Gijselaers, H. J. M., De Groot, R. H. M., & Kirschner, P. A. (2012, 7 November). Adult Learning Open University Determinants study (ALOUD): Biological lifestyle factors associated with study success. Poster presentation at the International ICO Fall School, Girona, Spain.Life expectancies keep rising as our society develops. Changes in our knowledge economy are fast and as a result the value of personal knowledge and experience diminishes at a high rate. This leads to an ongoing demand for employees to develop their knowledge and experience far into adult age. 
However, the ability to learn decreases over time. Research shows that biological lifestyle factors can possibly influence the ability to learn. Probably, this is partly caused as cognition is a key condition for normal learning and cognition can be influenced by biological lifestyle factors. Three biological lifestyle factors that are associated with learning, study success, academic achievement, and/or cognition are the focus of this study. These biological lifestyle factors are physical activity, sleep, and nutrition. 
Research into these biological lifestyle factors with regard to study success in adults is lacking. Research so far has focused on primary, secondary, and university education, and is usually targeted on traditional education. The goal of this study is to gain insight in the associations between biological lifestyle factors and study success in adults participating in distance education. A large cross-sectional study will offer more information on how these biological lifestyle factors are associated with study success and cognition. Also, the associations between the biological lifestyle factors and subjective factors (i.e. life satisfaction and health related quality of life) will be evaluated. 
The goal of this study is to gain insight into the determinants of study success in adult distance learners. Expected is that healthy lifestyles will be positively associated with study success. The results will offer possibilities to develop tailored strategies to enhance study success of students in adult education

De Groot, Renate

Gijselaers, Jérôme

Kirschner, Paul A.

English

DSpace at Open Universiteit Nederland

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

Life expectancies keep rising as our society develops. Changes in our knowledge economy are fast and as a result the value of personal knowledge and experience diminishes at a high rate. This leads to an ongoing demand for employees to develop their knowledge and experience far into adult age. However, the ability to learn decreases over time. Research shows that biological lifestyle factors can possibly influence the ability to learn. Probably, this is partly caused as cognition is a key condition for normal learning and cognition can be influenced by biological lifestyle factors. Three biological lifestyle factors that are associated with learning, study success, academic achievement, and/or cognition are the focus of this study. These biological lifestyle factors are physical activity, sleep, and nutrition. Research into these biological lifestyle factors with regard to study success in adults is lacking. Research so far has focused on primary, secondary, and university education, and is usually targeted on traditional education. The goal of this study is to gain insight in the associations between biological lifestyle factors and study success in adults participating in distance education. A large cross-sectional study will offer more information on how these biological lifestyle factors are associated with study success and cognition. Also, the associations between the biological lifestyle factors and subjective factors (i.e. life satisfaction and health related quality of life) will be evaluated. The goal of this study is to gain insight into the determinants of study success in adult distance learners. Expected is that healthy lifestyles will be positively associated with study success. The results will offer possibilities to develop tailored strategies to enhance study success of students in adult education

Open University of the Netherlands Research Portal

Open Universiteit www.ou.nl Adult Learning Open University Determinants study(ALOUD): Biological lifestyle factors associated withstudy successCitation for published version (APA):Gijselaers, J., De Groot, R., & Kirschner, P. A. (2012). Adult Learning Open University Determinants study(ALOUD): Biological lifestyle factors associated with study success. Poster session presented at ICOInternational Fallschool 2012, Girona, Spain.Document status and date:Published: 14/11/2012Document Version:Peer reviewed versionPlease check the document version of this publication:• A submitted manuscript is the version of the article upon submission and before peer-review. There can be important differences betweenthe submitted version and the official published version of record. People interested in the research are advised to contact the author for thefinal version of the publication, or visit the DOI to the publisher's website.• The final author version and the galley proof are versions of the publication after peer review.• The final published version features the final layout of the paper including the volume, issue and page numbers.Link to publicationGeneral rightsCopyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright ownersand it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights.• Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research.• You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain• You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal.If the publication is distributed under the terms of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act, indicated by the “Taverne” license above, pleasefollow below link for the End User Agreement:https://www.ou.nl/taverne-agreementTake down policyIf you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us at:pure-support@ou.nlproviding details and we will investigate your claim.Downloaded from https://research.ou.nl/ on date: 08 Sep. 2023Adult Learning Open University Determinants study (ALOUD): biological lifestyle factors associated with study success Introduction Life expectancies keep rising as our society develops (The World Bank, 2012). Changes in our knowledge economy are fast and as a result the value of personal knowledge and experience diminishes at a high rate. This leads to an ongoing demand for employees to develop their knowledge and experience far into adult age. However, the ability to learn decreases over time. Research shows that biological lifestyle factors can possibly influence the ability to learn. Probably this is partly caused as cognition is a key condition for normal learning (Bull & Scerif, 2001; Espy et al., 2004) and cognition can be influenced by biological lifestyle factors (Barenberg, Berse, & Dutke, 2011; H Taras, 2005; Howard Taras & Potts-Datema, 2005). Three biological lifestyle factors which are associated with learning, study success, academic achievement, and/or cognition are the focus of this study. These biological lifestyle factors are physical activity (Barenberg et al., 2011), sleep (Curcio, Ferrara, & De Gennaro, 2006), and nutrition (Kesse-Guyot et al., 2012). Physical activity leads to increased cerebral blood flow (CBF), neuronal repair and plasticity modulated by neurotrophins, and upregulation of particular neurotransmitters (i.e. norepinephrine and dopamine) (Barenberg et al., 2011). The exact function of sleep is unknown, but it is related to plasticity in the brain. Furthermore, the storage and consolidation of information acquired during the previously waking period is promoted by sleep (Hobson & Pace-Schott, 2002). Nutrition provides the body with not only energy, but also with important building blocks for the different parts, such as cell membranes, enzymes, and neurotransmitters, that maintain correct functioning of the body and especially the brain. Neurotropic and neuroendocrine factors are affected by nutritional status. These factors, such as for instance the growth factor brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF), affect learning and memory (Dauncey, 2009). Maintaining a positive balance within these biological factors through lifestyle could lead to increased cognitive function which could contribute to study success. Research into the effects of biological lifestyle factors on cognition and/or school performance has been done within primary, secondary, and university education. However, research into these biological lifestyle factors with regard to adults is lacking. The goal is to gain insight in the association between biological lifestyle factors and study success in adults participating in distance education. Expected is that healthy lifestyles will be positively associated with study success. The results will offer possibilities to develop tailored strategies to enhance study success of students in adult education.  Methods  The biological lifestyle factors are physical activity, nutrition, and sleep. The associated variables vitality, body mass index, and health status will also be measured. Cognitive tests will be administered to measure cognitive status. The background variables composition household, educational level, previous GPA, age, sex, ethnicity, mood, job information, computer skills, and study time will be also taken into account. The objective dependent variables are study success, course result, and course duration. As subjective measures, life satisfaction and health related quality of life will be measured.  Six thousand Master students of the Open University (OU) will be approached. Calculated with a responserate of 33%, which is normal for this kind of research, 2000 participants are expected. All participants will be approached via an official e-mail from the educational office.  Both the survey and cognitive tests will be administered via a website available via the internet to only the invited participants. Therefore, they can participate from there homes or, via any other place were a computer is available. The survey and cognitive tests will be completed within a period of maximum two months after registration as a new student at the OU was successful. Participants receive an invitation e-mail via the educational office in which a link is provided to the survey and information about the research. They can participate at any time they wish. Each time they go back to the survey they can start exactly were they left off before. At the end of the survey they are directed to the cognitive tests. All dependent objective data will be gathered via the exam registration office of the OU. First, associations between biological lifestyle factors and study success will be analyzed. Second, the association between cognition and study success and third, the association between biological lifestyle factors and vitality, health related quality of life, and life satisfaction will be analyzed. For demographic variables (e.g. sex and age) will be controlled. All these associations will be analyzed with multiple regression analyses, multilevel analyses and eventually structural equation modeling.   References Barenberg, J., Berse, T., & Dutke, S. (2011). Executive functions in learning processes: Do they benefit from physical activity? Educational Research Review, 6, 208–222. doi:10.1016/j.edurev.2011.04.002 Bull, R., & Scerif, G. (2001). Executive functioning as a predictor of children’s mathematics ability: inhibition, switching, and working memory. Developmental neuropsychology, 19(3), 273–93. doi:10.1207 /S15326942DN1903_3 Curcio, G., Ferrara, M., & De Gennaro, L. (2006). Sleep loss, learning capacity and academic performance. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 10, 323–337. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2005.11.001 Dauncey, M. J. (2009). New insights into nutrition and cognitive neuroscience. The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 68(4), 408–15. doi:10.1017/S0029665109990188 Espy, K. A., McDiarmid, M. M., Cwik, M. F., Stalets, M. M., Hamby, A., & Senn, T. E. (2004). Developmental Neuropsychology The Contribution of Executive Functions to Emergent Mathematic Skills in Preschool Children. Developmental neuropsychology, 26(1), 465–486. doi:10.1207/s15326942dn2601_6 Hobson, J. A., & Pace-Schott, E. F. (2002). The cognitive neuroscience of sleep: neuronal systems, consciousness and learning. Nature reviews. Neuroscience, 3(9), 679–93. doi:10.1038/nrn915 Kesse-Guyot, E., Andreeva, V. A., Jeandel, C., Ferry, M., Hercberg, S., & Galan, P. (2012). A healthy dietary pattern at midlife is associated with subsequent cognitive performance. The Journal of Nutrition. doi:10 .3945/jn.111.156257 Taras, H. (2005). Nutrition and student performance at school. Journal of School Health, 75, 199–213. doi:10 .1111/j.1746-1561.2005.00025.x Taras, Howard, & Potts-Datema, W. (2005). Sleep and student performance at school. Journal of School Health, 75, 248–254. doi:10.1111/j.1746-1561.2005.00033.x The World Bank. (2012). Life expectancy at birth. Retrieved from http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN .LE00.IN/countries/NL-?display=graph   

Open Universiteit www.ou.nl Adult Learning Open University Determinants study(ALOUD): Biological lifestyle factors associated withstudy successCitation for published version (APA):Gijselaers, J., De Groot, R., & Kirschner, P. A. (2012). Adult Learning Open University Determinants study(ALOUD): Biological lifestyle factors associated with study success. Poster session presented at ICOInternational Fallschool 2012, Girona, Spain.Document status and date:Published: 14/11/2012Document Version:Peer reviewed versionPlease check the document version of this publication:• A submitted manuscript is the version of the article upon submission and before peer-review. There can be important differences betweenthe submitted version and the official published version of record. People interested in the research are advised to contact the author for thefinal version of the publication, or visit the DOI to the publisher's website.• The final author version and the galley proof are versions of the publication after peer review.• The final published version features the final layout of the paper including the volume, issue and page numbers.Link to publicationGeneral rightsCopyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright ownersand it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights.• Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research.• You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain• You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal.If the publication is distributed under the terms of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act, indicated by the “Taverne” license above, pleasefollow below link for the End User Agreement:https://www.ou.nl/taverne-agreementTake down policyIf you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us at:pure-support@ou.nlproviding details and we will investigate your claim.Downloaded from https://research.ou.nl/ on date: 23 Jan. 2023Adult Learning Open University Determinants study (ALOUD): biological lifestyle factors associated with study success Introduction Life expectancies keep rising as our society develops (The World Bank, 2012). Changes in our knowledge economy are fast and as a result the value of personal knowledge and experience diminishes at a high rate. This leads to an ongoing demand for employees to develop their knowledge and experience far into adult age. However, the ability to learn decreases over time. Research shows that biological lifestyle factors can possibly influence the ability to learn. Probably this is partly caused as cognition is a key condition for normal learning (Bull & Scerif, 2001; Espy et al., 2004) and cognition can be influenced by biological lifestyle factors (Barenberg, Berse, & Dutke, 2011; H Taras, 2005; Howard Taras & Potts-Datema, 2005). Three biological lifestyle factors which are associated with learning, study success, academic achievement, and/or cognition are the focus of this study. These biological lifestyle factors are physical activity (Barenberg et al., 2011), sleep (Curcio, Ferrara, & De Gennaro, 2006), and nutrition (Kesse-Guyot et al., 2012). Physical activity leads to increased cerebral blood flow (CBF), neuronal repair and plasticity modulated by neurotrophins, and upregulation of particular neurotransmitters (i.e. norepinephrine and dopamine) (Barenberg et al., 2011). The exact function of sleep is unknown, but it is related to plasticity in the brain. Furthermore, the storage and consolidation of information acquired during the previously waking period is promoted by sleep (Hobson & Pace-Schott, 2002). Nutrition provides the body with not only energy, but also with important building blocks for the different parts, such as cell membranes, enzymes, and neurotransmitters, that maintain correct functioning of the body and especially the brain. Neurotropic and neuroendocrine factors are affected by nutritional status. These factors, such as for instance the growth factor brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF), affect learning and memory (Dauncey, 2009). Maintaining a positive balance within these biological factors through lifestyle could lead to increased cognitive function which could contribute to study success. Research into the effects of biological lifestyle factors on cognition and/or school performance has been done within primary, secondary, and university education. However, research into these biological lifestyle factors with regard to adults is lacking. The goal is to gain insight in the association between biological lifestyle factors and study success in adults participating in distance education. Expected is that healthy lifestyles will be positively associated with study success. The results will offer possibilities to develop tailored strategies to enhance study success of students in adult education.  Methods  The biological lifestyle factors are physical activity, nutrition, and sleep. The associated variables vitality, body mass index, and health status will also be measured. Cognitive tests will be administered to measure cognitive status. The background variables composition household, educational level, previous GPA, age, sex, ethnicity, mood, job information, computer skills, and study time will be also taken into account. The objective dependent variables are study success, course result, and course duration. As subjective measures, life satisfaction and health related quality of life will be measured.  Six thousand Master students of the Open University (OU) will be approached. Calculated with a responserate of 33%, which is normal for this kind of research, 2000 participants are expected. All participants will be approached via an official e-mail from the educational office.  Both the survey and cognitive tests will be administered via a website available via the internet to only the invited participants. Therefore, they can participate from there homes or, via any other place were a computer is available. The survey and cognitive tests will be completed within a period of maximum two months after registration as a new student at the OU was successful. Participants receive an invitation e-mail via the educational office in which a link is provided to the survey and information about the research. They can participate at any time they wish. Each time they go back to the survey they can start exactly were they left off before. At the end of the survey they are directed to the cognitive tests. All dependent objective data will be gathered via the exam registration office of the OU. First, associations between biological lifestyle factors and study success will be analyzed. Second, the association between cognition and study success and third, the association between biological lifestyle factors and vitality, health related quality of life, and life satisfaction will be analyzed. For demographic variables (e.g. sex and age) will be controlled. All these associations will be analyzed with multiple regression analyses, multilevel analyses and eventually structural equation modeling.   References Barenberg, J., Berse, T., & Dutke, S. (2011). Executive functions in learning processes: Do they benefit from physical activity? Educational Research Review, 6, 208–222. doi:10.1016/j.edurev.2011.04.002 Bull, R., & Scerif, G. (2001). Executive functioning as a predictor of children’s mathematics ability: inhibition, switching, and working memory. Developmental neuropsychology, 19(3), 273–93. doi:10.1207 /S15326942DN1903_3 Curcio, G., Ferrara, M., & De Gennaro, L. (2006). Sleep loss, learning capacity and academic performance. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 10, 323–337. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2005.11.001 Dauncey, M. J. (2009). New insights into nutrition and cognitive neuroscience. The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 68(4), 408–15. doi:10.1017/S0029665109990188 Espy, K. A., McDiarmid, M. M., Cwik, M. F., Stalets, M. M., Hamby, A., & Senn, T. E. (2004). Developmental Neuropsychology The Contribution of Executive Functions to Emergent Mathematic Skills in Preschool Children. Developmental neuropsychology, 26(1), 465–486. doi:10.1207/s15326942dn2601_6 Hobson, J. A., & Pace-Schott, E. F. (2002). The cognitive neuroscience of sleep: neuronal systems, consciousness and learning. Nature reviews. Neuroscience, 3(9), 679–93. doi:10.1038/nrn915 Kesse-Guyot, E., Andreeva, V. A., Jeandel, C., Ferry, M., Hercberg, S., & Galan, P. (2012). A healthy dietary pattern at midlife is associated with subsequent cognitive performance. The Journal of Nutrition. doi:10 .3945/jn.111.156257 Taras, H. (2005). Nutrition and student performance at school. Journal of School Health, 75, 199–213. doi:10 .1111/j.1746-1561.2005.00025.x Taras, Howard, & Potts-Datema, W. (2005). Sleep and student performance at school. Journal of School Health, 75, 248–254. doi:10.1111/j.1746-1561.2005.00033.x The World Bank. (2012). Life expectancy at birth. Retrieved from http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN .LE00.IN/countries/NL-?display=graph   

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

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