Collins is most well known in psychology for his foundational research on human semantic memory and cognition. Collins and colleagues, most notably M.R. Quillian and Elizabeth Loftus, developed the position that semantic knowledge is represented in stored category representations, linked together in a taxonomically organized processing hierarchy. Support for their models came from a classic series of reaction-time experiments on human question answering.
Artificial intelligence
In artificial intelligence, Collins is recognized for work on intelligent tutoring systems and plausible reasoning. With collaborator Jaime Carbonell, Collins produced the first documented example of an intelligent tutor system called SCHOLAR CAI. Knowledge in SCHOLAR was structured analogously to the then theorized organization of human semantic memory as to afford a variety of meaningful interactions with the system. Collins' extensive research program pioneered discourse analysis methods to study the strategies human tutors use to adapt their teaching to learners. In addition, Collins studied and developed a formal theory characterizing the variety of plausible inferences people use to ask questions about which their knowledge is incomplete. Importantly, Collins developed methods to embed lessons learned from such research into the SCHOLAR system, improving system usability and effectiveness. Subsequently, Collins developed WHY, an intelligent tutoring system that used the Socratic method for tutoring causal knowledge and reasoning. In conjunction with this project he developed a formal computational theory of Socratic tutoring, derived from analyses of inquiry teaching dialogues.
Education
As a cognitive scientist and foundational member of the field of the learning sciences, Collins has influenced several strands of educational research and development. Building upon his work on intelligent tutoring systems, he has conducted numerous projects investigating the use of technology in schools and developing educational technologies for assessing and improving student learning. Collins has gradually shifted towards the situated cognition view of knowledge being embedded in the activity, context, and culture in which it is developed and used. In response to conventional practices that often ignore the influence of culture and activity, Collins and colleagues have developed and studied cognitive apprenticeship as an effective alternative educational practice. In addition, Collins was among the first to advocate for and outline design-based research methodologies in education.
Collins, A. M., & Quillian, M. R. . Retrieval Time from Semantic Memory. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 8, 240-247.
Collins, A. M., & Loftus, E. F. . A Spreading Activation Theory of Semantic Processing. Psychological Review, 82, 407-428.
Collins A. M., Brown J. S., & Newman S.. Cognitive Apprenticeship: Teaching the Craft of Reading, Writing, and Mathematics, in Knowing, Learning and Instruction: Essays in Honor of Robert Glaser, edited by LB Resnick, Lawrence Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.
Collins, A. M.. Towards a design science of education. In E. Scanlon & T. O’Shea, New directions in educational technology. Berlin: Springer.
Greeno, J., Collins, A. M., & Resnick, L.. Cognition and learning. In D. Berliner and R. Calfee, Handbook of Educational Psychology. New York: Macmillan.
Bielaczyc, K. & Collins, A. M.. Learning communities in classrooms: A reconceptualization of educational practice. In Reigeluth, C. M., Instructional-design Theories and Models: A New Paradigm of Instructional Theory : 269-292.
