Knowledge and Information Systems (2000) 2: 498–508 c  2000 Springer-Verlag London Ltd. Short Paper Towards a Model of Learning through Communication Nadim Obeid Department of Computer Science, Princess Sumaya University College for Technology, Al-Jubaiha, Jordan Abstract. Communication is an interactive, complex, structured process involving agents that are capable of drawing conclusions from the information they have available about some real-life situations. Such situations are generally characterized as being imperfect. In this paper, we aim to address learning from the perspective of the communication between agents. To learn a collection of propositions concerning some situation is to incorporate it within one’s knowledge about that situation. That is, the key factor in this activity is for the goal agent, where agents may switch role if appropriate, to integrate the information offered with what it already knows. This may require a process of belief revision, which suggests that the process of incorporation of new information should be modeled nonmonotonically. We shall employ for reasoning a three-valued based nonmonotonic logic that formalizes some aspects of revisable reasoning and it is accessible to implementation. The logic is sound and complete. A theorem-prover of the logic has successfully been implemented. Keywords: Communication; Learning; Logic; Nonmonotonic; Three-valued 1. Introduction It is not generally the case that an exchange of information between agents (user–system or system–system) stops after a single assertion from source to goal agent. Usually, it takes the form of a structured sequence of questions and answers. These questions and answers may accomplish different tasks. The goal agent may seek additional information that the source agent may or may not be able to provide. The goal agent may possess facts contradicting the information offered and may announce the contradiction and its reasons to the source agent. This may cause the source agent to seek clarification of the goal agent, to offer additional explanations, to disagree in turn, to revise its facts and so on. Received 3 August 1999 Revised 17 April 2000 Accepted 6 May 2000