The cognitive and neural bases of science and maths reasoning in adolescence

This thesis took an educational neuroscience approach to investigate the cognitive and neural bases of science and maths reasoning in adolescence. The studies investigated the cognitive skills required to reason effectively in science and maths, and in particular about counterintuitive concepts, where misconceptions may be held. Misconceptions remain throughout schooling, likely interfering with academic success, and often persisting into adulthood. The specific roles of inhibitory control and relational reasoning were examined. Inhibitory control, the ability to suppress a prepotent response, is thought to enable the inhibition of intuitive concepts, while relational reasoning, the ability to detect patterns, is thought to allow the extension of conceptual understanding to different domains. All studies focussed on adolescence, when these skills are still developing, and when science and maths reasoning are essential for compulsory school exams. The first behavioural study showed that both response and semantic inhibition predicted variance in counterintuitive reasoning specifically, when controlling for general cognitive ability. Two classroom studies that were designed with teachers did not find that inhibitory control associated with misconception presence, before or after a lesson on a specific counterintuitive concept. The first analysis of brain data from a functional magnetic resonance imaging study showed that brain activations associated with both response and semantic inhibition overlapped with those recruited when adolescents reasoned about science and maths misconceptions. The second analysis of these brain data indicated that verbal analogical reasoning predicted unique variance in science performance and neural activation in maths, while non-verbal relational reasoning was associated with neural activation in science. Finally, the second behavioural study showed verbal analogical and non-verbal relational reasoning to relate to general science and maths performance but also specifically to counterintuitive reasoning. Overall, the results indicate that inhibitory control and relational reasoning are two skills associated with success in school-related science and maths

Future avenues for educational neuroscience from the perspective of EARLI SIG 22 conference attendees

The 2018 EARLI SIG 22 Neuroscience and Education conference aimed to facilitate the discussion and sharing of research and translation in educational neuroscience. In this article we first describe and evaluate the approach taken in organising the conference, which followed recommendations from the educational neuroscience community. We then summarise responses to a survey that captured delegates’ visions of research and translation, their intentions following the conference, and the support they need moving forward. From 88 completed surveys we first note a common desire for more discussions and collaborations across disciplines, and between teachers and researchers. We highlight particularly novel ideas that are not frequently addressed in the community so far, including discussion of ethical issues, inclusion of learners in research development, open resources for teacher training in neuroscience, and mentoring networks for community members. In sharing these ideas we highlight future directions for the field as it continues to develop

Educational neuroscience

Book synopsis: The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Child Development remains the most authoritative and accessible account of all aspects of child development. Written by an international team of experts, its comprehensive coverage includes everything from prenatal development to adolescence, pediatrics, theories and research methods, physical development, social and emotional development, perceptual and cognitive development, language development, psychopathology, and parenting. The second edition has also been thoroughly updated to reflect major developments over the last decade in areas such as neuroscientific methods, developmental cognitive and social neuroscience, the effects of environmental influences on gene expression, and the relationship between human development and evolution. Throughout 124 entries, the Encyclopedia advocates an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to the study of child development. With clear, jargon-free style and user-friendly format, this is the essential reference for researchers and students of child development, as well as healthcare professionals, social workers, educators, and anyone interested in the well-being of children

Inhibitory control and counterintuitive science and maths reasoning in adolescence

Existing concepts can be a major barrier to learning new counterintuitive concepts that contradict pre-existing experience-based beliefs or misleading perceptual cues. When reasoning about counterintuitive concepts, inhibitory control is thought to enable the suppression of incorrect concepts. This study investigated the association between inhibitory control and counterintuitive science and maths reasoning in adolescents (N=90, 11-15 years). Both response and semantic inhibition were associated with counterintuitive science and maths reasoning, when controlling for age, general cognitive ability, and performance in control science and maths trials. Better response inhibition was associated with longer reaction times in counterintuitive trials, while better semantic inhibition was associated with higher accuracy in counterintuitive trials. This novel finding suggests that different aspects of inhibitory control may offer unique contributions to counterintuitive reasoning during adolescence and provides further support for the hypothesis that inhibitory control plays a role in science and maths reasoning

Neural and cognitive underpinnings of counterintuitive science and maths reasoning in adolescence

Reasoning about counterintuitive concepts in science and maths is thought to require suppressing naïve theories, prior knowledge or misleading perceptual cues through inhibitory control. Neuroimaging research has shown recruitment of prefrontal cortex regions during counterintuitive reasoning, which has been interpreted as evidence of inhibitory control processes. However, the results are inconsistent across studies and have not been directly compared to behaviour or brain activity during inhibitory control tasks. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging study, 34 adolescents (aged 11-15 years) answered science and maths problems and completed response inhibition tasks (simple and complex go/no-go) and an interference control task (numerical Stroop). Increased blood-oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal was observed in parietal (Brodmann area (BA) 40) and prefrontal (BA 8, 45/47) cortex regions in counterintuitive problems compared to control problems, where no counterintuitive reasoning was required, and in two parietal clusters when comparing correct counterintuitive reasoning to giving the incorrect intuitive response. There was partial overlap between increases in BOLD signal in the complex response inhibition and interference control tasks and the science and maths contrasts. However, multivariate analyses suggested overlapping neural substrates in the parietal cortex only, in regions typically associated with working memory and visuospatial attentional demands rather than specific to inhibitory control. These results highlight the importance of using localiser tasks and a range of analytic approach to investigate to what extent common neural networks underlie performance of different cognitive tasks and suggests visuospatial attentional skills may support counterintuitive reasoning in science and maths

How Do Executive Functions Influence Children’s Reasoning About Counterintuitive Concepts in Mathematics and Science?

Many scientific and mathematical concepts are counterintuitive because they conflict with misleading perceptual cues or incorrect naive theories that we build from our everyday experiences of the world. Executive functions (EFs) influence mathematics and science achievement, and inhibitory control (IC), in particular, might facilitate counterintuitive reasoning. Stop & Think (S&T) is a computerised learning activity that trains IC skills. It has been found effective in improving primary children’s mathematics and science academic performance in a large scale RCT trial (Palak et al., 2019; Wilkinson et al., Journal of Cognitive Enhancement, 4, 296–314, 2020). The current study aimed to investigate the role of EFs and the moderating effects of S&T training on counterintuitive mathematics and science reasoning. A sample of 372 children in school Years 3 (7- to 8-year-olds) and 5 (9- to 10-year-olds) were allocated to S&T, active control or teaching as usual conditions, and completed tasks assessing verbal and visuospatial working memory (WM), IC, IQ, and counterintuitive reasoning, before and after training. Cross-sectional associations between counterintuitive reasoning and EF were found in Year 5 children, with evidence of a specific role of verbal WM. The intervention benefited counterintuitive reasoning in Year 3 children only and EF measures were not found to predict which children would most benefit from the intervention. Combined with previous research, these results suggest that individual differences in EF play a lesser role in counterintuitive reasoning in younger children, while older children show a greater association between EFs and counterintuitive reasoning and are able to apply the strategies developed during the S&T training to mathematics and science subjects. This work contributes to understanding why specifically the S&T intervention is effective. This work was preregistered with the ISRCTN registry (TRN: 54726482) on 10/10/2017

The cognitive and neural bases of science and maths reasoning in adolescence

This thesis took an educational neuroscience approach to investigate the cognitive and neural bases of science and maths reasoning in adolescence. The studies investigated the cognitive skills required to reason effectively in science and maths, and in particular about counterintuitive concepts, where misconceptions may be held. Misconceptions remain throughout schooling, likely interfering with academic success, and often persisting into adulthood. The specific roles of inhibitory control and relational reasoning were examined. Inhibitory control, the ability to suppress a prepotent response, is thought to enable the inhibition of intuitive concepts, while relational reasoning, the ability to detect patterns, is thought to allow the extension of conceptual understanding to different domains. All studies focussed on adolescence, when these skills are still developing, and when science and maths reasoning are essential for compulsory school exams. The first behavioural study showed that both response and semantic inhibition predicted variance in counterintuitive reasoning specifically, when controlling for general cognitive ability. Two classroom studies that were designed with teachers did not find that inhibitory control associated with misconception presence, before or after a lesson on a specific counterintuitive concept. The first analysis of brain data from a functional magnetic resonance imaging study showed that brain activations associated with both response and semantic inhibition overlapped with those recruited when adolescents reasoned about science and maths misconceptions. The second analysis of these brain data indicated that verbal analogical reasoning predicted unique variance in science performance and neural activation in maths, while non-verbal relational reasoning was associated with neural activation in science. Finally, the second behavioural study showed verbal analogical and non-verbal relational reasoning to relate to general science and maths performance but also specifically to counterintuitive reasoning. Overall, the results indicate that inhibitory control and relational reasoning are two skills associated with success in school-related science and maths

Inhibitory control and counterintuitive science and maths reasoning in adolescence

<div><p>Existing concepts can be a major barrier to learning new counterintuitive concepts that contradict pre-existing experience-based beliefs or misleading perceptual cues. When reasoning about counterintuitive concepts, inhibitory control is thought to enable the suppression of incorrect concepts. This study investigated the association between inhibitory control and counterintuitive science and maths reasoning in adolescents (<i>N</i> = 90, 11–15 years). Both response and semantic inhibition were associated with counterintuitive science and maths reasoning, when controlling for age, general cognitive ability, and performance in control science and maths trials. Better response inhibition was associated with longer reaction times in counterintuitive trials, while better semantic inhibition was associated with higher accuracy in counterintuitive trials. This novel finding suggests that different aspects of inhibitory control may offer unique contributions to counterintuitive reasoning during adolescence and provides further support for the hypothesis that inhibitory control plays a role in science and maths reasoning.</p></div

Accuracy and RT estimated marginal means in the science and maths misconceptions task.

<p>Accuracy and RT estimated marginal means in the science and maths misconceptions task.</p