搜索结果：NPJ science of learning

Deaf and hard of hearing students often lag behind their hearing peers in STEM classes, in part because of a lack of STEM learning resources available in sign language. Past research shows the benefits of embodied cognition through iconic gestures for hearing students. We investigated whether signed lessons that emphasized connections to English or to concepts supported embodied learning of STEM topics. In Study 1, we developed and validated pairs of lessons in two signing styles: English-motivated (EM) and concept-motivated (CM). In Study 2, we compared learning from those two signing styles. Participants' scores increased from pre- to post-test, indicating learning, but there were no differences based on signing style. However, when we examined participants' signed summaries, we found that increased production of CM signs, but not EM signs, was related to higher post-test scores. This result suggests that the benefits from embodied learning emerge when learners produce the concept-motivated signs themselves.

Perceptual learning is traditionally retinotopically constrained, whereas category learning is thought to generalize across the visual field. Recent evidence challenges this distinction by showing that information-integration (II) category learning can also exhibit visual-field specificity. We investigated whether II learning transfers across retinal locations using a double-training paradigm. Participants learned to categorize gratings at one peripheral location, and transfer was tested at the opposite hemifield. We replicated visual-field specificity and found that transfer depended on the temporal order of training. Double training, with simultaneous or subsequent passive exposure to an irrelevant task at the untrained location, enabled robust transfer, whereas performing the irrelevant task before category training abolished it. This order-dependent pattern mirrors double-training effects in perceptual learning, suggesting that II category learning and perceptual learning share principles of location-specific plasticity and flexible transfer. These findings shed light on mechanisms of visual learning and inform strategies to enhance transfer.

Humans learn not only from their own experiences but also by observing others. Prior research has shown that reward prediction errors (RPEs) - the difference between expected and received outcomes - guide both experiential and observational reinforcement learning. While RPEs from direct experience have been linked to memory formation, it remains unclear whether vicarious RPEs play a similar role in observational learning. Using an incidental memory paradigm, we investigated how experiential and observational learning in a decision-making task shape memory and examined the role of RPEs in this process. Although recognition accuracy did not differ between learning conditions, participants reported higher confidence in memories from experiential trials. Notably, across both learning conditions, gambling and positive RPEs during memory item presentation were associated with enhanced memory. These findings advance our understanding of how observing others' choices and outcomes affects episodic memory by emphasizing shared encoding mechanisms with experiential learning.

Students in STEM fields frequently learn new abstract concepts as they build knowledge for scientific innovation. Yet little work has investigated how patterns of neural activity reflect the emergence of this newly learned conceptual information. In a single lesson and lab activity, participants learned about physics concepts, then subsequently completed an fMRI session. We identified neural patterns tracking students' newly acquired STEM concept knowledge, using a machine-learning classifier to assess the embedding of concept-relevant categories in students' neural representations of the task stimuli. Patterns in several parietal and temporal regions reflected conceptual knowledge acquired during the lesson. Crucially, a regression analysis further demonstrated that greater concept-relevant organization of the stimuli in these brain regions was associated with better performance on behavioral concept knowledge assessments. Results suggest that after only brief exposure to new STEM topics, early evidence of comprehension can be identified in the individualized neural patterns of novice learners.

Curriculum design in programs to build life skills often focuses on explicit learning methods that aim to increase declarative knowledge. However, this type of education has been shown to have minimal impact on behavior. We introduce a continuum of knowledge and argue that more flexible forms of knowledge are required to impact behavior, especially for novices. Using a randomized controlled trial conducted over several sessions, this study explores the ability of semi-flexible and flexible knowledge to promote optimal behaviors in the context of personal finances. We found that as knowledge became more flexible, desired changes in actual behavior became more likely. Our results provide evidence that life skills education programs, such as collegiate financial education, may be "barking up the wrong tree" with the focus on explicit learning. Expanding program design to incorporate a focus on flexible knowledge may improve the impact of such programs on desired behavior.

This video-based study explores the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of an online movement-based intervention in young children. The intervention integrated sensorimotor experiences with digital instruction to facilitate knowledge acquisition. Seventy-five children (Mage = 5.61; SD = 1.03) were randomly assigned to either an embodied cognition group, where they watched videos and performed simple full-body movements mimicking animals from different continents, or a control group, where they watched the same videos while remaining seated. Pre- and post-test assessments measured geographical knowledge retention. Children rated their enjoyment of the instructional preference. Results from MANCOVA indicated no significant group differences in knowledge recall. An ANOVA showed that both groups reported high levels of enjoyment related to instructional engagement. The study contributes to the growing body of research on movement-based digital learning, emphasizing the importance of balancing cognitive and motor demands in online educational environments.

Difficulties in forming letter-speech sound associations may constitute a challenge for individuals with dyslexia. However, the learning trajectories of these associations remain poorly understood. This EEG study examined behavioral and neural changes while 31 typical and 31 dyslexic adult readers learned to map six novel symbols to Dutch spoken syllables with either high or low phonological similarity. Both groups demonstrated successful learning with learning-related ERP changes over frontotemporal, temporoparietal, and occipitoparietal regions. Phonologically similar vs. dissimilar pairs showed lower accuracy, slower reaction times, and reduced ERP responses, with earlier frontotemporal effects in dyslexic vs. typical readers (block 2 vs. blocks 3-4). As for learning outcomes, both groups showed temporoparietal (mis)matching responses in the last block. Dyslexic readers had lower post-training symbol reading scores, which correlated with their reading and phonological skills. Our findings indicate comparable learning during initial symbol-sound association in dyslexic readers, but difficulties applying novel associations during reading.

Attending a lecture requires remaining focused for extended periods, which is particularly difficult in noisy environments or when lecture content is less engaging. Yet little is known about how these external (noise) and internal (interest) factors affect learners' neurophysiology. We measured brain activity (electroencephalogram; EEG) and physiological responses (skin conductance) during video-based learning, and assessed how neurophysiological responses were modulated by the presence of realistic background noise and by varying levels of interest throughout the lecture. Interest-level showed pronounced neurophysiological effects, with low-interest segments associated with reduced neural speech tracking, elevated alpha-power, reduced beta-power, and increased arousal, a pattern consistent with lower engagement and increased listening effort. Interestingly, background noise had comparatively limited effects on neurophysiological responses. These dissociated impacts of internal and external factors on speech processing during learning, emphasize the profound impact of content-engagement on neurophysiological measures associated with learner's attention, beyond the sensory burden of noise.

Identifying heterogeneity within literacy intervention outcomes can inform more targeted strategies for dyslexia remediation. Based on prior work that used machine learning to predict literacy intervention responders and non-responders at baseline, this study uncovered 2 subgroups of responders and 4 subgroups of non-responders based on feature importance profiles of 132 students who were diagnosed with dyslexia. Their average age was 8.2 years at baseline (98.08 months). They received literacy intervention for an average of 33.62 months. Intervention subgroup membership predicted long-term literacy development of a subsample of 41 students 68.2 months post intervention. The baseline scores, top predictors and long-term literacy outcomes were profiled for each subgroup. 'High Baseline Responders' and 'Low Baseline Responders' characterized the two responder subgroups. 'Total Regression Non-Responders', 'Self-Taught Non-Responders', 'Phonics-Receptive Non-Responders' and 'Lowest Baseline Non-Responders' characterized the four non-responder subgroups. Overall, our research found that clustering could identify subgroup profiles and demonstrates the predictive potential of longitudinal literacy development.

Children who are more curious learn more in school, but little is known about how to promote curiosity-driven behaviors. In a preregistered experiment, 103 children (54 boys, 49 girls, ages 5-7 years) were randomly assigned to a condition in which they were encouraged to ask questions, or to listen carefully, during eight one-on-one science lessons over 2 weeks. Children in the question-asking condition valued new science information significantly more than children in the listening condition (Wilcoxon r = 0.23). Children with less background knowledge, as measured by their baseline vocabulary and science achievement, showed greater curiosity and learning benefits from question-asking. These results suggest that practice with question-asking can boost some aspects of curiosity and learning in science domains.

Children learn better through shared social experiences like storytelling, where they benefit as both listeners and tellers. Encouraging children to tell stories is a form of scaffolding, an instructional strategy in which learners and instructors are actively engaged. While the educational benefits of storytelling and scaffolding are well-documented, their underlying neural processes remain underexplored. Shared experiences are generally reflected in neural synchrony, which is often linked to comprehension. This study examined learning outcomes and neural synchrony in young school-aged children engaged in storytelling through either scaffolding or passive listening. Results showed that scaffolding improved learning outcomes and was associated with higher synchrony between teacher and young learner. However, these learning benefits disappeared in remote learning environments, highlighting the importance of face-to-face interaction for active learning strategies. Taken together, the heightened cortical synchrony between teacher and learner in face-to-face settings points to the benefits of active interaction as a learning strategy.

This study investigated whether wakeful targeted memory reactivation (TMR) during short rest intervals improves motor learning. Participants were randomly assigned to three groups and performed a sequential key-press task under each condition: (1) TMRregular group: auditory cues played at the same speed as the previous task, (2) TMRfast group: auditory cues played 1.3 times faster, and (3) TMRrandom group: auditory cues randomized in pitch. To examine the motor learning effect of cue structure, we compared motor learning across three groups (TMRregular, TMRfast, and TMRrandom). The TMRfast group enhanced early learning gains compared with the TMRregular group. Electroencephalogram data revealed stronger functional connectivity centered on the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (lOFC) in the TMRfast group than in the TMRregular group. Together, these findings suggest that wakeful TMR can enhance early motor learning depending on cue timing and structure, highlighting the importance of optimizing sensory parameters for learning improvement.

Gamification often employs competition-based mechanics to enhance motivation; however, their effectiveness varies depending on an individual's competitive orientation. This study proposes a method to assess competitive orientation using EEG data in a gamified learning environment. Twenty-eight participants completed a gamified mental arithmetic task under two conditions: competing against an opponent (competitive condition) and attempting to surpass their best score (self-referential condition). Event-related potentials (ERPs) in response to outcome feedback-P300, feedback-related negativity, and reward positivity (RewP)-were analyzed. Results showed that RewP amplitude in the competitive condition was significantly correlated with competitive orientation scores. P300 amplitude was associated with the scores regardless of condition. Furthermore, a support vector regression model trained on ERP and behavioral features from the competitive condition predicted competitive orientation scores (r = 0.468). These findings suggest that ERP responses provide objective information for estimating competitive orientation, highlighting a neurophysiological approach to personalized gamification design.

Statistical learning (SL) plays a fundamental role in language acquisition, higher-order cognition, and adaptive behavior. While extensive research has demonstrated the importance of SL across different developmental stages, the precise trajectory of SL from childhood to adulthood remains poorly understood. To address this gap, we recruited school-aged children and young adults to complete an auditory SL task. During exposure phase, participants listened to a continuous speech stream composed of trisyllabic nonsense words across three blocks. They then completed a two-alternative forced-choice recognition test and reported their judgment basis. Results revealed children and adults rapidly extracted statistical regularities and segmented words after 4.5 min of exposure. Crucially, within childhood, Grade 5 children outperformed Grades 1 and 3 for nonword foils, whereas performance for partword foils remained relatively stable. From late childhood to adulthood, nonword foils performance became comparable, but adults selectively outperformed children for partword foils. Confidence analyses further revealed an adult advantage in metacognitive sensitivity for nonword foils, suggesting a dissociation in the developmental trajectories of cognitive and metacognitive processes in SL. These findings highlight the critical role of foil type in detecting developmental changes in SL and illustrate the differential maturation of cognitive and metacognitive mechanisms across development.

Simulation-based learning (SBL) has been mostly studied in medical and STEM settings, where its specific role in learning is difficult to isolate. We ran a randomized, counterbalanced mixed design (N = 88) in which naïve adults learned two fictitious clinical cases via a live standardized-patient simulation or a structured text format; content and exposure time were matched. One month later, video- and text-based evaluations assessed accuracy, reaction time, and confidence. SBL yielded faster responses and higher accuracy than text. An order effect emerged: learning text first boosted subsequent SBL accuracy, while the opposite order did not. Individual imagery ability predicted better accuracy overall and more strongly in the text condition. Participants were more likely to report absolute confidence after SBL, with confidence more closely aligned to accuracy. These findings suggest that both SBL and text support durable learning, but their effects depend on instructional order and imagery ability, and SBL additionally enhances confidence-accuracy calibration.

Motor skill learning and performance is driven by the interplay between declarative and nondeclarative systems, which can complement or interfere with one another depending on task demands. In this study, we investigated whether an intervening declarative cued-recall task impairs motor skill performance in a finger-tapping-task and assessed three hypotheses: the consolidation disruption hypothesis, the shared resource hypothesis, and the breakdown of inhibition hypothesis. Intervening declarative tasks placed late in training failed to affect motor performance. In contrast, when introduced early in training (Experiment 3), motor performance appears to have been transiently impaired. Despite this impairment, there was no association between the intervening declarative task performance and motor impairment. We discuss the ramifications of these findings with regard to other motor skill tasks and intervening declarative tasks.

Motor learning is critical for effective motor rehabilitation, yet impaired in people with Parkinson's Disease (pwPD). Emerging evidence suggests that cardiovascular exercise (CVE), performed close to skill practice, may promote brain plasticity and motor learning. However, research has predominantly focused on acute effects of a single CVE session in neurotypical individuals. Here, we examined whether post-practice CVE enhances motor learning over multiple weeks. Twenty-four pwPD were randomly assigned to either moderate-intensity cycling or seated rest after practicing a novel balance task across six sessions. As hypothesized, CVE significantly improved motor learning, particularly in sessions 4 and 5. This effect was reflected in a non-significant trend toward greater within-session online learning, rather than in between-session offline gains. Exploratory analyses indicate that individuals with higher cardiorespiratory fitness benefited most from CVE. Our findings highlight CVE as an effective, low-cost tool to foster motor learning in neurorehabilitation and warrant further investigation.

Reading disorder (RD), characterized by difficulties in reading, is the most common learning disability and frequently co-occurs with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), suggesting shared genetic underpinnings. To investigate their genetic overlap, we leveraged summary statistics from large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of reading assessment scores and ADHD diagnosis using genomic structural equation modeling. We modeled a common genetic factor capturing shared genetic influences between reading-related traits and ADHD. GWAS of this common factor revealed a pleiotropic locus on chromosome 12 (rs7969091, β = -0.035, p = 3.86 × 10-8). Transcriptome-wide structural equation modeling analysis identified associations with tissue-specific expression of RHEBL1 and LMBR1L within the same locus as GWAS hit. Genetic correlation analyses showed significant correlations of the common factor with six psychiatric disorders (rg = -0.47 to 0.24) and six behavioral traits (rg = 0.31 to 0.74). Our findings provide novel insights into the shared genetic underpinnings of RD and ADHD.

This study examined whether immersive virtual reality (VR) supports second-language vocabulary learning in school-aged children compared to passive computer-based training. Seventy-three Swedish middle-school students learned novel words by assembling objects in VR and by viewing object assembly on a computer screen in a crossover design. Word recall was tested after each condition, and individual differences in language aptitude and sustained attention were assessed. Overall, recall was higher after computer-based training than VR. However, sustained attention was the strongest predictor of learning outcomes, and the difference between conditions was (marginally) significant only for children with higher sustained attention. No VR behavioural measures (gaze, assembly time, rotation) explained learning outcomes. These findings suggest that VR may not universally enhance vocabulary learning but could benefit learners with specific attentional profiles. Further research should explore how VR design and training duration influence language acquisition in school settings.