The Center for Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality and AMMACHI Labs organized an event “The Function and Mechanism of Teaching: An Evolutionary Perspective” on August 13, 2020.
No. of Participants: 15
The Center for Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality and AMMACHI Labs organized an event “The Function and Mechanism of Teaching: An Evolutionary Perspective” on August 13, 2020.
No. of Participants: 15
For the researchers to be exposed to the high caliber of research and work that Dr. Alex Thornton has done, and to gain insights into the research process through his experiences. Additionally, any potential collaboration that comes out of these interactions is welcomed.
Dr. Alex Thornton is an Associate Professor at the Centre for Ecology and Conservation, at the University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus in Cornwall, UK. His research focuses on cognition, behaviour and cultural evolution. Specifically, his research group seeks to understand how the challenges faced by animals (including humans) in their natural environments shape their mental processes, how the ability to learn from others affects the behaviour of individuals and groups, and how culture itself evolves.
Dr. Alex Thornton session covered the discussions on ‘The Function and Mechanism of Teaching: An Evolutionary Perspective”. The session covered -Teaching involves an investment in helping others to learn. For teaching to evolve, fitness benefits must outweigh the costs of this investment. The emergence of human cumulative culture may generate selection of teaching. Diversity of mechanisms was discussed through which teaching may operate.
Definition of Teaching: Teaching a functional perspective; Evidence meerkats Animal teachers; Mechanism and Adaptive benefits of human teaching. Teaching and cumulative culture.
