Archive for the ‘cognitive science’ Category

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Cognitive Science in Education Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

WestEd’s National Center for Cognition and Mathematics Instruction (NCCMI) is redesigning its existing mathematics curriculum using principles of cognitive science to improve student outcomes. It will use current cognitive science knowledge about how we acquire, retain and transfer knowledge for the redesign project. The project will then evaluate whether the new curriculum has indeed improved students’ mathematics achievement.

The project focus will be on the widely used Connected Mathematics Project (CMP) curriculum for middle schools. The evaluation of the revised project will be done through multiple studies.

The team that will execute the project includes experienced and accomplished experts in cognitive research, mathematics instruction specialists, assessment and measurement experts, curriculum writers, professional developers and national advisers.

WestEd will work on the project along with partners such as CMP, Carnegie Mellon University, Temple University and other universities, and Apple Computer Inc. They will also establish a diverse community of users to learn from and apply the NCCMI research.

WestEd is a research, development and service agency that works with education and other communities to promote excellence, achieve equity and improve learning. The U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences is funding the research.

Read more at WestEd website.

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Superstitions are Obstacles not only for Cognitive but also Economic and Cultural Development Sunday, July 11th, 2010

When you see things as they are, you can usually find ways to achieve your goals, whether these are economic or some other. By developing a scientific approach, cause and effect relationships can be perceived more readily and this perception can be used to move towards one’s goals.

Not only an understanding of cause and effect relationships but the emotional balance to accept reality and act intelligently based on this reality is also necessary for effective achievements.

Superstitions, including ritualistic religious beliefs, prevent both these requirements. One tends to see things in a preconceived way instead of as they are. Emotional balance also might be affected because of strong biases in favor of one’s set of beliefs.

If the findings of cognitive science can be used by governments and other influencers of people’s views to change the superstitious mindset, it should theoretically be possible to create a better world where conflict is replaced by enlightened self-interest and cooperation. It would be a massive exercise, however.

The above thoughts entered this writer’s mind on going through the article titled “Scientific Mindsets and Worldviews for Peace and Development in Africa” at Azibo Press. The article suggests that African policy-makers, freedom thinkers and activists should adopt the ideals of the French Revolution and work to get rid of “paternalistic, autocratic and despotic kings and fear-mongering, deceitful and fraudulent merchant-priests.”

Read the article at Azibo Press.

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Communication through Gestures Wednesday, June 30th, 2010

Gestures are hand movements we use automatically (or even consciously) to supplement or replace verbal communications. According to some experts, gestures (i) call attention to important parts of speech, (ii) provide information not available in speech, (iii) replace words that are not immediately accessible and (iv) offer a shared means for silent group communication.

Children learn to gesture quite early, probably by observing adults, and use gestures to communicate information they cannot yet do verbally. It can be seen as revealing unspoken thoughts and skills that children are on the verge of learning. Gesturing can also influence children’s learning.

Gesturing is so ingrained that we often supplement our speech with gestures even when the other party to the conversation cannot see it, as during a telephone conversation. Politicians might use gesturing consciously to give an impression that they are honest and trustworthy (and even intelligent).

Despite the universality and importance of gestures, its purpose, development and mechanisms do not appear to have been studied with the kind of seriousness that other topics have received. One theory has it that gesturing is intended to conjure up spoken words, and also complements the words to increase comprehension by the listener.

Read an article on how gesturing promotes skill acquisition through childhood at World.Intellectualprops.com.

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Cognitive Science: What is its Significance? Thursday, June 17th, 2010

The earlier science of psychology has been replaced by the interdisciplinary field of cognitive science. It combines the insights of computer science (information processing), psychology, linguistics (how we acquire and use language), neuroscience (the physical basis of mind and its operations) and philosophy (norms and logic). This concentration of insights can provide us with a more comprehensive idea about the working of our minds.

The new science “seeks to understand how humans, animals, and robots are able to acquire, represent, and use knowledge,” (to use the words of one university offering courses in cognitive science). The brain is a physical organ and it stores memories and makes connections between them; the mind is that strange something that guides our behavior and interpretations of things; and our conscious experiences has a great role in shaping our mind.

Cognitive science is finding practical applications in a broad range of areas from education through improving the mental capabilities of elderly citizens to debilitating the minds of enemy forces in war. You will find stories about all these types of applications at this blog. And a science that can help with the effectiveness of our children’s education, improve the condition of the elderly and fight successful wars cannot but be important.

Read about some cognitive science courses at Universities.com.

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Cognitive Science Research at Cognitive Development Lab Saturday, May 15th, 2010

The cognitive lab at UC Merced investigates social reasoning in children and adults. How do we acquire attitudes and social norms, for example? And how do we change acquired social knowledge? There are several research projects on a variety of social topics, as illustrated in the examples below, going on at the lab.

Usually, we affiliate with groups, such as family and friends, for the rich experiences that these groups provide. One research investigates whether people will still prefer groups when no such rich experiences are available. Work at the lab confirms that children do affiliate with even randomly created, unfamiliar groups that they have been put into.

Another research project concerns the role of language. Language is usually seen simply as a vehicle to communicate ideas. According to one view, language does more; it shapes the nature of our thinking. Cultural concepts provide building blocks for our ideas. Research at the lab with bilingual speakers suggest that people respond differently depending on the language they are addressed in.

Adults have attitudes and stereotypes about different social groups. Do children also view social groups in the same way? Research suggests that they do; implicit social attitudes appear early and remain stable during a lifetime.

Visit the Cognitive Lab website for a look at the work the lab does.

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What Makes for Good Learning and Development? Friday, May 7th, 2010

Traditionally, psychology has studied children’s development by observing the behavior of children at different ages. Observations have led to conclusions about the ages at which a child acquires different skills and behavior patterns. However, mere observation cannot fully help in improving, for example, the learning abilities of children.

To develop techniques that can help children learn better we need to understand the cause and effect relationships in operation. It is this causal relationship that computational modeling can help understand. Computational models force researchers to explain exactly what they mean by specific terms.

Terms like learning and development, and the various other words used in studying it, must be specified in terms precise enough to incorporate them into computer models. And translating theories into computer models tend to highlight the interdependencies of different elements involved. A model also needs to be internally consistent and complete to some extent before it will function.

The increased specificity and need for consistency tend to reveal the cause and effect relationships involved and lead to insights that can lead to more precise research. And when you know causal factors that lead to specific results, you can design better ways to achieve desired results.

A Wiley article discusses the use of computational modeling in studying cognitive development.

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Cognitive Health of the Elderly: The Long Lasting Memories Project Thursday, April 29th, 2010

A European Commission funded project with a memorable name, Long Lasting Memories Project, seeks to find an innovative solution to the cognitive health problems of the elderly. With a growing population of the elderly, the issue of helping them maintain their cognitive abilities is becoming a major one for society. The basic aim of the project is to find innovative solutions that enable the elderly to pursue an independent and healthy lifestyle.

The project is funded under the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (ICT PSP/2008/1) of the European Commission. A workshop is planned for May 20, 2010 at Athens to present the preliminary results of the development, integration, and pilot planning efforts of the consortium that is executing the project. It will look at the full range of issues related to the LLM service, from policy matters such as ethics, to technical and scientific concerns, to logistical and commercialization issues.

The LLM consortium includes the project coordinator, Aristotelio Panepistimio Thessalonikis/Medical School (GR), and project partners, Athena Research and Innovation Center in Information Communication & Knowledge Technologies / Institute for Language and Speech Processing (GR), CEIT RALTEC gemeinnuetzige GmbH (AT), E-SENIORS: INITIATION DES SENIORS AUX NTIC ASSOCIATION (FR), Fundacion INTRAS (ES), GENIKO NOSOKOMEIO ATHINAS IPPOKRATEIO / Health Centre Vyronas (GR), Global Security Intelligence (UK), Investigacion y Desarrollo Informatico EIKON SL (ES), Tero Ltd (GR), and Universitat Konstanz (DE).

Read the full news release at PRWeb.

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Life Before Birth: What we Know now Tuesday, April 13th, 2010

Scientists have been interested about the experiences of the unborn baby. Naturally, it had been difficult to learn anything about this experience. They had to observe animal fetuses, premature babies in incubators and healthy newborns only hours old.

What the scientists have learned about the development of senses has not only enhanced our knowlege of the human body but also the chances of helping premature babies live a normal life.

Observation of animal fetuses have indicated that bodily senses become alive in a specific order that is similar in all vertebrates. The sense of touch develops first, followed by taste and smell, then hearing, and finally, after birth in some species, comes sight.

Humans have a long gestation period and their sense of sight comes alive before birth. However, they do not have much to see while they are still in the fetal stage. However, according to researchers, the human fetus can differentiate between dim and very dim. Observers have found that unborn infants turn their heads away if a bright light is directed at the mother’s stomach and also that there are spikes in the brain waves of premature babies in response to light.

Sensory stimulation through use is important for sensory development even during the fetal stage. Using the senses lead to strengthening of relevant neural connections. If there is no stimulation, the connections never develop.

And experiments show that the newborn has already become familiar with its mother’s voice, and responds to it positively.

Read (and see) more at boingboing

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Do Arts Training Matter in School? Friday, April 9th, 2010

Yes, says jensenlearning.com. Arts training changes the brain physically in ways that enhance academic and social performance of students, according to the writer. This might surprise people who believe that arts affect only one’s emotions.

Arts should be considered a stand-alone discipline on its own that can contribute to the goals we seek through teaching, viz. brain functioning in ways that are academically and socially useful. Arts training changes the brain in ways that other disciplines do not do.

As things stand now, teachers are likely to be overwhelmed with the variety of suggested teaching strategies. Choosing among the strategies becomes a hit or miss affair with no certainty of successful results. This situation, together with the pressure to produce better results, can lead to teacher burnout.

The author of the post advocates focusing on fewer things, on things that have demonstrated their effectiveness. Arts have proven their effectiveness in improving attentional and cognitive skills. Dana Foundation had funded a study to discover the effect of arts on the brain and the resultant findings showed that music enhances cognition, for example.

The brain is plastic, a constantly changing thing. And arts training changes in desirable ways. The article titled Musical training shapes structural brain development in The Journal of Neuroscience provides peer-reviewed evidence.

Read the post at jensenlearning.com

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Workshop on Cognitive Tutor Development Wednesday, April 7th, 2010

Cognitive Tutoring reportedly aligns student learning process to “best practices” of learning. It is particularly suitable for education delivery over the Web where the trainer and student will not have face-to-face interactions. A number of cognitive tutor authoring tools are available on the Web.

The workshop on “Hands-on introduction to creating intelligent tutoring systems without programming using the Cognitive Tutor Authoring Tools (CTAT)” is to be conducted during the 9th International Conference of the Learning Sciences,
at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel, Chicago and is scheduled for
June 29.

The conference will provide background on cognitive tutors and how Cognitive Tutor Authoring Tools (CTAT) work. Participants will get an overview of the process of CTAT development and extensive hands-on use of both basic and advanced CTAT features. These will be supplemented with illustrations and examples that provide specific insights into actual applications.

The course will prove of value to learning science researchers who will learn to create cognitive tutors even if they have no programming skill. The researchers will then be able to decide whether the tool will be of use to them.

Participants are expected to bring laptops with pre-installed CTAT software, which can be downloaded free from Carnegie Mellon.

Read more about the workshop at ICLS 2010 announcement.

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