Learning Systems From Theory To Practice

Annotation These original contributions converge on an exciting and fruitful intersection of three historically distinct areas of learning research: computational learning theory, neural networks, and symbolic machine learning. Bridging theory and practice, computer science and psychology, they consider general issues in learning systems that could provide constraints for theory and at the same time interpret theoretical results in the context of experiments with actual learning systems. In all, nineteen chapters address questions such as, What is a natural system? How should learning systems gain from prior knowledge? If prior knowledge is important, how can we quantify how important? What makes a learning problem hard? How are neural networks and symbolic machine learning approaches similar? Is there a fundamental difference in the kind of task a neural network can easily solve as opposed to those a symbolic algorithm can easily solve? Stephen J. Hanson heads the Learning Systems Department at Siemens Corporate Research and is a Visiting Member of the Research Staff and Research Collaborator at the Cognitive Science Laboratory at Princeton University. George A. Drastal is Senior Research Scientist at Siemens Corporate Research. Ronald J. Rivest is Professor of Computer Science and Associate Director of the Laboratory for Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Social Learning Systems and Communities of Practice is a collection of classical and contemporary writing associated with learning and systemic change in contexts ranging from cities, to rural development to education to nursing to water management to public policy. It is likely to be of interest to anyone trying to understand how to think systemically and to act and interact effectively in situations experienced as complex, messy and changing. While mainly concerned with professional praxis, where theory and practice inform each other, there is much here that can apply at a personal level. This book offers conceptual tools and suggestions for new ways of being and acting in the world in relation to each other, that arise from both old and new understandings of communities, learning and systems. Starting with twentieth century insights into social learning, learning systems and appreciative systems from Donald Schön and Sir Geoffrey Vickers, the book goes on to consider the contemporary traditions of critical social learning systems and communities of practice, pioneered by Richard Bawden and Etienne Wenger and their colleagues. A synthesis of the ideas raised, written by the editor, concludes this reader. The theory and practice of social learning systems and communities of practice appear to have much to offer in influencing and managing systemic change for a better world.

"Neither an academic tome nor a prescriptive 'how to' guide, The Theory and Practice of Online Learning is an illuminating collection of essays by practitioners and scholars active in the complex field of distance education. Distance education has evolved significantly in its 150 years of existence. For most of this time, it was an individual pursuit defined by infrequent postal communication. But recently, three more developmental generations have emerged, supported by television and radio, teleconferencing, and computer conferencing. The early 21st century has produced a fifth generation, based on autonomous agents and intelligent, database-assisted learning, that has been referred to as Web 2.0. The second edition of "The Theory and Practice of Online Learning" features updates in each chapter, plus four new chapters on current distance education issues such as connectivism and social software innovations."--BOOK JACKET.

Anne Meyer and David Rose, who first laid out the principles of UDL, provide an ambitious, engaging discussion of new research and best practices. This book gives the UDL field an essential and authoritative learning resource for the coming years. In the 1990s, Anne Meyer, David Rose, and their colleagues at CAST introduced Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as a framework to improve teaching and learning in the digital age, sparking an international reform movement. Now Meyer and Rose return with Universal Design for Learning: Theory and Practice, an up-to-date multimedia online book (with print and e-book options) that leverages more than a decade of research and implementation. This is the first significant new statement on UDL since 2002, an ambitious, engaging exploration of ideas and best practices that provides the growing UDL field with an essential and authoritative learning resource for the coming years. This new work includes contributions from CAST's research and implementation teams as well as from many of CAST's collaborators in schools, universities, and research settings. Readers are invited to contribute ideas, perspectives, and examples from their own practice in an online community of practice. --

In E-learning Theory and Practice the authors set out different perspectives on e-learning. The book deals with the social implications of e-learning, its transformative effects, and the social and technical interplay that supports and directs e-learning. The authors present new perspectives on the subject by exploring the way teaching and learning are changing with the presence of the Internet and participatory media; providing a theoretical grounding in new learning practices from education, communication and information science; addressing e-learning in terms of existing learning theories, emerging online learning theories, new literacies, social networks, social worlds, community and virtual communities, and online resources; and emphasizing the impact of everyday electronic practices on learning, literacy and the classroom, locally and globally. This book is for everyone involved in e-learning including teachers, educators, graduate students and researchers.

Learning to Learn provides a much needed overview and international guide to the field of learning to learn from a multidisciplinary lifelong and lifewide perspective. A wealth of research has been flourishing on this key educational goal in recent years. Internationally, it is considered to be one of the key competencies needed to compete in the global economy, but also a crucial factor for individual and social well-being. This book draws on leading international contributors to provide a cutting-edge overview of current thinking on learning to learn research, policy, and implementation in both formal and informal learning environments. But what learning to learn is exactly, and what its constituting elements are, are much debated issues. These seem to be the crucial questions if assessment and development of this 'malleable side of intelligence' are to be accomplished. The approach of this volume is to consider a broad conception of learning to learn, not confined to only study strategies or metacognition, yet acknowledging the importance of such elements. The book sets out to answer five main questions: What is learning to learn? What are its functions and how do we assess it? What does it promise to the individual and society at large? How is it conceived in national curricula internationally? How can it be developed in a variety of contexts? The text is organized into two parts: the first addresses the core question of the nature of learning to learn from a theoretical and policy viewpoint, and the second presents recent research carried out in several educational systems, with special attention to assessment and curriculum. It gives an account of pedagogical practices of learning to learn and its role in individual empowerment from childhood to adulthood. Contributors also highlight the potential use of learning to learn as an organizing concept for lifelong learning, school improvement, and teacher training along with potential conflicts with existing incentive practices and policies. This book is a vital starting point and guide for any advanced student or researcher looking to understand this important area of research.

By presenting the latest advances in fuzzy sets and computing with words from around the globe, this book disseminates recent innovations in advanced intelligent technologies and systems. From intelligent control and intuitionistic fuzzy quantifiers to various data science and industrial applications, it includes a wide range of valuable lessons learned and ideas for future intelligent products and systems.

'The Theory and Practice of Learning' explores the basic theories of learning, how they have developed, and how they can be put into practice.