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An fMRI investigation of instructional guidance in mathematical problem solving
Publication date: June 2014 Source:Trends in Neuroscience and Education, Volume 3, Issue 2 Author(s): Hee Seung Lee , Jon M. Fincham , Shawn Betts , John R. Anderson In this fMRI study, students learned to solve algebra-like problems in one of the four instructional conditions during behavioral session and solved transfer problems during imaging session. During learning, subjects were given explanatory or non-explanatory verbal instruction, and examples that illustrated the problem structure or the solution procedure. During transfer, participants solved problems that required complex graphical parsing and problems...
Source: Trends in Neuroscience and Education - November 7, 2014 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

How symbols transform brain function: A review in memory of Leo Blomert
Publication date: June 2014 Source:Trends in Neuroscience and Education, Volume 3, Issue 2 Author(s): Nienke van Atteveldt , Daniel Ansari It is considered unlikely that evolution selected specialized neuronal circuits for reading. Instead, it has been suggested that acquisition of cultural skills like reading is rooted in, and interacts with, naturally evolved brain mechanisms for visual and auditory processing. Here, we review how the learning of letter symbols interacts with brain mechanisms for audiovisual and speech processing. The aim of this review is to honor the work of the late Professor Leo Blomert. His wo...
Source: Trends in Neuroscience and Education - November 7, 2014 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Teaching, naturally
Publication date: June 2014 Source:Trends in Neuroscience and Education, Volume 3, Issue 2 Author(s): Sidney Strauss , Cecilia I. Calero , Mariano Sigman Teaching is one of mankind׳s most important achievements. It allows cumulative human culture to exist and enables us to have a history. Despite its significance, it has not been studied much in the cognitive sciences. We review two exceptions to this neglect. Both make claims about teaching as being natural to humans. The first view is that teaching is a natural cognitive ability. This view pays much attention to teaching and little to the learner. A second view i...
Source: Trends in Neuroscience and Education - November 7, 2014 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Neurodevelopment of relational reasoning: Implications for mathematical pedagogy
Publication date: June 2014 Source:Trends in Neuroscience and Education, Volume 3, Issue 2 Author(s): Alison T. Miller Singley , Silvia A. Bunge Reasoning ability supports the development of mathematics proficiency, as demonstrated by correlational and longitudinal evidence, and yet this skill is not emphasized in traditional elementary mathematics curricula. We propose that targeting reasoning skills from elementary school onward could help more students succeed in advanced mathematics courses. Here, we review the links between reasoning and mathematics, discuss the neural basis and development of reasoning ability,...
Source: Trends in Neuroscience and Education - November 7, 2014 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Neural basis of learning from television in young children
Publication date: Available online 2 August 2014 Source:Trends in Neuroscience and Education Author(s): Yusuke Moriguchi , Kazuo Hiraki It has been shown that preschool children can learn as well from video presentations as from live presentations in word acquisition, action imitation, and object searching. Several cognitive theories have been proposed to explain the developmental changes accompanying the onset of learning from TV, but the underlying neural mechanism is unclear. One possible mechanism is the mirror-matching system, in which observation of action recruits an observer׳s internal motor representation o...
Source: Trends in Neuroscience and Education - November 7, 2014 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

How formal education and literacy impact on the content and structure of semantic categories
We examined the hypothesis that formal education and literacy impact the richness and precision of semantic knowledge but not the organization of semantic categories and basic mechanisms of access to them. In Experiment 1, adults of varying levels of formal education were presented with semantic fluency tests and a superordinate naming task. Experiment 2 examined the impact of reading proficiency on adults of varying degrees of literacy. They were presented with simple semantic, alternating semantic and phonemic fluency tasks, as well as with literacy-related, reasoning and memory tests. Fluency was analyzed in terms of ov...
Source: Trends in Neuroscience and Education - November 7, 2014 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Domain-specific and domain-general effects on strategy selection in complex arithmetic: Evidences from ADHD and normally developed college students
Publication date: Available online 26 September 2014 Source:Trends in Neuroscience and Education Author(s): Sarit Ashkenazi , Nirit Golan , Sarit Silverman The solution of multi-digit addition problems involves numerous strategies (e.g., retrieval or backup strategies). Here, we investigated the role of domain specific factors related to math ability, versus domain general factors such as executive functions on strategy selection and accuracy in complex addition problems. In order to examine the role of domain general processing, typically developed college students were compared to Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity D...
Source: Trends in Neuroscience and Education - November 7, 2014 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Influence of blue-enriched classroom lighting on students׳ cognitive performance
Publication date: Available online 14 October 2014 Source:Trends in Neuroscience and Education Author(s): Oliver Keis , Hannah Helbig , Judith Streb , Katrin Hille Light is a powerful zeitgeber that synchronizes our endogenous circadian pacemaker with the environment and has been previously described as an agent in improving cognitive performance. With that in mind, this study was designed to explore the influence of exposure to blue-enriched white light in the morning on the performance of adolescent students. 58 High school students were recruited from four classes in two schools. In each school, one classroom wa...
Source: Trends in Neuroscience and Education - November 7, 2014 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Interventions for improving numerical abilities: Present and future
Publication date: June 2013 Source:Trends in Neuroscience and Education, Volume 2, Issue 2 Author(s): Roi Cohen Kadosh , Ann Dowker , Angela Heine , Liane Kaufmann , Karin Kucian Low numeracy skills have a negative impact on the employment prospects and mental and physical health of individuals, and on the economic status of countries. Clearly, this is a high priority area where efficient strategies for intervention can lead to a better outcome, especially when implemented at an early age. We discuss here present and future directions for intervention. The development of such interventions has been based on the st...
Source: Trends in Neuroscience and Education - November 6, 2014 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Developmental dyscalculia: Fresh perspectives
Publication date: June 2013 Source:Trends in Neuroscience and Education, Volume 2, Issue 2 Author(s): Dénes Szűcs , Usha Goswami This issue of Trends in Neuroscience in Education offers some fresh perspectives on developmental dyscalculia. Here we present an overview of different theoretical approaches to identifying and defining developmental dyscalculia, and a consideration of critical measurement and experimental issues. We note a series of important caveats that must be applied when interpreting the existing research base. While there is currently no generally agreed upon functional definition of developmental ...
Source: Trends in Neuroscience and Education - November 6, 2014 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Skills underlying mathematics: The role of executive function in the development of mathematics proficiency
Publication date: June 2014 Source:Trends in Neuroscience and Education, Volume 3, Issue 2 Author(s): Lucy Cragg , Camilla Gilmore The successful learning and performance of mathematics relies on a range of individual, social and educational factors. Recent research suggests that executive function skills, which include monitoring and manipulating information in mind (working memory), suppressing distracting information and unwanted responses (inhibition) and flexible thinking (shifting), play a critical role in the development of mathematics proficiency. This paper reviews the literature to assess concurrent relatio...
Source: Trends in Neuroscience and Education - November 6, 2014 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research