Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI)
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Socratic Arts
Founder; Chairman and Chief Technology Officer, Cognitive Arts Corporation (originally Learning Sciences Corporation)
Professor of Computer Science and Psychology; Chair, Department of Computer Science (1980–1985); Director, Yale Artificial Intelligence Project, Yale University
Founder/President (later Chairman of the Board), Cognitive Systems, Inc.
Founder/President (later Chairman), CompuTeach, Inc.
Assistant Professor of Linguistics and Computer Science (research associate 1968–1969; assistant professor 1969–1974), Stanford University
Research Fellow, Institute for Semantics and Cognition (Castagnola, Switzerland)
Roger C. Schank (1946–2023) was an AI theorist, cognitive psychologist, learning scientist, and entrepreneur whose work helped launch the Learning Sciences field. He pioneered Conceptual Dependency theory for natural‑language understanding, Script Theory (with Robert Abelson), Dynamic Memory (MOPs/TOPs), and Case‑Based Reasoning, and later translated these ideas into practice through Goal‑Based Scenarios, Story‑Centered Curricula, and Guided Experiential Learning for education and workforce training. After faculty appointments at Stanford (1968–1973) and Yale (1974–1989; chair of Computer Science; director of the Yale AI Project), he joined Northwestern University in 1989 as the John Evans Professor of Computer Science, Education, and Psychology and founded the Institute for the Learning Sciences (ILS). He also founded multiple learning‑technology companies, including Cognitive Arts and Socratic Arts. Schank was a Fellow of AAAI and co‑founded both the Cognitive Science Society and the journal Cognitive Science. He died on January 29, 2023, in Shelburne, Vermont. citeturn0search0turn0search1turn1search6turn1search12
A representation scheme for natural‑language understanding that encodes actions and states using a small set of primitives and dependency relations to support inference across paraphrases and languages.
Knowledge structures (scripts) for stereotyped event sequences that enable story and language understanding, alongside plans, goals, and thematic structures for non‑routine situations.
A theory of reminding and learning in which Memory Organization Packets (MOPs) and Thematic Organization Packets (TOPs) organize episodic experiences to support prediction, generalization, and learning by doing.
Reasoning and learning by retrieving and adapting prior cases; connects memory structures to problem solving and instructional design (case libraries, stories as experiences).
Experience‑focused instructional architecture in which learners pursue authentic goals in simulated contexts, supported by resources and mentor stories; emphasizes learning by doing and productive failure.
A program‑length application of GBS in which an entire curriculum is delivered as a coherent story with roles, deliverables, and mentoring—used in universities and corporate training.
Design approach that structures learn‑by‑doing experiences with guidance, resources, and reflective support to develop practical skills and judgment.
International Journal of Cognition and Technology • Journal
Argues that curricula implicitly script learner experiences; proposes redesigning curricula as story‑centered experiences where learners pursue meaningful goals, encounter authentic challenges, and receive just‑in‑time mentoring, aligning instruction with how memories and skills are actually formed.
Interactive Learning Environments • Journal
Discusses the design of four case‑based instructional systems (e.g., VICTOR for courtesy training; DUSTIN for workplace language learning; CREANIMATE for biology; TAXOPS for tax decision support) and distills principles for using case libraries and stories to support problem solving and learning by doing.
Behavioral and Brain Sciences • Journal
Critiques inductive, feature‑list models of category learning as functionally unjustified and cognitively unrealistic. Advocates a pragmatic framework in which category function, explanation, and credit assignment drive learning, invoking complex cognitive processes to generate and modify categories.
Cognitive Science • Journal
Proposes a theory of conversation comprehension in which an utterance is understood by recognizing one of several possible ‘points.’ The authors argue for combined top‑down and bottom‑up processing and show how recognizing a point shapes subsequent inference and information processing in dialogue.
Cognitive Science • Journal
Synthesizes a decade of work on conceptual representation and memory, presenting the theory of Memory Organization Packets (MOPs) as processors and organizers of episodic information. The paper traces the evolution of representation theories and argues that MOPs enable effective categorization and prediction in understanding.
Teachers College Press • Book
A provocative critique of subject‑based schooling and a proposal to organize education around core cognitive processes (e.g., prediction, modeling, planning, diagnosis, teamwork). Schank outlines how story‑centered, project‑based curricula with mentoring can replace lecture‑and‑test systems to develop thinking for real‑world pursuits.
McGraw‑Hill • Book
Practice‑first, simulation‑driven guide to building effective online learning at scale. Schank critiques content‑centric e‑learning and details a ‘learning‑by‑doing’ approach that uses scenarios, role‑plays, just‑in‑time expert stories, and productive failure to drive engagement and transfer, illustrated with case studies from major institutions.
Cambridge University Press • Book
Updates Schank’s 1982 Dynamic Memory by extending the theory of reminding, MOPs/TOPs, and case-based reasoning and reframing it for education. The book discusses non-conscious learning, indexing, learning by doing, and the role of stories in memory, offering design principles for software that supports learning and school reform.
McGraw‑Hill • Book
Argues that computer‑based simulations and role‑playing can radically improve corporate training by enabling safe practice, feedback, and motivation. Presents detailed case histories (e.g., Andersen Consulting) and practical steps for launching virtual learning that reduces costs while increasing performance and learner initiative.
Northwestern University Press • Book
Explores how narratives shape memory, understanding, and intelligence, arguing that human cognition relies on telling, indexing, and revising stories that encode experience. Schank bridges narratology and AI, contending that designing intelligent systems requires modeling how people use and learn from stories.
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates (Taylor & Francis) • Book
Foundational volume introducing script theory and related knowledge structures to explain how people represent everyday events and use this knowledge in understanding language and stories. The book integrates insights from psychology and artificial intelligence, detailing causal chains, plans, goals, and story representations, and demonstrates their implementation in early programs (e.g., SAM).