Distributed learning: Educating and assessing extended cognitive systems

Heersmink, Richard; Knight, Simon

doi:10.1080/09515089.2018.1469122

Cited by 45 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 50 publications

(46 reference statements)

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“…Special attention should be given to its potential use in educational settings (Putnam, 2015). We predict that using VR devices to support learning through the memory palace can greatly enhance learning experiences (in line with: Mäkelä & Löytönen, 2017;Heersmink & Knight, 2018). Not only that, but activities which are traditionally seen as boring, like the rote learning of words from a foreign language, would potentially become a lot more fun because of the engaged, bodily interaction.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Misplacing memories? An enactive approach to the virtual memory palace

Peeters

Segundo-Ortin

2019

Consciousness and Cognition

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In this paper, we evaluate the pragmatic turn towards embodied, enactive thinking in cognitive science, in the context of recent empirical research on the memory palace technique. The memory palace is a powerful method for remembering yet it faces two problems. First, cognitive scientists are currently unable to clarify its efficacy. Second, the technique faces significant practical challenges to its users. Virtual reality devices are sometimes presented as a way to solve these practical challenges, but currently fall short of delivering on that promise. We address both issues in this paper. First, we argue that an embodied, enactive approach to memory can better help us understand the effectiveness of the memory palace. Second, we present design recommendations for a virtual memory palace. Our theoretical proposal and design recommendations contribute to solving both problems and provide reasons for preferring an embodied, enactive account over an information-processing treatment of the memory palace.T against the background of the so-called 'pragmatic turn' in cognitive science. The pragmatic turn signals a move towards conceiving of cognition as dynamic, embodied and enactive and away from cognition as information-processing (Engel, 2010;Engel, Maye, Kurthen, & König, 2013). Reframing how we think about the cognitive underpinnings of memory will help in the design of the virtual memory palace.What is the advantage of examining the memory palace from the perspective of embodied, enacted cognition? We provide two related incentives. The first stems from the observation that current cognitivist investigations into the workings of the technique, which are based on the information-processing paradigm, have not shed sufficient light on why it is so powerful, as we will elaborate in the next section. 1 This opens the door to the consideration of an alternative paradigm. The second and related reason is that the memory palace, because it leans heavily on memory scaffolding through environmental resources, calls for a cognitive framework which places the role of the body in the environment front and centre.Keeping in mind the pragmatic turn, our paper develops as follows. In Section 2, we will examine current cognitivist approaches to the memory palace technique and show how they are unable to explain its dynamics, concluding that there is, as we call it, an Explanation Problem. Following this, we will argue in Section 3 that current attempts to operationalize the memory palace in virtual reality fall short, because they depend on cognitivist understandings of the technique. Call this the Operationalization Problem. Because addressing the Operationalization Problem first requires addressing the Explanation Problem, we turn to the latter in Section 4, where we argue that an enactive account of the memory palace captures the technique better than its cognitivist rivals. This sets the stage for Section 5, in which we address the Operationalization Problem by presenting design recommendations for designers of virtual memor...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Misplacing memories? An enactive approach to the virtual memory palace

Peeters

Segundo-Ortin

2019

Consciousness and Cognition

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“…This is, of course, not an easy task to achieve. One possible strategy suggested by Heersmink & Knight 2018;Heersmink & Carter, 2018) is to teach intellectual virtues as they pertain to human-technology interaction in schools and universities. Given that life in the 21st century is characterised by spending many hours per day interacting with cognitive technologies, it is a good idea to teach pupils and students to use these technologies in an intellectually virtuous manner.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How navigation systems transform epistemic virtues: Knowledge, issues and solutions

Gillett

Heersmink

2019

Cognitive Systems Research

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In this paper, we analyse how GPS-based navigation systems are transforming some of our intellectual virtues and then suggest two strategies to improve our practices regarding the use of such epistemic tools. We start by outlining the two main approaches in virtue epistemology, namely virtue reliabilism and virtue responsibilism. We then discuss how navigation systems can undermine five epistemic virtues, namely memory, perception, attention, intellectual autonomy, and intellectual carefulness. We end by considering two possible interlinked ways of trying to remedy this situation: [i] redesigning the epistemic tool to improve the epistemic virtues of memory, perception, and attention; and [ii] the cultivation of cognitive diligence for wayfinding tasks scaffolding intellectual autonomy and carefulness.

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“…So, some cognitive artifacts are temporary supports, whereas others are more permanent supports. 19 A specific type of cognitive artifact, with a more autobiographical function, are referred to as "evocative objects" 20 (Heersmink 2018(Heersmink , 2020aTurkle 2007). Cognitive artifacts are used to perform a practical problem-solving task like navigating, calculating, or planning.…”

Section: Cognitive Artifactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Varieties of Artifacts: Embodied, Perceptual, Cognitive, and Affective

Heersmink

2021

Topics in Cognitive Science

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The primary goal of this essay is to provide a comprehensive overview and analysis of the various relations between material artifacts and the embodied mind. A secondary goal of this essay is to identify some of the trends in the design and use of artifacts. First, based on their functional properties, I identify four categories of artifacts co-opted by the embodied mind, namely (a) embodied artifacts, (b) perceptual artifacts, (c) cognitive artifacts, and (d) affective artifacts. These categories can overlap and so some artifacts are members of more than one category. I also identify some of the techniques (or skills) we use when interacting with artifacts. Identifying these categories of artifacts and techniques allows us to map the landscape of relations between embodied minds and the artifactual world. Second, having identified categories of artifacts and techniques, this essay then outlines some of the trends in the design and use of artifacts, focusing on neuroprosthetics, brain-computer interfaces, and personalization algorithms nudging their users toward particular epistemic paths of information consumption.

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Distributed learning: Educating and assessing extended cognitive systems

Cited by 45 publications

References 50 publications

Misplacing memories? An enactive approach to the virtual memory palace

Misplacing memories? An enactive approach to the virtual memory palace

How navigation systems transform epistemic virtues: Knowledge, issues and solutions

Varieties of Artifacts: Embodied, Perceptual, Cognitive, and Affective

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