Description: This course explores how and why we learn from birth through adulthood from the perspective of empirical cognitive science and psychology. For the “how”, will discuss the mechanics of different kinds of learning, from reinforcement learning that can be done with almost any living creature and modern “AI” systems, to learning through exploration and experience, to how children (and adults) intuitively navigate complex networks of expertise to find the information they need. For the “why”, we will discuss curiosity, the sense of wonder that is found universally in children but only rarely in adults, and what makes students more or less motivated to learn in school. In all cases, we will focus on cutting-edge, rigorous scientific evidence to understand these processes.
- Instructor: Jonathan Kominsky