Informing the Development of School-Based Strategies to Promote Children\u27s Executive Function Skills: Considerations, Challenges, and Future Directions

In recent years awareness of the importance of executive function (EF) skills for students\u27 academic growth has increased. Research suggests that experience in school promotes EF development; however, recommendations regarding evidence-based practices that educators can use to support EF in their classrooms are limited. Here we outline two main reasons that this may be the case. First, there are significant challenges in the measurement of EF, which have implications for our understanding of how children use EF skills in support of learning in the moment and in real-world settings like the classroom. Second, there is limited direct research on the types of classroom experiences that promote EF. In describing both, we highlight emerging evidence and new methods that are helping us better understand the development of EF and the ways in which school experiences shape this growth, which will ultimately inform the development of school-based strategies to promote these skills

An Experimental Investigation of Contrasting Instructional Conditions on Children’s Developing Memory Skills

Results from observational work conducted in elementary school classrooms have indicated that teachers do not explicitly teach skills for remembering, but it is also apparent that specific aspects of instruction are important for children's mnemonic development. A rich literature has characterized the development of children's mnemonic strategies and highlighted the importance of social contexts, such as the elementary school classroom, for the emergence of these skills. Although linkages between aspects of teachers' language in the classroom and children's memory performance have been documented, these investigations have largely been correlational in nature. Thus, it is not possible to make causal statements about the impact of classroom instruction on children's mnemonic abilities. Given these limitations, this project was designed to increase understanding of the impact of classroom instruction on memory development through the use of an experimental manipulation of the way in which new information was taught to children. Teachers were trained to lead an instructional unit in memory-rich and low-memory modes of instruction. First- and second-grade children participated in 10 days of lessons on a unit entitled Things that Move that varied in terms of the teachers' use of memory-relevant language. In addition, the children were given pretest, posttest, and 1-month follow-up assessments of memory strategy use and content knowledge. The goals of the project included (1) training instructors in the use of contrasting levels of memory-relevant language, (2) exploring relations among measures of children's mnemonic skill and content knowledge, and (3) examining children's performance on these measures as a function of assignment to the memory-rich or low-memory condition. The data from this project suggest that it is possible to train teachers in the use of memory-relevant instructional techniques. In addition, linkages between children's memory strategy use and recall for familiar and content specific items were identified. Although memory-rich instruction was not found to be related to children's performance on memory strategy tasks involving familiar items, children who participated in the memory-rich instructional unit exhibited more sophisticated strategy use in a content-specific memory task and demonstrated higher levels of content-related strategy knowledge than did their peers exposed to low-memory instruction

The Effect of Teachers' Memory‐Relevant Language on Children's Strategy Use and Knowledge

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/101866/1/cdev12100.pd

Associations between developmental changes in error‐related brain activity and executive functions in early childhood

Behavioral evidence indicates that skills associated with children’s cognitive control (e.g., response inhibition and attentional control) undergo rapid development during early childhood. A particularly important time is the transition to elementary school. Yet, at present, relatively little is known about developmental changes in the brain processes linked to cognitive control during this period, including those associated with error monitoring, including the error‐related negativity (ERN) and the error positivity (Pe). Moreover, understanding how ERP correlates of cognitive control relate to behavioral measures of these skills over time is also limited. In the present study, repeated assessments of 4‐ to 6‐year‐old children’s (N = 49, mean age = 5 years 10 months) performance on a go/no‐go task were collected to examine developmental changes in error processing and response inhibition across 6 months. Data revealed the presence of both the ERN and Pe at each time point, but also showed individual differences in the test‐retest associations for each component. Behavioral changes in response inhibition on the go/no‐go task and a standardized measure of attentional control were associated with changes in electrophysiological measures of error processing. Additional analyses comparing children of the same age who had completed the go/no‐go task once to those who participated longitudinally revealed that, with repeated assessments, children exhibited behavioral changes in performance that could be attributed to both development and to the effects of practice, such as strategic accommodation.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142529/1/psyp13040.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142529/2/psyp13040_am.pd

Stimulus processing and error monitoring in more‐able kindergarteners with autism spectrum disorder: a short review and a preliminary Event‐Related Potentials study

Deficits in executive functions (EF) in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been identified. However, there is limited evidence about patterns of deficits in EF‐related skills, especially at the neurobiological level, in young children with ASD and little is known about how these skills are related to other domains of functioning and symptom severity. In this study, we provide a focused review of EF‐related Event‐Related Potentials (ERP) studies in children with ASD, accompanied by preliminary data for neurophysiological correlates of EF on a child‐friendly Go/No‐go task. We focus our preliminary investigation on ERPs associated with stimulus processing (N2, P3) and error monitoring [error/correct‐related negativity (ERN, CRN), error positivity (Pe)] in 5‐year‐old kindergarteners with ASD and typical controls matched on age, gender and task accuracy. Children with ASD showed significantly greater amplitudes of ERN/CRN compared to matched controls, suggesting heightened response monitoring. The ASD group also showed less distinct inhibitory P3 compared to the TD group, potentially suggesting atypical stimulus processing. In children with ASD, higher autism symptom severity was correlated with larger P3. Better behavioral performance on an EF‐related task was correlated with smaller CRN. Our study is the first investigation to demonstrate the presence of N2, P3, ERN/CRN and Pe in kindergartners with ASD. The potential links between ERP patterns and behavioral and clinical features in more‐able children with ASD highlight the need for further exploration into the functional mechanisms of these atypical neural activities and for more focused behavioral interventions targeting cognitive control and response monitoring.We provide a focused review of executive function (EF)‐related Event‐Related Potentials (ERP) studies in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), accompanied by preliminary data showing significantly enhanced error/correct‐related negativity (ERN, CRN) and less distinct inhibitory P3 in kindergartners with ASD compared to typically developing children. These atypical ERP patterns were also associated with performance on an EF‐related task and autism symptom severity.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142913/1/ejn13580-sup-0001-reviewer_comments.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142913/2/ejn13580.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142913/3/ejn13580_am.pd

The Causal Impact of Schooling on Children's Development: Lessons for Developmental Science

Entry into formal schooling is a signature developmental milestone for young children and their families and represents an important period of cognitive, social, and emotional development. Until recently, few researchers have attempted to isolate the unique impact of schooling on children’s developmental and academic outcomes. The application of quasiexperimental methods has provided researchers with the tools to examine when and how schooling shapes children’s development. In this article, we summarize three main insights from this work: (a) Schooling produces major, unique changes in children’s growth across a wide range of psychological processes important for learning; (b) the effects of schooling are not universal across all domains; and (c) schooling impacts cognitive processes that are not explicitly taught. We also propose that a deeper look at classroom instruction and brain development can expand our understanding of how schooling influences academic success and positive life outcomes and provide a model for developmental science more broadly

Relations between children’s metamemory and strategic performance: Time-varying covariates in early elementary school

Although much is known about the development of memory strategies and metamemory in childhood, evidence for linkages between these memory skills, either concurrently or over time, has been limited. Drawing from a longitudinal investigation of the development of memory, repeated assessments of children’s (N=107) strategy use and declarative metamemory were made, in order to examine the development of these skills and the relations between them over time. Latent curve models were used first to estimate the trajectories of children’s strategy use and metamemory and then to examine predictors of children’s performance in each of these domains. Children’s metamemory at the beginning of Grade 1 was linked to child- and home-level factors, whereas the development of both skills was related to maternal education level. Additional modeling of the longitudinal relations between strategic sorting and metacognitive knowledge indicated that metamemory at earlier time points was predictive of subsequent strategy use

Change Over Time: Conducting Longitudinal Studies of Children's Cognitive Development

Developmental scientists have argued that the implementation of longitudinal methods is necessary for obtaining an accurate picture of the nature and sources of developmental change (Magnusson & Cairns, 1996; Morrison & Ornstein, 1996; Magnusson & Stattin, 2006). Developmentalists studying cognition have been relatively slow to embrace longitudinal research, and thus few exemplar studies have tracked individual children’s cognitive performance over time and even fewer have examined contexts that are associated with this growth. In this article we first outline some of the benefits of implementing longitudinal designs. Using illustrations from existing studies of children’s basic cognitive development and of their school-based academic performance, we discuss when it may be appropriate to employ longitudinal (versus other) methods. We then outline methods for integrating longitudinal data into one’s research portfolio, contrasting the leveraging of existing longitudinal data sets with the launching of new longitudinal studies in order to address specific questions concerning cognitive development. Finally, for those who are interested in conducting longitudinal investigations of their own, we provide practical on-the-ground guidelines for designing and carrying out such studies of cognitive development

Opportunities and Limitations of Mobile Neuroimaging Technologies in Educational Neuroscience.

Funder: European Association for Research on Learning and InstructionFunder: Jacobs Foundation; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100003986As the field of educational neuroscience continues to grow, questions have emerged regarding the ecological validity and applicability of this research to educational practice. Recent advances in mobile neuroimaging technologies have made it possible to conduct neuroscientific studies directly in naturalistic learning environments. We propose that embedding mobile neuroimaging research in a cycle (Matusz, Dikker, Huth, & Perrodin, 2019), involving lab-based, seminaturalistic, and fully naturalistic experiments, is well suited for addressing educational questions. With this review, we take a cautious approach, by discussing the valuable insights that can be gained from mobile neuroimaging technology, including electroencephalography and functional near-infrared spectroscopy, as well as the challenges posed by bringing neuroscientific methods into the classroom. Research paradigms used alongside mobile neuroimaging technology vary considerably. To illustrate this point, studies are discussed with increasingly naturalistic designs. We conclude with several ethical considerations that should be taken into account in this unique area of research

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms