Connectionist and Dynamic Systems Approaches to Development: On the Cusp of a New Grand Theory or Still Too Distributed?

Sunday, June 19 through Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Conference Schedule

Conference Presentations
June 19, 7:00 pm - Kick-off reception and graduate student poster session

June 20: Defining the approaches


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Morning Session: Defining the approaches (plenary talks)
  • 8:00 am: Breakfast
  • 8:30 am: Welcome and introductory remarks: John Spencer
  • 9:00-9:45 am: Plenary talk I: Gregor Schöner
    "Development as Change of System Dynamics: Stability, Instability, and Emergence"
  • 9:45-10:30 am: Plenary talk II: Jay McClelland
    "Connectionist Models of Development: It's about Change over Developmental Time"
  • 10:30-10:45 am: break
  • 10:45-11:45 am: Data Blitz I

Lunch: 11:45-1:00 pm

Afternoon Session I: Defining the approaches (elaboration)

  • 1:00-1:30 pm: Elaboration I: Paul van Geert
    "Later is a function of earlier: Dynamic systems thinking in the study of development"
  • 1:30-2:00 pm: Elaboration II: Michael Thomas
    "What is 'normal' development?: Parameterized models and the study of cognitive variability"
  • 2:00-2:30 pm: Elaboration from the outside I: Tim Johnston
    "Including the genes in gevelopmental theory"
  • 2:30-3:00 pm: Elaboration from the outside II: Robert Lickliter
    "Developmental Systems Theory: Accounting for Stability and Variability at Different Time Scales"
  • 3:00-3:15 pm: break

Afternoon Session II: Work groups

  • 3:15-4:15 pm: 3 parallel work groups
    - Connectionist group led by Bob McMurray
    - DST group led by Beatrix Vereijken
    - Bridge group led by Mark Blumberg
  • 4:15-4:30 pm: break
  • 4:30-5:30 pm: Presentation of summary statements and discussion

June 21: Contrasting the approaches


Morning Session: The case of A-not-B
  • 8:00 am: Breakfast
  • 8:30-9:15 am: A-not-B I: Yuko Munakata and Bruce Morton
    "Neural network approaches to cognitive flexibility: A-not-B and other cases of perseveration"
  • 9:15-10:00 am: A-not-B II: Linda Smith
    "Piaget was right: objects exist in the here-and-now of sensory-motor experience"
  • 10:00-10:15 am: break
  • 10:15-10:45 am: discussant presentation: Lisa Oakes
  • 10:45-11:15 am: roundtable discussion led by Brad Love
  • 11:15-12:00 pm: Data Blitz II

Lunch: 12:00-1:15 pm

Afternoon Session I: The balance scale problem

  • 1:15-2:00 pm: Balance I: Han van der Maas
    "On balance, connectionist networks do not work"
  • 2:00-2:45 pm: Balance II: Denis Mareschal
    "From balance scales to analogy: reuniting connectionist and dynamic modelling of cognitive development"
  • 2:45-3:00 pm: break
  • 3:00-3:30 pm: discussant presentation: Nora Newcombe
  • 3:30-4:00 pm: roundtable discussion led by Guy Van Orden
  • 4:00-4:15 pm: break

Afternoon Session II: Work groups

  • 4:15-5:00 pm: 3 parallel work groups:
    - Group 1 led by Jodie Plumert
    - Group 2 led by Scott Robinson
    - Group 3 led by Shaun Vecera
  • 5:00-5:15 pm: break
  • 5:15-6:00 pm: Presentations of work group results

June 22: Toward one grand theory?


Morning Session I: Real-time processes and attractors
  • 8:00 am: Breakfast
  • 8:30-9:15 am: Real-time processes I: Whit Tabor
    "Dynamical insights into structure in connectionist models"
  • 9:15-10:00 am: Real-time processes II: John Spencer
    "Every second counts: Real-time dynamics constrain what is learned and what develops"
  • 10:00-10:15 am: break

Morning Session II: Learning/Developmental dynamics

  • 10:15-11:00 am: Learning/development I: Karl Newell
    "Time Scales in Learning and Development"
  • 11:00-11:45 am: Learning/development II: Matthew Schlesinger
    "From milliseconds and minutes to days and years: Time for a developmental theory of everything?"

Lunch: 11:45-1:15 pm

Afternoon Session I: Perception, action, and embodiment

  • 1:15-2:00 pm: Embodiment I: Daniela Corbetta
    "The brain has a body: Lessons from infant motor development"
  • 2:00-2:45 pm: Embodiment II: Michael Gasser
    "Developing language perception and production: Some connectionist perspectives"
  • 2:45-3:00 pm: break

Afternoon Session II: Cognition, critical periods, qualitative transitions, and development

  • 3:00-3:45 pm: Cognitive development I: Kim Plunkett
    "Connectionist Approaches to Development"
  • 3:45-4:30 pm: Cognitive development II: Kurt Fischer
    "A Dynamic Systems Framework for Analyzing Processes of Development and Learning"
  • 4:30-5:00 pm: Concluding remarks (McClelland & Spencer)

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