The effect of video games, exergames and board games on executive functions in kindergarten and 2nd grade: An explorative longitudinal study

We examined the relation between different kinds of play behavior (video games, exergames, board games) in kindergarten (T1) and components of executive function (EF; inhibition, switching, verbal and visuospatial updating) in kindergarten and second grade (T1 and T2). Ninety-seven children participated in this longitudinal study. Parents were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding children's play behavior, reporting frequency, duration, and game type. The results indicate that play behavior is associated with EF development in children; however, only exergames, electronic puzzle games, and board games predicted EF at T2. Additionally, the time spent on electronic games was negatively related to visuospatial updating at T1 but did not predict EF at T2. The results support further investigation of a potential link between board game and exergame play behavior and EF development

Impact of Explicit Failure and Success-driven Preparatory Activities on Learning

Unscaffolded problem-solving before receiving instruction cangive students opportunities to entertain their exploratory hy-potheses at the expense of experiencing initial failures. Priorliterature has argued for the efficacy of such Productive Fail-ure (PF) activities in preparing students to “see” like an expert.Despite growing understanding of the socio-cognitive mecha-nisms that affect learning from PF, the necessity of success orfailure in initial problem-solving attempts is still unclear. Con-sequently, we do not know yet whether some ways of succeed-ing or failing are more efficacious than others. Here, we reportempirical evidence from a recently concluded classroom PF in-tervention (N=221), where we designed scaffolds to explicitlypush student problem-solving towards success via structuring,but also radically, towards failure via problematizing. Our ra-tionale for explicit failure scaffolding was rooted in facilitatingproblem-space exploration. We subsequently compared thedifferential preparatory effects of success-driven and failure-driven problem-solving on learning from subsequent instruc-tion. Results suggested explicit failure scaffolding during ini-tial problem-solving to have a higher impact on conceptual un-derstanding, compared to explicit success scaffolding. Thistrend was more salient for the task topic with greater difficulty

Body of Knowledge: Practicing Mathematics in Instrumented Fields of Promoted Action

A central issue in education in general, and mathematics education in particular, is the relationship between skills and concepts, between performing procedures and understanding content. This dissertation draws on recent research on the embodiment of cognition to cast doubt on the accepted separation of bodily practice and mental understanding. What are the implications of embodiment perspectives for designing mathematics learning environments? Can conceptual understanding sprout from procedural fluency? To answer these questions, I partook in two interrelated strands of research: (1) investigating pedagogical traditions of explicitly embodied disciplines; and (2) implementing and analyzing embodied-interaction mathematics designs. The first strand involves immersive ethnographic investigations of pedagogical practices in surfing and martial arts, corroborated via interviews and archival research. It focuses on enactive artifacts, or disciplinary routines through which students develops a felt sense as grounding for disciplinary concepts. This felt sense, I argue, cannot be taught directly via demonstration or verbal instruction. Instead, it must be personally experienced via practice. The second strand involves video analysis of task-based interviews situated in technology-enabled motion-sensitive learning environments. In the focal design, students who have not formally studied the mathematical concept of proportion first learn to enact a dynamical bimanual coordination, in which they move their hands proportionally, and only later signify this felt sense mathematically using symbolic artifacts interpolated into the problem space. I claim that conceptual understandings can sprout from practicing mathematics in instrumented fields of promoted action. Therein, practice serves as a form of exploration rather than drill. Ultimately, I argue for an account of learning across disciplines as explorative problem solving, where students find themselves moving in new ways and, upon appropriating available disciplinary frames of reference, recognize in their own actions its disciplinary significance. Regardless of the discipline, one’s body of knowledge is built through the labor of practice

Instruction, repetition, discovery: restoring the historical educational role of practice

This conceptual paper considers what it would mean to take seriously Freudenthal's suggestion that mathematics should be taught like swimming. The general claim being made is that “direct instruction” and “discovery” are not opposite but complementary, linked by repetitive yet explorative practice. This claim is elaborated through an empirical case of martial arts instruction. That repetitive practice can nonetheless be a fountainhead of discovery is explained using Bernstein's notion of repetition-without-repetition. Finally, we attend to parallels in canonical mathematics practice. Implications are discussed, with a focus on reconceptualizing direct instruction, repetition, and discovery as complementary and synergistic.ISSN:0020-4277ISSN:1573-195

Adding up fine motor skills: developmental relations between manual dexterity and numerical abilities

We explore the relationship between mathematical skills and motor skills across three age groups of normally developing children. The existence of such a relationship is postulated in classical accounts of human development. In contemporary research, the existence of a relationship between motor development and the development of abstract concepts may form a crucial piece of evidence for theories of embodied cognition. Existing studies suggest a link between fine motor skills and various numerical and mathematical tasks in young children; however, there are few attempts to measure the strength of this relationship across different ages. We use a cross-sectional design to investigate the link between fine motor and mathematical skills in children in Kindergarten, 2nd grade, and 4th grade. The results show that correlational patterns vary in the three ages; while in Kindergarten manual dexterity of the dominant hand is related to math skills, in 2nd grade the manual dexterity of the nondominant hand is related to math skills, and finally, in 4th grade no such correlations are observable

Adding up fine motor skills: Developmental relations between manual dexterity and numerical abilities

The strength and development of the relationship between mathematical and motor skills is explored across three age groups of normally developing children. The presence of this relationship is postulated in classical accounts of human development. In contemporary research, the existence of a relationship between motor development and the development of abstract concepts may inform theories of embodied cognition. Existing work supports a link between fine motor skills and various numerical and mathematical tasks in young children; however, few attempts have been made to investigate this relationship across different ages. We use a cross-sectional design to investigate the link between fine motor and mathematical skills in samples of 81–96 Kindergarten, 2nd-grade, and 4th-grade children. Bayesian correlations were performed to explore the relationship between fine motor skills and mathematical skills at different time points. The results show that correlational patterns vary across the three ages: in Kindergarten, manual dexterity of the dominant hand is related to math skills, in 2nd grade, the manual dexterity of the nondominant hand is related to math skills; and finally in 4th grade no such correlations are observable. These findings contribute to understanding the developmental trajectory of the relationship between motor skills and mathematical abilities and the internalization of numerical embodiment. Further investigation is needed to determine if fine motor skills can serve as an early indicator of mathematical skill development risk. Future work could also explore whether incorporating spatial and motor elements into mathematical tasks through whole-body or finger movement training supports the development of mathematical skills

Micro productive failure and the acquisition of algebraic procedural knowledge

Productive failure has shown positive effects on conceptual and transfer measures, but no clear effects on procedural measures. It is therefore an open question whether, and to what extent, productive failure methods may be used to enhance the learning of procedural skills. A typical productive failure study focuses on a single, complex concept; in contrast, procedural knowledge generally consists of a series of less-complex procedural steps. In this study, failure occasions were adapted to specifically fit procedural knowledge by introducing procedural problems prior to the formal instruction of relevant principles. These procedural problems offered brief but multiple occasions for failure, which we call micro productive failure. A total of 85 sixth-graders were introduced to algebraic expression simplification by providing problem-solving prior to instruction (PS-I condition), compared to providing problem-solving after instruction (I-PS condition). Findings reveal a stable effect of offering micro productive failure occasions for procedural learning; however, as anticipated, there were no effects on conceptual or transfer measures

Comparing the effectiveness of preparatory activities that help undergraduate students learn from instruction

Students can learn better from instruction after first engaging in activities that prepare them to learn (Kapur, 2016; Loibl, Roll, & Rummel, 2017; Schwartz & Bransford, 1998). In this study, we compare the effectiveness of four activities that prepare university students to learn from instruction. We use productive failure, an established instructional design, as the baseline preparatory condition. In productive failure, students generate solutions to challenging but accessible problems, which serves as preparation for formal instruction. We compare this approach with three alternative preparatory activities: contrasting a correct and an incorrect solution, sensemaking of the correct solution only, and studying a fully worked-out example of the correct solution. Despite the differences in preparatory activities, participants on average performed nearly identically on most of the process and outcome measures. In universities, or with similarly advanced learners, a variety of activities may be equally effective at preparing students to learn from instruction