Het Puberbrein

De Groot, R. H. M. (2011, 12 december). Het puberbrein. Presentatie in de Openbare Bibliotheek, 's Hertogenbosch, Nederland.Presentation about brain development during adolescence and the possible influences of life style factors

Coding task performance in early adolescence: A large-scale controlled study into boy-girl differences

This study examined differences between boys and girls regarding efficiency of information processing in early adolescence. 306 healthy adolescents (50.3% boys) in grade 7 and 9 (aged 13 and 15 respectively) performed a coding task based on over-learned symbols. An age effect was revealed as subjects in grade 9 performed better than subjects in grade 7. Main effects for sex were found in the advantage of girls. The 25% best-performing students comprised twice as many girls as boys. The opposite pattern was found for the worst performing 25%. In addition, a main effect was found for educational track in favor of the highest track. No interaction effects were found. School grades did not explain additional variance in LDST performance. This indicates that cognitive performance is relatively independent from school performance. Student characteristics like age, sex and education level were more important for efficiency of information processing than school performance. The findings imply that after age 13, efficiency of information processing is still developing and that girls outperform boys in this respect. The findings provide new information on the mechanisms underlying boy-girl differences in scholastic performance

Het Puberbrein; Brein, leefstijl en leren.

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Chronotype, sleep quality and sleep duration in adult distance education: Not related to study progress

Research in traditional education shows chronotype, sleep duration and sleep quality to be related to learning performance. Research in adult students participating in distance education (DE) is scarce. This study aims to provide knowledge on these relationships in this educational setting. In an observational longitudinal study, chronotype, sleep duration (i.e., for work and free days separately) and sleep quality of 894 students were analyzed in a multiple regression analyses. Students provided information on sleep-relatedmeasures and important covariates at the start of their study and study progress was evaluated after 14 months (i.e., the number of successfully completed modules). In linewith previous research, chronotype did not predict study progress. Further, sleep duration did not predict study progress, neither as a linear nor as a polynomial term. Third, sleep quality did not predict study progress. Concluding, these results are in linewith previous research that DE provides a solution to the asynchrony problem. Findings regarding sleep duration and sleep quality are new and unexpected, asking for attention and further research. Despite the study's observational nature, findings suggest that students participating in DE may benefit from this type of education as the asynchrony problem appears not to apply here, as students can choose their own study schedule

Het Puberbrein

Presentatie over de mogelijke invloed van omgevingsfactoren op de hersenontwikkelin

Biological lifestyle factors related to cognition and learning performance in adults in distance education

An important part of learning performance is influenced by individual characteristics. One of those are the environmental influences determined by lifestyle. We call these influences biological lifestyle factors (BLFs). Physical activity, sleep and nutrition are such BLFs and they contribute to brain health, cognitive performance and learning performance in traditional education in children and adolescents. Little research, however, has been conducted concerning these BLFs in adults participating in distance education, despite that this type of education is more and more in favor because of the freedom it offers that allows combining it with the demanding work life, family responsibilities (e.g., a partner and/or children) and the need for ongoing development in adult life. Knowledge on how lifestyle could contribute to learning performance in adults is highly desirable as it could increase the success of adults participating in distance education. Besides, advice on lifestyle changes are relatively cheap interventions of which benefits could be substantial (Ribeiro & Stickgold, 2014). Maintaining a healthy lifestyle does not only result in a better physical and mental health state (Busch, Van Stel, Schrijvers, & de Leeuw, 2013), but also leads to better cognitive performance (Small et al., 2006). Research indicates that a healthy lifestyle is beneficial for cognition and learning, as suggested by research in the domain of physical activity (PA) (e.g., Hillman, Kamijo, & Scudder, 2011), sleep (e.g., Dewald, Meijer, Oort, Kerkhof, & Bögels, 2010; Philip et al., 2012) and nutrition (e.g., Burkhalter & Hillman, 2011; Deliens, Clarys, De Bourdeaudhuij, & Deforche, 2013). These examples provide the theoretical framework for the execution of this PhD project as PA, sleep and nutrition are all three factors that influence the body in a biological way. They exert influence on the regulation of the body’s physiological parameters and the subsequent processes. We will not go into detail on these underlying processes in this proposal because of briefness, but we refer to the following literature (cf., Gómez-Pinilla, 2008; van Praag, 2009; Winter et al., 2007; Wright et al., 2013). These, by lifestyle induced, physiological changes influence processes among which are synaptic pruning, synaptic plasticity and neuronal proliferation. These all contribute to brain plasticity, which is believed to be the basis for better cognitive and learning performance (e.g., Barenberg, Berse, & Dutke, 2011). This led us to investigate the following main research questions in an educational setting different than traditional education for children, namely adult distance education: What are the characteristics of adult distance education with respect to dropout and success? What is the relation(s) between behavior on BLFs on the one hand and cognition and learning performance on the other? The objectives of the PhD project were: (1) to elaborate on the relation of the variables within each BLF with learning performance, but also combining these relations into one model predicting learning performance; (2) to elaborate on the relation of the variables within each BLF with cognitive performance, but also combining these relations into one model predicting cognitive performance; (3) to investigate whether cognitive performance was a mediator in the relation between the BLFs and learning performance. The research proposed to be presented here, stems from a PhD project that will be finished at the time of the conference. The results from the first five, already available, empirical research articles will be presented in a concise but clear manner. One more research article is expected to follow in the future and will most likely be available at the conference and included in the paper presentation

Adult Learning Open University Determinants (ALOUD) study: Psychological factors associated with study success

Neroni, J., De Groot, R. H. M., & Kirschner, P. A. (2012, 7 November). Adult Learning Open University Determinants (ALOUD) study: Psychological factors associated with study success. Poster presentation at the International ICO Fall School, Girona, Spain.As our current knowledge society is changing very rapidly, aging of knowledge and skills is going faster. To keep up with these developments, it is important being able to learn on a higher age. Factors playing a significant role in being a successful learner can have biological and psychological origins. In present research, the focus will be on psychological determinants. The association between psychological factors (e.g. e.g. test anxiety, stress, learning strategies) and academic performance is well established for children, adolescents, and college students in traditional education. However, evidence of associations between these factors and study success for adult students in distance education is lacking. In this study, we investigate the association between several psychological factors and study success for adult students in distance education. Approximately 2000 students of the Open University will participate in this large cross-sectional study, by filling out an online questionnaire an three online neuropsychological tests. Data collection will take place September 2012 till September 2013. The results of this study may provide insight into factors associated with study success in adult students. Based on these results effective learning strategies are developed in order to optimize the current curriculum

Adult Learning Open University Determinants study:Psychological determinants of study success

Neroni, J., De Groot, R. H. M., & Kirschner, P. A. (2013, 30 August). Adult Learning Open University Determinants study: psychological determinants of study success. Poster presentation at the 15th Biennial EARLI conference 2013, Munich, Germany.As our current knowledge society is changing very rapidly, aging of knowledge and skills is going faster. To keep up with these developments, it is important being able to learn on a higher age. Factors playing a significant role in being a successful learner can have psychological origins. The association between psychological factors and academic performance is well established for children, adolescents, and college students in traditional education. However, evidence of associations between these factors and study success for adult students in distance education is lacking. In the present study, the association between several psychological factors (e.g. affect, test anxiety, goal orientation, learning strategies) and study success for adult students in distance education are investigated. Approximately 2000 students of the Open University will participate in this large longitudinal study, by filling out an online questionnaire and three online neuropsychological tests at baseline. There will be a follow up after six and twelve months. Data collection of baseline takes place September 2012 till September 2013. During EARLI 2013 preliminary results will be shown. The results of this study may provide insight into factors associated with study success in adult students. Based on these results effective learning strategies can be developed in order to optimize the current curriculum