# ITAS: A Multi-Agent Architecture for LLM-Based Intelligent Tutoring

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.24808 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.24808/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Placed in Educational agents and math problem solving, one of 16 directions in LLM agents and tool use.
- Builds on 15 of its 31 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 27 Apr 2026.

## Placed in

- LLM agents and tool use / [Educational agents and math problem solving](https://mlsanity.com/agents/educational-agents-and-math-problem-solving/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 15 of 15)

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- [MetaGPT: Meta Programming for A Multi-Agent Collaborative Framework](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.00352/) (2023)
- [A Survey on Hallucination in Large Language Models: Principles, Taxonomy, Challenges, and Open Questions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.05232/) (2023)
- [CAMEL: Communicative Agents for "Mind" Exploration of Large Language Model Society](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.17760/) (2023)
- [Large Language Model based Multi-Agents: A Survey of Progress and Challenges](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.01680/) (2024)
- [Cognitive Architectures for Language Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.02427/) (2023)
- [Towards a Science of Scaling Agent Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.08296/) (2025)
- [Simulating Classroom Education with LLM-Empowered Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.19226/) (2024)
- [Practical and Ethical Challenges of Large Language Models in Education: A Systematic Scoping Review](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.13379/) (2023)
- [The AI Teacher Test: Measuring the Pedagogical Ability of Blender and GPT-3 in Educational Dialogues](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.07540/) (2022)
- [Towards Responsible Development of Generative AI for Education: An Evaluation-Driven Approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.12687/) (2024)
- [The BEA 2023 Shared Task on Generating AI Teacher Responses in Educational Dialogues](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.06941/) (2023)
- [LLM-powered Multi-agent Framework for Goal-oriented Learning in Intelligent Tutoring System](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.15749/) (2025)
- [GPT-4 as a Homework Tutor can Improve Student Engagement and Learning Outcomes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.15981/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Large language model tutors are easy to build in a notebook and hard to run in a real course. We describe ITAS (Intelligent Teaching Assistant System), a multi-agent tutoring system that a graduate quantum computing course used for a semester at Old Dominion University. The system has three layers. The teaching layer is a Spoke-and-Wheel of three parallel specialist agents (Video, Code, Guidance) followed by a Synthesizer, plus a separate autograder that evaluates both the correctness and the approach of checkpoint submissions. The operational layer is four Cloud Run microservices with session state in Cloud SQL and interaction events streamed through Pub/Sub to BigQuery. The feedback layer is a narrow-scope conversational agent that answers instructor questions over per-lesson pseudonymized event streams, addressing what we call the Blind Instructor Problem: LLM tutors accumulate more data about students than the instructor can reach through routine channels. The architecture is a direct response to specific failures of an earlier prototype, and we describe which of those fixes carried forward and which were dropped for this iteration. We report on a pilot deployment (five students, one course, one semester) interpreted as system-behavior evidence rather than learning-outcome evidence: the teaching layer handled 334 chat turns without the task-boundary hallucinations that domain consolidation would have risked, the operational layer captured 10,628 events across five modules, and the feedback layer surfaced two findings the instructor acted on mid-semester. We do not claim the pilot generalizes. We do claim that the system as described is one workable answer to the question of what an LLM-based ITS needs to look like end-to-end to run in a real course.