Janet L. Kolodner
Encyclopedia
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Janet L. Kolodner is an American
cognitive scientist
and Regents' Professor in the School of Interactive Computing
, College of Computing
at the Georgia Institute of Technology
. She is Editor in Chief of The Journal of the Learning Sciences
and was founding Executive Officer of the International Society of the Learning Sciences
(ISLS) .
in 1976. She then completed her M.S. in computer science in 1977 and her Ph.D. in computer science in 1980 from Yale University
. She is a professor of Computing and Cognitive Science at Georgia Tech's College of Computing. She spent the 1996-97 academic year at Hebrew University of Jerusalem
in Israel
.
In 1992, Kolodner was elected a fellow in the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence
for "pioneering research on case-based reasoning and learning, including memory organization, information retrieval, problem solving, and knowledge acquisition."
, a way of solving problems based on analogies to past experiences, and her lab emphasized case-based reasoning for situations of real-world complexity. In case-based reasoning, the results of previous cases are applied to new situations, cutting down the complexity of the reasoning necessary in later situations and allowing a problem solver to anticipate and avoid previously-made mistakes. Automated case-based reasoners from her lab include MEDIATOR and PERSUADER, common sense and expert mediation programs; JULIA, a case-based design problem solver; CELIA, a case-based car mechanic; MEDIC, a case-based physician; and EXPEDITOR, a case-based logistics manager. Kolodner's classic work in this area, Case-based Reasoning (1993), has been cited thousands of times by researchers.
Her research interests are the implications and applications of cognition to education and educational technology, artificial intelligence, cognitive science, case-based reasoning, novice-expert evolution, the role of experience in expert and common-sense reasoning, design cognition, creativity, design of decision-aiding tools, and interactive learning environments.
Janet L. Kolodner is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
cognitive scientist
Cognitive science
Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary scientific study of mind and its processes. It examines what cognition is, what it does and how it works. It includes research on how information is processed , represented, and transformed in behaviour, nervous system or machine...
and Regents' Professor in the School of Interactive Computing
Georgia Institute of Technology School of Interactive Computing
The School of Interactive Computing is an academic unit located within the College of Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology . It conducts both research and teaching activities related to interactive computing at the undergraduate and graduate levels...
, College of Computing
Georgia Institute of Technology College of Computing
The College of Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology has roots stretching back to an Information Science degree established in 1964. In 1988, Georgia Tech president John Patrick Crecine elevated the School of Information and Computer Science to become the College of Computing, making...
at the Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
. She is Editor in Chief of The Journal of the Learning Sciences
Journal of the Learning Sciences
The Journal of the Learning Sciences is a peer-reviewed academic journal and an official publication of the International Society of the Learning Sciences. It covers research on learning and education and is published by Taylor & Francis publishers. It was started in 1991 as by founding editor...
and was founding Executive Officer of the International Society of the Learning Sciences
International Society of the Learning Sciences
The International Society of the Learning Sciences is a professional society dedicated to the interdisciplinary empirical investigation of learning as it exists in real-world settings and how learning may be facilitated both with and without technology. Learning sciences research explores the...
(ISLS) .
Academic career
Kolodner graduated with a B.S. in math and computer science from Brandeis UniversityBrandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
in 1976. She then completed her M.S. in computer science in 1977 and her Ph.D. in computer science in 1980 from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. She is a professor of Computing and Cognitive Science at Georgia Tech's College of Computing. She spent the 1996-97 academic year at Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
In 1992, Kolodner was elected a fellow in the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence
Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence
The Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence or AAAI is an international, nonprofit, scientific society devoted to advancing the scientific understanding of the mechanisms underlying thought and intelligent behavior and their embodiment in machines...
for "pioneering research on case-based reasoning and learning, including memory organization, information retrieval, problem solving, and knowledge acquisition."
Research
Kolodner's research addresses issues in learning, memory, and problem solving, both in computers and in people. She pioneered the computer reasoning method called case-based reasoningCase-based reasoning
Case-based reasoning , broadly construed, is the process of solving new problems based on the solutions of similar past problems. An auto mechanic who fixes an engine by recalling another car that exhibited similar symptoms is using case-based reasoning...
, a way of solving problems based on analogies to past experiences, and her lab emphasized case-based reasoning for situations of real-world complexity. In case-based reasoning, the results of previous cases are applied to new situations, cutting down the complexity of the reasoning necessary in later situations and allowing a problem solver to anticipate and avoid previously-made mistakes. Automated case-based reasoners from her lab include MEDIATOR and PERSUADER, common sense and expert mediation programs; JULIA, a case-based design problem solver; CELIA, a case-based car mechanic; MEDIC, a case-based physician; and EXPEDITOR, a case-based logistics manager. Kolodner's classic work in this area, Case-based Reasoning (1993), has been cited thousands of times by researchers.
Her research interests are the implications and applications of cognition to education and educational technology, artificial intelligence, cognitive science, case-based reasoning, novice-expert evolution, the role of experience in expert and common-sense reasoning, design cognition, creativity, design of decision-aiding tools, and interactive learning environments.
Book published
Following are the books published by Kolodner:- Bruckman, A.S., Guzdial, M., Kolodner, J.L., Ram, A., (Eds.) (1998). Proceedings of the International Conference of the Learning Sciences 1998. AACE, Charlottesville, VA, 1998.
- Kolodner, J.L. (Ed.), (1993). Case-Based Learning. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Netherlands.
- Kolodner, J.L. (Ed.) (1988). Proceedings: Case-Based Reasoning Workshop. Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, Inc., San Mateo, CA.
- Kolodner, J.L. & Riesbeck, C. (Eds.) (1986). Experience, Memory, and Reasoning. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Hillsdale, NJ.
- Kolodner, J.L. (1984). Retrieval and Organizational Strategies in Conceptual Memory: A Computer Model. Lawrence Erlbaum, Associates, Inc., Hillsdale, NJ.