Generative Exploration and Exploitation

Sparse reward is one of the biggest challenges in reinforcement learning (RL). In this paper, we propose a novel method called Generative Exploration and Exploitation (GENE) to overcome sparse reward. GENE automatically generates start states to encourage the agent to explore the environment and to exploit received reward signals. GENE can adaptively tradeoff between exploration and exploitation according to the varying distributions of states experienced by the agent as the learning progresses. GENE relies on no prior knowledge about the environment and can be combined with any RL algorithm, no matter on-policy or off-policy, single-agent or multi-agent. Empirically, we demonstrate that GENE significantly outperforms existing methods in three tasks with only binary rewards, including Maze, Maze Ant, and Cooperative Navigation. Ablation studies verify the emergence of progressive exploration and automatic reversing.Comment: AAAI'2

A comprehensive educational approach to improving NCLEX‐RN pass rates

Background Nurse educators strive to find the best educational methods to prepare students in their attempt to pass the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX‐RN). The purpose of this study is to describe the implementation of an online coaching program with Appreciative Advising and Emotional Intelligence education as combined educational strategies to improve student learning outcomes. Methods The study was conducted at a university in the Midwestern United States. The sample consisted of students in four graduating classes (2013, n = 15; 2014, n = 19; 2015, n = 18; and 2016, n = 17), who had followed supplemented program preparation in a prelicensure program. Electronic surveys were disseminated to determine satisfaction with student program supports through analysis of the mean overall average scoring of seven‐point Likert scale rates. NCLEX‐RN actual pass rates were reviewed to examine the quality of online coaching toward student preparation via a t test to compare the mean NCLEX‐RN pass rates before and after implementation. Results The students reported satisfaction with the additions of Appreciative Advising and Emotional Intelligence. NCLEX‐RN pass rates showed significant improvements with the combined program support additions. Conclusion The findings suggest that nursing schools that include student program support with an online coaching program can result in positive trends related to NCLEX‐RN pass rates

Kaupapa Māori and a new curriculum in Aotearoa/New Zealand

While geographical education is our focus in this paper, the broader colonial history of education is the backdrop against which we first view the principles of Māori geographies in education. The essay underscores the importance of ‘authenticity’, the participation of local communities and local studies connected to local environments and histories. We use an educational program of the Raglan Area School on Whaingaroa Harbour as an illustrative example. The geographies of Whaingaroa Harbour provide an exemplary context for programs in geographical education and we suggest that the new curriculum in both English and Te Reo Māori (Māori language) can enhance the movement towards bi-cultural education in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Our argument is that the 2007 curriculum creates the opportunity; the impediments lie in providing appropriate resources and developing community support for the delivery of the bicultural educational approaches. is an important issue in debates about educational policy and implementing a new curriculum in Aotearoa/New Zealand. This paper explores how the development of the 2007 curriculum in Aotearoa/New Zealand attempted to address curriculum, teaching and learning options for Māori. Māori are a significant national community with needs and aspirations in education. Māori have tangata whenua status in Aotearoa/New Zealand, where this term acknowledges the arrival and settlement of migrant people of the Pacific centuries prior to significant European colonization in the 19th Century. While progress has been made in Māori education since the significant Treaty of Waitangi Act in 1975, we wish to explore the potential of Kaupapa Māori (Māori practice) in the development of a new curriculum, Te Marautanga o Aotearoa