The notion of optimality is often invoked informally in the literature on metacognitive control. We provide a precise formulation of the optimization problem and show that optimal time allocation strategies depend critically on certain characteristics of the learning environment, such as the extent of time pressure, and the nature of the uptake…

Reports results of studies with an unsupervised learning paradigm called competitive learning which is examined using computer simulation and formal analysis. When competitive learning is applied to parallel networks of neuron-like elements, many potentially useful learning tasks can be accomplished. (Author)

Contemporary theories of learning postulate one or at most a small number of different learning mechanisms. However, people are capable of mastering a given task through qualitatively different learning paths such as learning by instruction and learning by doing. We hypothesize that the knowledge acquired through such alternative paths differs…