A taxonomy for user models in adaptive systems: special considerations for learning environments

This paper outlines the educational advantages provided by adaptive systems and stresses the importance of the user model in the task of adaptation. The paper also establishes a general taxonomy of user models thereby enabling classification of any model according to various features related to its structure and management. This taxonomy allows an exhaustive description of all user models, facilitating analysis and design of the corresponding adaptive systems. Subsequently, the taxonomy is used to describe the user modeling process in a concrete adaptive hypermedia system and to analyze the model of a student appropriate for use in a general educational environment.