403,687 research outputs found

    The acquisition of a shared task model

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    The process of the acquisition of an agreed, shared task model as a means to structure interaction between expert users and knowledge engineers is described. The role existing (generic) task models play in this process is illustrated for two domains of application, both domains requiring diagnostic reasoning. In both domains different levels of interaction between an expert user and a diagnostic reasoning system are distinguished.

    Transfer in a Connectionist Model of the Acquisition of Morphology

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    The morphological systems of natural languages are replete with examples of the same devices used for multiple purposes: (1) the same type of morphological process (for example, suffixation for both noun case and verb tense) and (2) identical morphemes (for example, the same suffix for English noun plural and possessive). These sorts of similarity would be expected to convey advantages on language learners in the form of transfer from one morphological category to another. Connectionist models of morphology acquisition have been faulted for their supposed inability to represent phonological similarity across morphological categories and hence to facilitate transfer. This paper describes a connectionist model of the acquisition of morphology which is shown to exhibit transfer of this type. The model treats the morphology acquisition problem as one of learning to map forms onto meanings and vice versa. As the network learns these mappings, it makes phonological generalizations which are embedded in connection weights. Since these weights are shared by different morphological categories, transfer is enabled. In a set of experiments with artificial stimuli, networks were trained first on one morphological task (e.g., tense) and then on a second (e.g., number). It is shown that in the context of suffixation, prefixation, and template rules, the second task is facilitated when the second category either makes use of the same forms or the same general process type (e.g., prefixation) as the first.Comment: 21 pages, uuencoded compressed Postscrip

    Structure Learning in a Sensorimotor Association Task

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    Learning is often understood as an organism's gradual acquisition of the association between a given sensory stimulus and the correct motor response. Mathematically, this corresponds to regressing a mapping between the set of observations and the set of actions. Recently, however, it has been shown both in cognitive and motor neuroscience that humans are not only able to learn particular stimulus-response mappings, but are also able to extract abstract structural invariants that facilitate generalization to novel tasks. Here we show how such structure learning can enhance facilitation in a sensorimotor association task performed by human subjects. Using regression and reinforcement learning models we show that the observed facilitation cannot be explained by these basic models of learning stimulus-response associations. We show, however, that the observed data can be explained by a hierarchical Bayesian model that performs structure learning. In line with previous results from cognitive tasks, this suggests that hierarchical Bayesian inference might provide a common framework to explain both the learning of specific stimulus-response associations and the learning of abstract structures that are shared by different task environments

    Team Learning: A Theoretical Integration and Review

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    With the increasing emphasis on work teams as the primary architecture of organizational structure, scholars have begun to focus attention on team learning, the processes that support it, and the important outcomes that depend on it. Although the literature addressing learning in teams is broad, it is also messy and fraught with conceptual confusion. This chapter presents a theoretical integration and review. The goal is to organize theory and research on team learning, identify actionable frameworks and findings, and emphasize promising targets for future research. We emphasize three theoretical foci in our examination of team learning, treating it as multilevel (individual and team, not individual or team), dynamic (iterative and progressive; a process not an outcome), and emergent (outcomes of team learning can manifest in different ways over time). The integrative theoretical heuristic distinguishes team learning process theories, supporting emergent states, team knowledge representations, and respective influences on team performance and effectiveness. Promising directions for theory development and research are discussed

    Team Learning, Development, and Adaptation

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    [Excerpt] Our purpose is to explore conceptually these themes centered on team learning, development, and adaptation. We note at the onset that this chapter is not a comprehensive review of the literature. Indeed, solid conceptual and empirical work on these themes are sparse relative to the vast amount of work on team effectiveness more generally, and therefore a thematic set of topics that are ripe for conceptual development and integration. We draw on an ongoing stream of theory development and research in these areas to integrate and sculpt a distinct perspective on team learning, development, and adaptation

    Modality-Independent Effects of Phonological Neighborhood Structure on Initial L2 Sign Language Learning

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    The goal of the present study was to characterize how neighborhood structure in sign language influences lexical sign acquisition in order to extend our understanding of how the lexicon influences lexical acquisition in both sign and spoken languages. A referent-matching lexical sign learning paradigm was administered to a group of 29 hearing sign language learners in order to create a sign lexicon. The lexicon was constructed based on exposures to signs that resided in either sparse or dense handshape and location neighborhoods. The results of the current study indicated that during the creation of the lexicon signs that resided in sparse neighborhoods were learned better than signs that resided in dense neighborhoods. This pattern of results is similar to what is seen in child first language acquisition of spoken language. Therefore, despite differences in child first language and adult second language acquisition, these results contribute to a growing body of literature that implicates the phonological features that structure of the lexicon is influential in initial stages of lexical acquisition for both spoken and sign languages. This is the first study that uses an innovated lexicon-construction methodology to explore interactions between phonology and the lexicon in L2 acquisition of sign language
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