Math empowerment: a multidisciplinary example to engage primary school students in learning mathematics

This paper describes an educational project conducted in a primary school in Italy (Scuola Primaria Alessandro Manzoni at Mulazzano, near to Milan). The school requested our collaboration to help improve upon the results achieved on the National Tests for Mathematics, in which students, aged 7, registered performances lower than the national average the past year. From January to June, 2016, we supported teachers, providing them with information, tools and methods to increase their pupils’ curiosity and passion for mathematics. Mixing our different experiences and competences (instructional design and gamification, information technologies and psychology) we have tried to provide a broader spectrum of parameters, tools and keys to understand how to achieve an inclusive approach that is ‘personalised’ to each student. This collaboration with teachers and students allowed us to draw interesting observations about learning styles, pointing out the negative impact that standardized processes and instruments can have on the self‐esteem and, consequently, on student performance. The goal of this programme was to find the right learning levers to intrigue and excite students in mathematical concepts and their applications. Our hypothesis is that, by considering the learning of mathematics as a continuous process, in which students develop freely through their own experiments, observations, involvement and curiosity, students can achieve improved results on the National Tests (INVALSI). This paper includes results of a survey conducted by children ‐’About Me and Mathematics‘

Chapter Is Three better than Two? A Study on EEG Activity and Imagination Abilities in 2D vs 3D Stimuli

Real and virtual are often considered terms in reciprocal opposition, but the boundaries between the two are blurred. The main goal of our study consists in answering the question whether the presence of a third dimension (3D) is a fundamental step of the virtual toward the real world, and if it causes some difference in the neural activity of the spectator [8]. Also, the possibility to consider real what is virtual will be discussed [6, 7]

Moral Decision-making as Compared to Economic and Shopping Contexts. Gender Effects and Utilitarianism

How do people make decisions? Previous psychological research consistently shed light on the fact that decisions are not the result of a pure rational reasoning, and that emotions can assume a crucial role. This is particularly true in the case of moral decision-making, which requires a complex integration of affective and cognitive processes. One question that is still open to debate concern the individual factors that can affect moral decisions. Gender has been consistently identified as a possible variable of interest for the adoption of different strategic behaviors, with men using more rational processes and women more deontological principles. In the present study we aimed at exploring the presence of gender differences in different decision-making scenarios. Results showed that the moral scenario led to a similar acceptance rate in both genders, while economic and shopping offers were more likely to be accepted by men. Also, women were more inclined to refuse unfair offers, which included a higher personal benefit at the expense of the opponent, even if this meant a total loss for both parties. Finally, correlational analyses revealed a different relation between risk propensity and decision-making in men and women in different scenarios

How many tests do you need to diagnose Learning Disabilities?

The diagnosis of Learning Disabilities (LD) is frequently subject to cognitive biases. In Italy, minimal diagnostic standards have been identified during a national Consensus Conference (2010). However, specialists use different protocols to assess reading and cognitive abilities. Thus, we propose to support LDs diagnosis with Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). Clinical results from 203 reports were input to investigate which ones can predict LD diagnosis. In addition, correlations among LDs were explored. Preliminary results show that ANNs can be useful to support a clinical diagnosis of LDs with an 81.93% average accuracy, and, under certain conditions, with a 99% certainty. Additionally, the 10 most meaningful tests for each LD have been identified and significant correlations between dyscalculia and dyslexia were found

BCI Applications to Creativity: Review and Future Directions, from little-c to C²

BCI devices are increasingly being used to create interactive interfaces between users and their own psychophysiological signals. Over the years, these systems have seen strong development as they can enable people with limited mobility to make certain decisions to alter their environment. Additionally, their portability and ease of use have allowed a field of research to flourish for the study of cognitive and emotional processes in natural settings. The study of creativity, especially little creativity (little-c), is one example, although the results of this cutting-edge research are often poorly systematized. The purpose of the present paper, therefore, was to conduct a scoping review to describe and systematize the various studies that have been conducted on the application potential of BCI to the field of creativity. Twenty-two papers were selected that collect information on different aspects of creativity, including clinical applications; art experience in settings with high ecological validity; BCI for creative content creation, and participants’ engagement. Critical issues and potentialities of this promising area of study are also presented. Implications for future developments towards multi-brain creativity settings and C2 are discussed

Chapter Is Three better than Two? A Study on EEG Activity and Imagination Abilities in 2D vs 3D Stimuli

Real and virtual are often considered terms in reciprocal opposition, but the boundaries between the two are blurred. The main goal of our study consists in answering the question whether the presence of a third dimension (3D) is a fundamental step of the virtual toward the real world, and if it causes some difference in the neural activity of the spectator [8]. Also, the possibility to consider real what is virtual will be discussed [6, 7]