The term “incremental learning” is often used for sequential or constructive learning in contrast to batch or epoch learning (Bertsekas and Tsitsiklis 1996). Incremental learning is based on the principle of starting with simple and basic principles before advancing to more complex information. Incremental learning happens in bits and pieces, and successful retention of knowledge is based upon previously attained knowledge. As a style of acquiring knowledge and skills, the concept of incremental learning can be found in psychology as well as in machine learning and refers to situations where input data come only in sequence, and a timely updating model is crucial for actions.
In psychology, the term “incremental learning” can be traced back to Thorndike but can also be found in more recent theories of how people learn (e.g., Bransford et al. 2000). However, the term “incremental learning” plays an important role also in the field of machine learning which includes algorithms for...
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References
Bertsekas, D. P., & Tsitsiklis, J. N., (1996). Neuro-Dynamic Programming. Belmont: Athena Scientific.
Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school (Expanded ed.). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Reinke, R. E., & Michalski, R. S. (1988). Incremental learning of concept descriptions: A method and experimental results. In J. E. Hayes, D. Michie, & J. Richards (Eds.), Machine intelligence 11: Logic and the acquisition of knowledge (pp. 263–288). Oxford: Clarendon Press.
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(2012). Incremental Learning. In: Seel, N.M. (eds) Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1428-6_2216
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