Trends in Neuroscience and Education最新文献

Background

Evidence from the science of learning suggests that playful learning pedagogical approaches exist along a spectrum and can support student learning. Leveraging active engagement, iterative, socially interactive, meaningful, and joyful interactions with content also supports student learning. Translating these concepts into guidance and support for teachers is lacking.

Method

We introduce a tool designed to support teachers in implementing across the facilitation spectrum and leverage the characteristics that help children learn. Across three international contexts, we engaged with 1207 teachers and the tool was used 4911 times.

Results

Student age, the intended learning goal, and context influenced teachers’ use of the tool, suggesting that contextualization is critical, even when basing programs on evidence-based, universal principles given by the science of learning.

Conclusion

Science of learning research must be effectively translated but we must use evidence from teachers and real-life classrooms to inform those studying the science of learning.

Background

Problem-solving and learning in mathematics involves sensory perception and processing. Multisensory integration may contribute by enhancing sensory estimates. This study aims to assess if combining visual and somatosensory information improves elementary students' perimeter and area estimates.

Methods

87 4th graders compared rectangles with respect to area or perimeter either solely using visual observation or additionally with somatosensory information. Three experiments targeted different task aspects. Statistical analyses tested success rates and response times.

Results

Contrary to expectations, adding somatosensory information did not boost success rates for area and perimeter comparison. Response time even increased with adding somatosensory information. Children's difficulty in accurately tracing figures negatively impacted the success rate of area comparisons.

Discussion

Results suggest visual observation alone suffices for accurately estimating and comparing area and perimeter of rectangles in 4th graders.

Implications

Careful deliberation on the inclusion of somatosensory information in mathematical tasks concerning perimeter and area estimations of rectangles is recommended.

Introduction

This study focuses on 'learning prerequisites', cognitive and non-cognitive skills crucial for school success, often measured in preschoolers. Executive Functions (EF), like inhibition and cognitive flexibility, are vital among these prerequisites. While EF's role in early literacy and numeracy is acknowledged, some components are often overlooked.

Objective

The study aims to longitudinally explore the link between EF, assessed at the beginning of the preschool year and the learning prerequites, measured at the end of the same preschool year.

Method and Results

Evaluating 70 preschoolers (62.30 months, SD 4.55), results showed that certain EF measures predicted performance in literacy and numeracy tasks. Specifically, response inhibition predicted rhyme and syllable recognition, series completion, and cognitive flexibility predicted rhyme recognition. Moreover, EF, particularly response inhibition, correlated with overall metaphonology and pre-math abilities.

Conclusion

The findings suggest the importance of integrating EF enhancement in early educational interventions, aiding in selecting and optimizing EF skills crucial for later academic success.

Purpose

Does suppression of mirror-invariance in one script generalize to a subsequently learned script?

Method

We examined mirror invariance in writing and recognition among native Latin-scriptal children and adults (n = 181) learning the Hebrew print script (for reading), and among a subset (n = 92) also learning the Hebrew cursive script (for writing). Hebrew-Latin biscriptal Israeli adults (n = 17) provided comparison.

Results

For the most part, mirror invariance was more evident in Hebrew print than in Latin in both writing and recognition among native Latin-scriptals. The number of previously acquired scripts had no effect. Letters’ text-frequency inversely affected written mirror-error frequency. Written reversal errors were less frequent in cursive; orientation recognition was more fluent in print.

Conclusions

Mirror-invariance suppression in one's native script does not generalize to a subsequently acquired script. Factors affecting mirror-invariance suppression in the subsequent script include its form and function and individual letters’ text-frequency.

Background

Executive functions (EFs) are thought to work in concert to support academic skill. However, EFs are often examined independently, obscuring their symbiotic contribution. We examined the relationship between students’ holistic EF profiles and their academic success.

Methods

We sampled over 1200 7–15 year old students from a diverse school district (16 % White; 32 % low income) in the United States. We used 9 EF assessments to construct cognitive profiles via self-organizing maps. We then related profiles to academic achievement scores from both laboratory-based assessments and state-administered standardized tests of reading and math.

Results

Six profiles differed in EF performance, but their differences in academic achievement did not suggest a linear relationship between individual EFs and academic skill.

Conclusions

We show cognitive profiles based on individual strengths and weaknesses in EFs can reveal multiple cognitive paths to the same academic outcome.

Background

Educational neuroscience research, which investigates the neurobiological mechanisms of learning, has historically incorporated samples drawn mostly from white, middle-class, and/or suburban populations. However, sampling in research without attending to representation can lead to biased interpretations and results that are less generalizable to an intended target population. Prior research revealing differences in neurocognitive outcomes both within- and across-groups further suggests that such practices may obscure significant effects with practical implications.

Barriers

Negative attitudes among historically marginalized communities, stemming from historical mistreatment, biased research outcomes, and implicit or explicit attitudes among research teams, can hinder diverse participation. Qualities of the research process including language requirements, study locations, and time demands create additional barriers.

Solutions

Flexible data collection approaches, community engaugement, and transparent reporting could build trust and enhance sampling diversity. Longer-term solutions include prioritizing research questions relevant to marginalized communities, increasing workforce diversity, and detailed reporting of sample demographics. Such concerted efforts are essential for robust educational neuroscience research to maximize positive impacts broadly across learners.

Aim

We examined age-related differences in valuation and cognitive control circuits during value-based decision-making.

Methods

13-year-olds (N = 25) and 17-year-olds (N = 22) made a metacognitive choice to be tested or not on an upcoming learning task, based on reward and difficulty associated with word-pairs. To investigate whether these determinants of subjective value are differently processed at different ages, we performed region-of-interest(ROI)-based analyses of task-related and functional connectivity data.

Results: We observed age-related differences in responsiveness of valuation structures (amygdala, ventral striatum, ventromedial prefrontal cortex) and caudate nucleus, with activity modulated by reward in 13-year-olds, while in 17-year-olds activity being responsive to difficulty. These accompanied age-related differences in functional connectivity between medial prefrontal and striatal/amygdala seeds.

Discussion

These results are in line with current views that sensitivity changes for reward and difficulty during adolescence are the result of a maturational switch in effort-related signalling in the cognitive control circuit, which increasingly regulates value-signalling structures.

Recent insights from Science of Learning (SoL) are informing instruction, training, and curriculum. Here, we present a project on promoting SoL-related content through co-creating online asynchronous learning resources. By building a 7-person cross-institution team, we strategically harnessed (1) student-faculty partnerships as a mechanism to promote training and professional development, (2) co-creation as a model to curricula development, (3) blended asynchronous learning as a modality for content delivery, and (4) internationalization as a strategy to embrace globalization. This co-creation of curricula project included three stages—literature review, design and production, and evaluation. The project evaluation deployed a mixed methods approach with 6 student evaluators across both participating institutions, who explored the effectiveness of the learning resources. In addition, student partners contributed reflective statements on their co-creation experience. This paper reports on the procedural pipeline to co-creation and the project evaluation, as well as on new insights emerging for curriculum development. We conclude that project's co-created learning resources may enhance effectiveness of instructional design and students’ learning experience. Further, we demonstrate that student partners acquire new knowledge and research, design and delivery skills, futureproofing their academic progression.

Background

This study examined the effects of (1) combined early numeracy and fundamental motor skills (MovEN), (2) early numeracy, and (3) fundamental motor skills intervention programs on children's early mathematical and fundamental motor skills, and how individual background variables affect the effectiveness of these interventions.

Procedure

Together 50 preschoolers participated in the interventions (16 × 45 min sessions). Children's early numeracy, mathematical problem-solving, and fundamental motor skills were measured once before and twice after the interventions.

Main findings

The results showed that the MovEN and early numeracy -interventions were effective in improving children's early numeracy, and mathematical problem-solving. Whereas the MovEN and fundamental motor skills interventions improved children's fundamental motor skills. From individual factors, only updating ability predicted the intervention's effectiveness over and above prior performance.

Conclusion

The results suggest that children's early mathematical and fundamental motor skills can be supported effectively at the same time with the MovEN -intervention.