arXiv:2605.30051v2 Announce Type: replace
Abstract: A key part of developing large language model (LLM)-powered, automated tutoring tools is student simulation, i.e., using LLMs to role-play as stude...
By Zhangqi Duan, Shuyan Huang, Alexander Scarlatos, Jaewook Lee, Simon Woodhead, Andrew Lan
The paper introduces UCO, a multi‑turn interactive reinforcement learning method designed to improve adaptive teaching with large language models. UCO employs two reward functions—Progress Reward to gauge genuine cognitive advancement and Scaffold Reward to keep instruction within each student’s Zone of Proximal Development. Experiments on BigMath and MathTutorBench show UCO outperforming 11 baseline models and matching advanced closed‑source systems.
By Shouang Wei, Min Zhang, Xin Lin, Bo Jiang, Kun Kuang, Zhongxiang Dai
arXiv:2604. 04251v2 Announce Type: replace Abstract: Intelligent tutoring systems increasingly rely on reinforcement learning to personalise instruction, yet optimising for observable engagement signals can systematically decouple learner activity from genuine knowledge acquisition.
By Oluseyi Olukola, Nick Rahimi
arXiv:2604. 26962v3 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: Education is one of the most promising real-world applications for Large Language Models (LLMs).
By Bingxi Zhao, Jiahao Zhang, Xubin Ren, Zirui Guo, Tianzhe Chu, Yi Ma, Chao Huang
The paper presents a tutoring platform that combines a generative AI chatbot with a reinforcement learning algorithm to adaptively sequence practice problems for students learning Python. In a five‑month field study across ten high schools, the adaptive sequencing improved unassisted final exam performance by 0.15 standard deviations, with mediation analysis indicating that higher engagement drove the gains. The study demonstrates that signals from student‑chatbot interactions can be leveraged to personalize and optimize learning at scale.
By Angel Tsai-Hsuan Chung, Botong Zhang, Ling-Chieh Kung, Hamsa Bastani, Osbert Bastani
arXiv:2606. 09887v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Reinforcement learning (RL) for large language models usually supervises reasoning with scalar outcome rewards, such as binary correctness.
By Zirui Liu, Jie Ouyang, Qi Liu, Xianquan Wang, Jiayu Liu, Tingyue Pan, Qingchuan Li, Jing Sha, Zhenya Huang, Shijin Wang, Enhong Chen
arXiv:2609.01591v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: AI tutors are most useful when they adapt to each student's strengths, weaknesses, and preferred guidance, but evidence about which guidance works for...
By Ke Yang, Chenglong Wang, Michel Galley, Chandan Singh, Jeevana Priya Inala, ChengXiang Zhai, Jianfeng Gao
arXiv:2607. 04412v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Reinforcement learning (RL) for non-verifiable instruction following increasingly relies on LLM judges with prompt-specific rubrics as reward signals.
By Yujin Kim, Namgyu Ho, Sangmin Hwang, Joonkee Kim, Yongjin Yang, Sangmin Bae, Seungone Kim, Jaehun Jung, Se-Young Yun, Hwanjun Song
arXiv:2508. 14751v2 Announce Type: replace Abstract: We study goal-conditioned reinforcement learning in partially observable environments with sparse rewards and large, structured goal spaces.
By Thomas Carta, Cl\'ement Romac, Loris Gaven, Pierre-Yves Oudeyer, Olivier Sigaud, Sylvain Lamprier
arXiv:2509. 14257v3 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: Large Language Model agents achieve strong performance on multi-step reasoning and tool-use tasks, but their impressive capabilities typically rely on extremely large backbones.
By Yuanjie Lyu, Chengyu Wang, Jun Huang, Tong Xu
arXiv:2605. 12652v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: Large language models are often post-trained with sparse verifier rewards, which indicate whether a sampled trajectory succeeds but provide limited guidance about where reasoning succeeds or fails.
By Weichen Yu, Xiaomin Li, Yizhou Zhao, Xiaoze Liu, Ruowang Zhang, Haixin Wang, Yinyi Luo, Chen Henry Wu, Gaurav Mittal, Matt Fredrikson, Yu Hu
arXiv:2608. 03952v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Large language models (LLMs) are increasingly used to provide conversational practice for English-as-a-second-language (ESL) learners.
By Dongjie Yang, Siyan Lin, Leixian Shen, Rui Sheng, Huamin Qu, Zixin Chen