Cognitive science

2023 Yidan Prize: Michelene Chi and Shai Reshef awarded the world's highest accolade in education

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, September 28, 2023
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HONG KONG, Sept. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Yidan Prize Foundation has awarded Arizona State University Professor Michelene Chi and University of the People President Shai Reshef the 2023 Yidan Prize, the world's highest education accolade.

Key Points: 
  • HONG KONG, Sept. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Yidan Prize Foundation has awarded Arizona State University Professor Michelene Chi and University of the People President Shai Reshef the 2023 Yidan Prize, the world's highest education accolade.
  • As laureates of the 2023 Yidan Prize for Education Research and the 2023 Yidan Prize for Education Development, Michelene Chi and Shai Reshef will join the Yidan Prize Foundation's global community of education experts.
  • Michelene (Micki) Chi, Regents Professor & Dorothy Bray Endowed Professor of Science and Teaching with Arizona State University's Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, has been awarded the 2023 Yidan Prize for Education Research.
  • Shai Reshef, President and Founder, University of the People, has been awarded the 2023 Yidan Prize for Education Development.

Will AI kill our creativity? It could – if we don’t start to value and protect the traits that make us human

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, September 27, 2023
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In the long-running Writers Guild of America strike, a central sticking point has been the guild’s demand that AI be used only as a research tool and not a replacement for its members.

Key Points: 
  • In the long-running Writers Guild of America strike, a central sticking point has been the guild’s demand that AI be used only as a research tool and not a replacement for its members.
  • For many creative types, it seems harder to earn a living with AI around.
  • At the same time, however, AI tools are often seen as a springboard to next-level human creativity.

What is creativity?

    • Psychological or personal (p-type) creativity happens when an individual thinks something for the first time – even if others have thought it separately before.
    • Historical creativity (h-type), on the other hand, happens when an individual thinks something that has never been thought before.
    • One example would be Archimedes’s “eureka” moment in the bath, which supposedly led to him discovering the law of buoyancy.

Generative AI doesn’t belong in either category

    • AI obviously has the potential to promote both p-type and h-type creativity.
    • But there is one key difference between human creativity and AI-driven creativity: the latter doesn’t stem from the evolutionary clash of mind and world.
    • It formalises the fact that while AI models are capable of provoking new thought, they are limited by the underlying data they have been trained on.

The big risk: a generic spiral

    • This sameness further put us at risk of a generic spiral.
    • So the more we use AI for g-type creativity, the more generic our content will become – and since this will be used to further train AI, the more generic AI outputs will become.
    • While this might be useful for certain specialist tasks – such as consistently interpreting law – it’s worrying to contemplate the kind of Orwellian political economy a generic spiral might give rise to.

Can we enjoy AI and also preserve creativity?

    • Balancing and reconciling human creativity with AI isn’t as simple as going for regular walks in nature – although that will probably help.
    • Generative AI may well be a transformative technology to rival the printing press or steam engine.

Most Parents Think Teachers Are Fully Prepared to Deliver Science of Reading-Aligned Instruction; Educators Are Less Optimistic

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, September 19, 2023
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“And when it comes to the science of reading, the disconnect between parents’ perception of teachers’ readiness and teachers’ feelings of preparedness is rather extreme.

Key Points: 
  • “And when it comes to the science of reading, the disconnect between parents’ perception of teachers’ readiness and teachers’ feelings of preparedness is rather extreme.
  • Structured Literacy is the approach that applies the research of science of reading and includes components such as phonics, building vocabulary and comprehension.
  • More than a third (43%) of educators said better teacher training (e.g., training in science of reading, technology-driven education, etc.)
  • Over two-thirds (69%) of educators felt it was important for products supporting literacy instruction to be based on the science of reading.

CLLB Law Announces 2023 College Scholarship Winners

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, September 14, 2023
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"I know that I can handle whatever comes my way," Allison says. She recently challenged herself to get out of her comfort zone by auditioning – successfully -- for the Kentucky Opera children's ensemble for La Boheme.

Key Points: 
  • NEW ALBANY, Ind., Sept. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- CLLB Law is proud to announce the winners of their annual essay competition, which awards college scholarships each year to three deserving high school seniors.
  • "This year's winners impressed our firm with their ability to look beyond their own challenges and stay focused on their dreams, even while being of service to others," says Attorney Larry Church of CLLB Law.
  • Allison Crosser of New Albany High School submitted her essay on the topic of Overcoming Learning Disabilities.
  • The attorneys at Church, Langdon, Lopp, Banet Law have years of experience providing quality representation across a range of legal practice areas .

VERSES named as Presenting Sponsor of the 4th International Workshop on Active Inference

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, September 13, 2023
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Additionally, Verses’ foundational platform KOSM™ positions the company as a leader in the use of active inference principles in the development of AI.

Key Points: 
  • Additionally, Verses’ foundational platform KOSM™ positions the company as a leader in the use of active inference principles in the development of AI.
  • The 4th International Workshop on Active Inference (IWAI), which is to be held September 13-15, 2023 at St Peter's Abbey, in Ghent, Belgium, brings together researchers on active inference from around the world.
  • “We are very pleased to support the 4th International Workshop on Active Inference,” said Gabriel René, Founder and CEO of VERSES.
  • For more information about IWAI 2023 visit https://iwaiworkshop.github.io/
    The 4th International Workshop on Active Inference wants to bring together researchers on active inference as well as related research fields in order to discuss current trends, novel results and real-world applications.

Lindamood-Bell Receives Funding for a Collaborative Research Grant to Accelerate Growth in Reading for Elementary Students

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, September 12, 2023
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These challenges can escalate without quick and effective intervention, leading to more significant academic and emotional problems in upper elementary grades.

Key Points: 
  • These challenges can escalate without quick and effective intervention, leading to more significant academic and emotional problems in upper elementary grades.
  • The study will test the impact of Lindamood-Bell's instruction and professional development (PD) on educator implementation and the reading outcomes of students diagnosed or at risk for reading disabilities in upper elementary schools.
  • Students will receive diagnostic reading assessments so that educators understand their language and learning profiles.
  • This could be a paradigm shift going beyond the science of reading into the more comprehensive world of the cognitive science of learning."

Seth Bergstein Joins Evercore as Senior Managing Director in the Technology Practice in New York

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, September 5, 2023
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Evercore (NYSE: EVR) announced today that Seth Bergstein has joined the firm’s investment banking business as a senior managing director in the Technology Group based in New York.

Key Points: 
  • Evercore (NYSE: EVR) announced today that Seth Bergstein has joined the firm’s investment banking business as a senior managing director in the Technology Group based in New York.
  • His longtime colleague Sandeep Sharma will also be joining as a managing director, and the two will lead coverage of consulting, professional, technology & digital services, and business process outsourcing.
  • Mr. Bergstein comes to Evercore from Morgan Stanley, where he started his career in 1988 as a financial analyst.
  • Mr. Bergstein also served as a member of the management committee of investment banking for 13 years.

Upcoming Webinar Series to Help Grades K-8 Educators Build Instructional Routines Aligned to the Science of Reading

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, August 30, 2023
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NORTH BILLERICA, Mass., Aug. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Curriculum Associates is launching a free webinar series to help Grades K–8 educators build instructional routines aligned to the Science of Reading. The eight-part series, titled Science of Reading—Putting Research into Action: Season 2, is led by literacy experts Dr. Anita Archer, Dr. Kelly B. Cartwright, Dr. Courtney Hattan, and Dr. Devin M. Kearns and kicks off on Wednesday, September 13, 2023 at 4 p.m. ET.

Key Points: 
  • Dr. Anita Archer, Dr. Kelly B. Cartwright, Dr. Courtney Hattan, and Dr. Devin M. Kearns to lead this free, eight-part webinar series starting Wednesday, September 13, 2023
    NORTH BILLERICA, Mass., Aug. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Curriculum Associates is launching a free webinar series to help Grades K–8 educators build instructional routines aligned to the Science of Reading.
  • Dr. Courtney Hattan is an assistant professor in the Science of Reading at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  • His research focuses on developing reading instructional programs to support students with reading difficulty, specifically linking educational practice to cognitive science and neuroscience.
  • To learn more and register for the upcoming Science of Reading—Putting Research into Action: Season 2 webinars, visit https://caevents.cventevents.com/scienceofreading

Quizlet Launches Advanced AI-Powered Tools for Next-Gen Studying

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, August 8, 2023
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SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ahead of back-to-school season, global learning platform Quizlet today announced a series of new study tools designed to help students return to the classroom with renewed confidence this school year. These new product launches deliver more AI-powered resources to Quizlet's 60 million monthly active users, combining cognitive science and artificial intelligence to help students study more effectively and efficiently.

Key Points: 
  • Joining well-known and beloved study tools, including Flashcards and Learn and Test, this back-to-school Quizlet is introducing:
    Magic Notes: With Magic Notes, students can upload their class notes to Quizlet and instantly and automatically turn them into flashcards, practice tests, and more.
  • Q-Chat is built to help students achieve a deeper understanding of the topics they are studying through a virtual tutor-like experience.
  • AI Enhanced Expert Solutions: Millions of step-by-step explanations written by verified experts on Quizlet are now enhanced by advanced AI capabilities.
  • Starting today in the US, all Quizlet users 16 years and older will be able to access these new features, with Quizlet Plus users gaining unlimited access.

Medical exploitation of Black people in America goes far beyond the cells stolen from Henrietta Lacks that produced modern day miracles

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, August 8, 2023
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During her treatment, a sample of her cancer cells was taken without her knowledge or consent.

Key Points: 
  • During her treatment, a sample of her cancer cells was taken without her knowledge or consent.
  • Henrietta Lacks’ cells, known as HeLa cells, have had a profound impact on medical science since they were first taken from Lacks in 1951.
  • Lacks is one of the most well-known examples of medical exploitation on a Black body.

Medical abuse is a part of Black history

    • Medical exploitation and intentional abuse of members of the Black community is an often overlooked part of Black history.
    • The Tuskegee experiment is one of the most well-known examples of medical exploitation in the Black community.
    • But as revealed in medical ethicist Harriet A. Washington’s groundbreaking book “Medical Apartheid,” the medical exploitation of the Black community extended far beyond Tuskegee.

Grave robbing in Black communities

    • In turn, more cadavers were needed, but the demand for cadavers far exceeded the supply.
    • The solution at the time was grave robbing.
    • At the turn of the 18th century, most of New York City’s dissection tables were full of Black bodies, despite members of the Black community’s accounting for only 15% of the population at the time.

Unethical experiments on the incarcerated

    • From the 1950s through the 1970s, Philadelphia health officials allowed the prominent researcher Dr. Albert M. Kligman to conduct dangerous experiments on incarcerated people, most of whom were Black.
    • Kligman repeatedly and purposely exposed Black men to dermatological, biochemical and pharmaceutical experiments.
    • The city of Philadelphia and related institutions officially apologized in October 2022, but the apology does not remedy the lifelong scars and lingering health impacts from the experiments.
    • Incarcerated individuals in Arkansas were given a cocktail of drugs, including Ivermectin, to treat COVID-19.

Why it matters

    • It is also important to show how racism is still prevalent in contemporary medicine and public health.
    • The study further found that nearly half of the medical students in the study believed Black people have less sensitive nerve endings.
    • It’s my belief that revealing the dark history of medical racism is key to making sure that past injustices do not recur.