Tehila Nugiel, Mackenzie E Mitchell, Damion V Demeter, AnnaCarolina Garza, Paul T Cirino, Arturo E Hernandez, Jenifer Juranek, Jessica A Church
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
English Learners (ELs), students from non-English-speaking backgrounds, are a fast-growing, understudied, group of students in the U.S. with unique learning challenges. Cognitive flexibility-the ability to switch between task demands with ease-may be an important factor in learning for ELs as they have to manage learning in their non-dominant language and access knowledge in multiple languages. We used functional MRI to measure cognitive flexibility brain activity in a group of Hispanic middle school ELs (N = 63) and related it to their academic skills. We found that brain engagement during the cognitive flexibility task was related to both out-of-scanner reading and math measures. These relationships were observed across the brain, including in cognitive control, attention, and default mode networks. This work suggests the real-world importance of cognitive flexibility for adolescent ELs, where individual differences in brain engagement were associated with educational outcomes.
英语学习者(ELs),即来自非英语背景的学生,是美国一个快速增长但研究不足的学生群体,他们面临着独特的学习挑战。认知灵活性--在不同任务需求之间轻松切换的能力--可能是影响 ELs 学习的一个重要因素,因为他们必须用自己的非主导语言进行学习,并获取多种语言的知识。我们使用功能性核磁共振成像技术测量了一组西班牙裔初中英语学生(63 人)的认知灵活性大脑活动,并将其与他们的学习技能联系起来。我们发现,大脑在认知灵活性任务中的参与与扫描外阅读和数学测量结果有关。这些关系在整个大脑中都能观察到,包括认知控制、注意力和默认模式网络。这项研究表明,认知灵活性对青少年英语学习者具有重要的现实意义,大脑参与度的个体差异与教育成果相关。
期刊介绍:
Mind, Brain, and Education (MBE), recognized as the 2007 Best New Journal in the Social Sciences & Humanities by the Association of American Publishers" Professional & Scholarly Publishing Division, provides a forum for the accessible presentation of basic and applied research on learning and development, including analyses from biology, cognitive science, and education. The journal grew out of the International Mind, Brain, and Education Society"s mission to create a new field of mind, brain and education, with educators and researchers expertly collaborating in integrating the variety of fields connecting mind, brain, and education in research, theory, and/or practice.