Schemata, Frames, and Dynamic Memory Structures

Acquisition of knowledge is fundamental to any theory of cognition. Schank's dynamic memory theory is the starting point of case-based reasoning, and is the foundations of this paradigm of cognition. Schemata, frames, and scripts are all knowledge structures of the same kind, but important differences between them exist and they are presented in this report. Schemata have played a mayor role in knowledge representation. Scripts are a form of schemata, and are one of the main structures used to explain the organisation of episodic memory in dynamic memory theory, jointly with other knowledge structures: scenes, MOPs, meta-MOPs, and TOPs . These structures and their organisation are explained in this report. Frames are another form of schemata, a more structured and modular one than scripts, devised to express daily aspects of the world in a practical way, and are widely used in AI programs. However, the theory of frames is incomplete in many respects. There are several theories of schemata, but they are too limited to account for a theory of the acquisition of knowledge. Acquisition of knowledge is a more intricate process than is allowed for, in plain schema theories. Dynamic memory offers new possibilities for explaining the acquisition of knowledge. Keywords : Dynamic memory, schemata, frames, knowledge acquisition, learning