject person with an environment comprised of at least one of a simulation and a microworld; providing to the subject person real-time feedback through the environment, the real-time feedback being based on the at least one of the assessment model and the tracking model; and providing to the subject person guidance on how to better conduct scientific inquiry. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the assessment model or the tracking model evaluates and estimates proficiency at science inquiry of the subject person using at least one of a data-mining based algorithm and a knowledge-engineering based algorithm. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the measuring of the one or more science inquiry skills provides a performance assessment of at least one or more aggregate science inquiry skills. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the tracking model tracks the subject person's development of the one or more science inquiry skills over time and across one or more science topics or science domains, wherein the tracking utilizes at least one of a data-mining based model and a knowledge-engineering model. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the tracking uses at least one of the data-mining based model and the knowledge-engineering based model to aggregate information about the subject person and to provide at least one measurement or evaluation of the proficiency for the subject person in one or more science inquiry skills. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the real-time feedback is based on at least one of: a knowledge-engineering based assessment model, a data-mining based assessment model, a knowledge-engineering based tracking model, and a data-mining based tracking model. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the simulated scientific inquiry includes at least one of: generating hypotheses, collecting data to test the hypotheses, interpreting the collected data, warranting claims with data, and communicating respective findings. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein providing real-time feedback through the environment includes providing multi-level feedback regarding at least one of orienting, organizational, procedural, conceptual, and instrumental aspects of the scientific inquiry. 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the subject person includes one or more students. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein skills include at least one of, or any subskill of, a data collection skill, a data interpretation skill, a hypothesis skill, a claim warranting skill, a communicating findings skill, an identifying an independent variable skill, an identifying a dependent variable skill, a defining a relationship between variables skill, a designing a controlled experiment skill, a testing a stated hypothesis skill, a warranting an interpretation skill, and a relating an interpretation to a hypothesis skill. 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the general science inquiry skills are engineering skills. 12. A system, comprising: a processing module configured to define one or more measurable science inquiry skills forming general science inquiry skills; a computing module configured to measure and/or track, in real-time, the one or more science inquiry subskills of a subject person and use at least one of an assessment model and a tracking model programmed to infer science inquiry skill demonstration from interactive engagement by the subject person with an environment comprised of at least one of a simulation and a microworld; a user interface module configured to provide to the subject person real-time feedback through the environment, the real-time feedback being based on the at least one of the assessment model and the tracking model; and the user interface module further configured to provide guidance to the subject person on how to better conduct scientific inquiry. 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the assessment model or the tracking model evaluates and estimates proficiency at science inquiry of the subject person using at least one of a data-mining based algorithm and a knowledge-engineering based algorithm. 14. The system of claim 12, wherein the measuring of the one or more science inquiry skills provides a performance assessment of at least one or more aggregate science inquiry skills. 15. The system of claim 12, wherein the tracking model tracks the subject person's development of the one or more science inquiry skills over time and across one or more science topics or science domains, wherein the tracking utilizes at least one of a data-mining based model and a knowledge-engineering model. 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the tracking uses at least one of the data-mining based model and the knowledge-engineering based model to aggregate information about the subject person and to provide at least one measurement or evaluation of the proficiency for the subject person in one or more science inquiry skills. 17. The system of claim 12, wherein the real-time feedback is based on at least one of: a knowledge-engineering based assessment model, a data-mining based assessment model, a knowledge-engineering based tracking model, and a data-mining based tracking model. 18. The system of claim 12, wherein the simulated scientific inquiry includes at least one of: generating hypotheses, collecting data to test the hypotheses, interpreting the collected data, warranting claims with data, and communicating respective findings. 19. The system of claim 18, wherein providing real-time feedback through the environment includes providing multi-level feedback regarding at least one of orienting, organizational, procedural, conceptual, and instrumental aspects of the scientific inquiry. 20. The system of claim 12, wherein the subject person includes one or more students. 21. The system of claim 12, wherein skills include at least one of, or any subskill of, a data collection skill, a data interpretation skill, a hypothesis skill, a claim warranting skill, a communicating findings skill, an identifying an independent variable skill, an identifying a dependent variable skill, a defining a relationship between variables skill, a designing a controlled experiment skill, a testing a stated hypothesis skill, a warranting an interpretation skill, and a relating an interpretation to a hypothesis skill. 22. The system of claim 12, wherein the general science inquiry skills are engineering skills. 23. A computer program product providing a tutoring agent comprising: a non-transitory computer useable medium having a computer readable program; wherein the computer readable program when executed on a computer causes the computer to: define one or more measurable science inquiry skills; measure the one or more science inquiry subskills of a subject person, the measuring being in real-time and using at least one of an assessment model and a tracking model programmed to infer science inquiry skill demonstration from interactive engagement by the subject person with an environment comprised of at least one of a simulation and a microworld; provide to the subject person real-time feedback through the environment, the real-time feedback being based on the at least one of the assessment model and the tracking model; and provide to the subject person guidance on how to better conduct scientific inquiry.