Roger Schank is the director of the Institute for the Learning Sciences (ILS) at Northwestern University, is a leader in the field of artificial intelligence and multimedia-based interactive training. His work stresses the value of learning from experts, developing skills rather than perfecting routines, and applying the benefits of "just-in-time" training.

Schank is a strong critic of today's educational system. His approach to learning, and training in a corporate setting, involves helping people learn by doing, allowing people to make mistakes in a safe learning environment and sharing war stories with leading teachers and experts. This effort has led to his highly successful role as a teacher, consultant, and lecturer, as well as developer of extremely powerful and effective multimedia training tools.

One of the world's leading AI researchers, Schank is the author of more than 125 articles and publications.

Schank holds three faculty appointments at Northwestern University, as John Evans Professor of Computer Science, Education and Psychology. Previously he was a professor of computer science and psychology at Yale University and director of the Yale Artificial Intelligence Project. He was a visiting professor at the University of Paris VII, a faculty member at Stanford University and research fellow at the Institute for Semantics and Cognition in Switzerland. Schank is a fellow of the AAAI and was the founder of the Cognitive Science Society and co-founder of the Journal of Cognitive Science. He holds a Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Texas.

Publications

Dynamic Memory: A Theory of Learning in Computers and People

Tell Me a Story: A New Look at Real and Artificial Memory

The Connoisseur's Guide to the Mind

Engines for Education