A Bayesian Model of Pedagogical Reasoning

Much of learning and reasoning occurs in pedagogical situ-ations – situations in which teachers choose examples with the goal of having a learner infer the concept the teacher has in mind. In this paper, we present a model of teaching and learning in pedagogical settings which predicts what exam-ples teachers should choose and what learners should infer given a teachers ’ examples. We present experimental results affirming the predictions of the pedagogical model and dis-cuss future directions. Much of human learning and reasoning goes on in ped-agogical settings. In schools, teachers impart their knowl-edge to students about mathematics, science, and literature through examples and problems. From early in life, parents teach children words for objects and actions, and cultura