Activity Guide: An Approach to Scripting Inquiry Learning Paul Mulholland a , Trevor Collins a , Mark Gaved a , Michael Wright b , Mike Sharples b , Chris Greenhalgh b , Cindy Kerawalla a , Eileen Scanlon a and Karen Littleton a a The Open University, UK b University of Nottingham, UK Abstract. Recently, there has been a growing interest in Exploratory Learning Environments (ELEs) in which learning occurs through guided exploration and problem solving [1]. The characteristics of learning with ELEs can be seen to share a number of common issues with inquiry learning, in which students design and carry out investigations in order to acquire knowledge about the domain under investigation [2]. As part of the Personal Inquiry (PI) project, we are developing a software application, called Activity Guide, to support inquiry learning. Activity Guide specifically aims to support: (i) students in defining, organising and carrying out their inquiry, (ii) decision making and progression through the inquiry, (iii) movement between individual, group and class levels, and (iv) authoring and customisation of the inquiry. Decisions made in the evolution of the toolkit have a number of possible implications for ELEs, particularly in terms of task sequencing, collaboration, teacher orchestration and authoring. Keywords. Inquiry learning, guided exploration, science learning. 1. Introduction Recently, there has been a growing interest in Exploratory Learning Environments (ELEs) that facilitate learning by means of guiding exploration and discovery. The form of learning promoted by ELEs has strong associations with inquiry learning, in which students design and carry out investigations in order to acquire knowledge about the domain under investigation [2]. Many uses of ELEs can therefore be thought of as tools for inquiry learning that provide particular types of support for the learner. Much of the work on ELEs has focused on simulations or micro-worlds as the environment within which learning takes place. Similarly, in inquiry learning, a great deal of research has been concerned with simulations or micro-worlds in which the learner can operationalise (i.e. model) and test (i.e. simulate) their theories [3, 4, 5]. Advantages of conducting inquiry learning by means of a computer simulation include making the phenomenon under investigation more accessible than it may be in the real world and simplifying or emphasising aspects of the domain in order to aid the learner [6]. As part of the Personal Inquiry (PI) project we are developing, through a process of participatory design [7], Activity Guide to support personal inquiry learning. The role of Activity Guide is to help students formulate, manage and conduct a scientific inquiry, with a specific focus on experiments carried out in personally meaningful, real world settings.