What we know about learning: How we must change the school experience

Dr. Roger Schank was the Founder of the renowned Institute for the Learning Sciences at Northwestern University, where he is John P. Evans Professor Emeritus in Computer Science, Education and Psychology. He was Professor of computer science and psychology at Yale University and Director of the Yale Artificial Intelligence Project. He was a visiting professor at the University of Paris VII, an Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Linguistics at Stanford University and research fellow at the Institute for Semantics and Cognition in Switzerland. He also served as the Distinguished Career Professor in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. He is a fellow of the AAAI and was founder of the Cognitive Science Society and co-founder of the Journal of Cognitive Science. He holds a Ph.D. in linguistics from University of Texas. In 1994, he founded Cognitive Arts Corporation, a company that designs and builds high quality multimedia simulations for use in corporate training and for online university-level courses. The latter were built in partnership with Columbia University. In 2002 he founded Socratic Arts, a company that is devoted to making high quality e-learning affordable for both businesses and schools

Conceptual dependency as the language of thought

Roger Schank's research in AI takes seriously the ideas that understanding natural language involves mapping its expressions into an internal representation scheme and that these internal representations have a syntax appropriate for computational operations. It therefore falls within the computational approach to the study of mind. This paper discusses certain aspects of Schank's approach in order to assess its potential adequacy as a (partial) model of cognition. This version of the Language of Thought hypothesis encounters some of the same difficulties that arise for Fodor's account.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43836/1/11229_2004_Article_BF00413665.pd

Special Issue "On Defining Artificial Intelligence"—Commentaries and Author's Response

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You Mate, I Mate: Macaque Females Synchronize Sex not Cycles

Extended female sexuality in species living in multimale-multifemale groups appears to enhance benefits from multiple males. Mating with many males, however, requires a low female monopolizability, which is affected by the spatiotemporal distribution of receptive females. Ovarian cycle synchrony potentially promotes overlapping receptivity if fertile and receptive periods are tightly linked. In primates, however, mating is often decoupled from hormonal control, hence reducing the need for synchronizing ovarian events. Here, we test the alternative hypothesis that females behaviorally coordinate their receptivity while simultaneously investigating ovarian cycle synchrony in wild, seasonal Assamese macaques (Macaca assamensis), a promiscuous species with extremely extended female sexuality. Using fecal hormone analysis to assess ovarian activity we show that fertile phases are randomly distributed, and that dyadic spatial proximity does not affect their distribution. We present evidence for mating synchrony, i.e., the occurrence of the females' receptivity was significantly associated with the proportion of other females mating on a given day. Our results suggest social facilitation of mating synchrony, which explains (i) the high number of simultaneously receptive females, and (ii) the low male mating skew in this species. Active mating synchronization may serve to enhance the benefits of extended female sexuality, and may proximately explain its patterning and maintenance

Construing the child reader: a cognitive stylistic analysis of the opening to Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book

Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book (2009) charts the story of Nobody Owens, a boy who is adopted by supernatural entities in the local graveyard after his family is murdered. This article draws on the notion of the “construed reader,” and combines two cognitive stylistic frameworks to analyse the opening section of the novel. In doing so, the article explores the representation and significance of the family home in relation to what follows in the narrative. The analysis largely draws on Text World Theory (Werth, 1999; Gavins, 2007), but also integrates some aspects of Cognitive Grammar (Langacker, 2008), which allows for a more nuanced discussion of textual features. The article pays particular attention to the way Gaiman frames his narrative and positions his reader to view the fictional events from a distinctive vantage point and subsequently demonstrates that a stylistic analysis of children’s literature can lay bare how such writing is designed with a young readership in mind

Qué sabemos del aprendizaje: cómo debemos cambiar la experiencia de la escuela

 El Dr. Roger Schank va ser el fundador del renovat Institut per a l’Aprenentatge de les Ciències a la Universitat de Northwestern, on en John P. Evans és professor emèrit en ciències computacionals, educació i psicologia. Va ser professor de ciències computacionals i psicologia de la Universitat de Yale i director del projecte d’Intel·ligència Artificial de Yale. Va ser professor visitant a la universitat de Paris VII, professor assistent del centre de ciències computacionals i lingüístiques de la Universitat d’Stanfor i investigador a l’Institut de Semàntica i Cognició a Suïssa. També va ser Distinguished Career Professor a l’Escola de Ciències Computacionals a la Universitat de Carnegie Mellon. És membre de l’AAAI i fundador de la Societat de Ciències Cognitives de la Universitat de Texas. Al 1994, va fundar la Cognitive Arts Corporation, companyia que dissenyava i construïa simulacions multimèdia d’alta qualitat per a ús corporatiu d’entrenament i per a cursos on line d’universitats en col·laboració amb la Universitat de Columbia. Al 2002 va fundar la Socratic Arts, una companyia orientada a millorar la qualitat de l’e-learning per a negocis i escoles.Dr. Roger Schank was the Founder of the renowned Institute for the Learning Sciences at Northwestern University, where he is John P. Evans Professor Emeritus in Computer Science, Education and Psychology. He was Professor of computer science and psychology at Yale University and Director of the Yale Artificial Intelligence Project. He was a visiting professor at the University of Paris VII, an Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Linguistics at Stanford University and research fellow at the Institute for Semantics and Cognition in Switzerland. He also served as the Distinguished Career Professor in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. He is a fellow of the AAAI and was founder of the Cognitive Science Society and co-founder of the Journal of Cognitive Science. He holds a Ph.D. in linguistics from University of Texas. In 1994, he founded Cognitive Arts Corporation, a company that designs and builds high quality multimedia simulations for use in corporate training and for online university-level courses. The latter were built in partnership with Columbia University. In 2002 he founded Socratic Arts, a company that is devoted to making high quality e-learning affordable for both businesses and schools.Dr. Roger Schank fue el fundador del renovado Instituto para el aprendizaje de las ciencias en la Universidad de Northwestern, donde es John P. Evans profesor Emérito en ciencias computacionales, educación y psicología. Fue profesor de ciencias computacionales y psicología de la Universidad de Yale y director del proyecto de Inteligencia Artificial de la misma universidad. Fue profesor visitante en la universidad de Paris VII, profesor asistente del centro de ciencias computacionales y lingüísticas de la Universidad de Stanford e investigador en el Instituto de semántica y cognición en Suiza. También fue Distinguished Career Professor en la escuela de ciencias computacionales de la Universidad de Carnegie Mellon. Es miembro de la AAAI y fundador de la sociedad de ciencias cognitivas de la Universidad de Texas. En 1994, fundó la Cognitive Arts Corporation, compañía que diseñaba y construía simulaciones multimedia de alta calidad para uso corporativo de entrenamiento y para cursos on line de universidades en colaboración con la Universidad de Columbia. En el 2002 fundó Socratic Arts, una compañía orientada a mejorar la calidad del e-leaning para negocios y escuelas

Què sabem de l’aprenentatge: com hem de canviar l’experiència de l’escola

El Dr. Roger Schank va ser el fundador del renovat Institut per a l’Aprenentatge de les Ciències a la Universitat de Northwestern, on en John P. Evans és professor emèrit en ciències computacionals, educació i psicologia. Va ser professor de ciències computacionals i psicologia de la Universitat de Yale i director del projecte d’Intel·ligència Artificial de Yale. Va ser professor visitant a la universitat de Paris VII, professor assistent del centre de ciències computacionals i lingüístiques de la Universitat d’Stanfor i investigador a l’Institut de Semàntica i Cognició a Suïssa. També va ser Distinguished Career Professor a l’Escola de Ciències Computacionals a la Universitat de Carnegie Mellon. És membre de l’AAAI i fundador de la Societat de Ciències Cognitives de la Universitat de Texas. Al 1994, va fundar la Cognitive Arts Corporation, companyia que dissenyava i construïa simulacions multimèdia d’alta qualitat per a ús corporatiu d’entrenament i per a cursos on line d’universitats en col·laboració amb la Universitat de Columbia. Al 2002 va fundar la Socratic Arts, una companyia orientada a millorar la qualitat de l’e-learning per a negocis i escoles

Schank, Roger, Teaching Minds: How Cognitive Science Can Save Our Schools. New York: Teachers College Press, 2011.

Proposes a cognitive process-based education built around 12 processes: four conceptual processes (prediction, judgment, experimentation, evaluation), four analytic processes (argument, planning, causation, judgment), and four social processes (influence, teamwork, negotiation, describing); argues against a subject-centered (knowledge) curriculum; sees online schooling as the future of education