It has been demonstrated that surprising information often leads to better recall. Yet, this might not apply to information that is considered to be implausible. The present study examines how surprise and plausibility judgments relate to participants' memory for numerical statements. Participants performed an estimation task in which they were presented with an incomplete numerical fact (e.g., X out of 10 bus drivers are women) for which they were asked to provide an estimation. After being presented with an answer, they indicated how surprised they were about the answer and whether they found the answer plausible. Next, participants performed a memory test to examine the effects of surprise and plausibility on recall of the presented answers. Finally, 24-48 hr later, participants provided new estimations for the numerical statements to examine whether participants had integrated the presented answer into their knowledge representation. A U-shaped relation between surprise and memory recall was found for recall on Day 1, with unsurprising and highly surprising items being remembered better than moderately surprising items. Importantly, the relationship between surprise and recall was only found for plausible items. Next, new estimations on Day 2 indicated that unsurprising and plausible items were incorporated into participants' knowledge representation more often than surprising and implausible items. Taken together, our findings support the notion that surprise enhances memory but also show that metacognitive judgments influence this effect. Moreover, our findings revealed that enhanced recall does not necessarily mean the information is fully incorporated into participants' knowledge representation.

Advancing learners' agency is a key educational goal. The advent of personalized EdTech, which automatically tailor learning environments to individual learners, gives renewed relevance to the topic. EdTech researchers and practitioners are confronted with the same basic question: What is the right amount of agency to give to learners during their interactions with EdTech? This question is even more relevant for younger learners. Our aim in this paper is twofold: First, we outline and synthesize the ways in which agency is conceptualized in three key learning disciplines (philosophy, education, and psychology). We show that there are different types and levels of agency and various prerequisites for the effective exercise of agency and that these undergo developmental change. Second, we provide guiding principles for how agency can be designed for in EdTech for children. We propose an agency personalization loop in which the level of agency provided by the EdTech is assigned in an adaptive manner to strike a balance between allowing children to freely choose learning content and assigning optimal content to them. Finally, we highlight some examples from practice.

Empirical interdisciplinary research has explored the role of spatial ability in STEM learning and achievement. While most of this research indicates that fostering spatial thinking in educational contexts has the potential to positively impact students’ enrollment and performance in STEM subjects, there is less agreement on the best approach to do so. This article provides an overview of various types of effective spatial interventions and practices in formal or informal educational contexts, including targeted training of STEM-relevant spatial skills, spatialized curricula embedded in schools, integrated STEM practices addressing students’ use of spatial skills, and spatial activities in informal STEM education. Gender and socio-economic status of students – two variables that have been found to moderate the relationship between students’ spatial ability and their STEM performance – are also discussed in this article. Drawing on a wide spectrum of perspectives on situating spatial ability research in STEM education contexts, this article underscores the need for further inquiry into opportunities for developing K-12 students’ spatial ability through integrated and informal STEM practices. This article proposes a conjecture that the relationship between developing students’ spatial ability and enhancing their abilities to solve spatially complex STEM problems is bidirectional. Recommendations for future research are made on lingering questions about the effect of interventions, untapped resources for spatial ability training in formal and informal STEM education, and educational strategies for developing students’ spatial ability in authentic learning environments.

Predictive coding models suggest that the brain constantly makes predictions about what will happen next based on past experiences. Learning is triggered by surprising events, i.e., a prediction error. Does it benefit learning when these predictions are made deliberately, so that an individual explicitly commits to an outcome before experiencing it? Across two experiments, we tested whether generating an explicit prediction before seeing numerical facts boosts learning of expectancy-violating information relative to doing so post hoc. Across both experiments, predicting boosted memory for highly unexpected outcomes, leading to a U-shaped relation between expectedness and memory. In the post hoc condition, memory performance decreased with increased unexpectedness. Pupillary data of Experiment 2 further indicated that the pupillary surprise response to highly expectancy-violating outcomes predicted successful learning of these outcomes. Together, these findings suggest that generating an explicit prediction increases learners’ stakes in the outcome, which particularly benefits learning of those outcomes that are different than expected.

Working memory plays an important role in complex cognitive tasks. For example, in the context of reading, it has been argued that working memory provides a workspace for maintenance and integration of different text units and relevant background knowledge. However, the amount of information that needs to held in mind is often at odds with the very restricted capacity traditionally posited by models of working memory. Moreover, direct evidence concerning the role of working memory during reading is ambiguous and largely based on correlational studies. To address these issues, we conducted two dual-task studies in which we manipulated working memory capacity during reading, and examined the effects of working memory capacity on the processes (rather than the products) of reading comprehension. Both experiments focused specifically on the process of coherence monitoring, a crucial component of comprehension, by comparing participants' responses (i.e., reading times) for texts with and without inconsistencies. Moreover, in Experiment 2 we additionally examined the interaction between working memory load and availability of information by varying textual distance between inconsistent sentences. Both experiments showed that the external working memory load interfered with coherence monitoring, as reflected by reduced responses to inconsistencies. Experiment 2 further revealed that, in addition to working memory capacity, coherence monitoring is influenced by availability. Interestingly, the effect of availability was only significant in the no-load conditions, suggesting that load reduces the inconsistency effect regardless of availability. Together, these findings suggest that although readers may progress through a text relatively effortlessly by using activated portions of long-term memory, the process of coherence monitoring requires at least some working memory capacity.

New findings from the neurosciences receive much interest for use in the applied field of education. For the past 15 years, neuroeducation and the application of neuroscience knowledge were seen to have promise, but there is presently some lack of progress. The present paper states that this is due to several factors. Neuromyths are still prevalent, and there is a confusion of tongues between the many neurodisciplines and the domains of behavioral and educational sciences. Second, a focus upon cognitive neuroimaging research has yielded findings that are scientifically relevant, but cannot be used for direct application in the classroom. A third factor pertains to the emphasis which has been on didactics and teaching, whereas the promise of neuroeducation for the teacher may lie more on pedagogical inspiration and support. This article states that the most important knowledge and insights have to do with the notion of brain plasticity; the vision that development is driven by an interaction between a person’s biology and the social system. This helps individuals to select and process information, and to adapt to the personal environment. The paper describes how brain maturation and neuropsychological development extend through the important period of adolescence and emergent adulthood. Over this long period, there is a major development of the Executive Functions (EFs) that are essential for both cognitive learning, social behavior and emotional processing and, eventually, personal growth. The paper describes the basic neuroscience knowledge and insights – or “neuroscientific literacy” – that the educational professional should have to understand and appreciate the above-described themes. The authors formulate a proposal for four themes of neuroscience content “that every teacher should know.” These four themes are based on the Neuroscience Core Concepts formulated by the Society for Neuroscience. The authors emphasize that integrating neuroscientific knowledge and insights in the field of education should not be a one-way street; attempts directed at improving neuroscientific literacy are a transdisciplinary undertaking. Teacher trainers, experts from the neuroscience fields but also behavioral scientists from applied fields (notable applied neuropsychologists) should all contribute to for the educational innovations needed.

Mathematical cognition requires coordinated activity across multiple brain regions, leading to the emergence of resting-state functional connectivity as a method for studying the neural basis of differences in mathematical achievement. Hyper-connectivity of the intraparietal sulcus (IPS), a key locus of mathematical and numerical processing, has been associated with poor mathematical skills in childhood, whereas greater connectivity has been related to better performance in adulthood. No studies to date have considered its role in adolescence. Further, hippocampal connectivity can predict mathematical learning, yet no studies have considered its contributions to contemporaneous measures of math achievement. Here, we used seed-based resting-state fMRI analyses to examine IPS and hippocampal intrinsic functional connectivity relations to math achievement in a group of 31 adolescents (mean age=16.42 years, range 15-17), whose math performance spanned the 1% to 99% percentile. After controlling for IQ, IPS connectivity was negatively related to math achievement, akin to findings in children. However, the specific temporooccipital regions were more akin to the posterior loci implicated in adults. Hippocampal connectivity with frontal regions was also negatively correlated with concurrent math measures, which contrasts with results from learning studies. Finally, hyper-connectivity was not a global feature of low math performance, as math performance did not modulate connectivity of Heschl’s gyrus, a control seed not involved in math cognition. Our results provide preliminary evidence that adolescence is a transitional stage in which patterns found in childhood and adulthood can be observed; most notably, hyper-connectivity continues to be related to low math ability into this period.

Imagine that you could make yourself smarter simply by playing games. Wouldn’t that be awesome? You spend a few hours at the computer every week, and you will be able to concentrate better, learn faster, and remember more. Your grades will skyrocket, you will finish school without any trouble, and life will be perfect. Wouldn’t it? If you search the internet, it is not difficult to find games and apps claiming to boost your brain, allowing you to use its full potential. In this article, we will discuss the science behind these so-called brain-training games. We will argue that, in theory, it should be possible to make yourself smarter. However, the evidence that brain training will help you do so is mixed, at best. We will speculate about the next-generation brain-training programs and discuss alternatives for improving your thinking skills. Why not simply read a book?

There are vast individual differences in reading achievement between students. Besides structural and functional variability in domain-specific brain regions, these differences may partially be explained by the organization of domain-general functional brain networks. In the current study we used resting-state functional MRI data from the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort (PNC; N = 553; ages 8-22) to examine the relation between performance on a well-validated reading assessment task, the Wide Range Achievement Word Reading Test (WRATReading) and patterns of functional connectivity. We focused specifically on functional connectivity within and between networks associated with cognitive control, and investigated whether the relationship with academic test performance was mediated by cognitive control abilities. We show that individuals with higher scores on the WRAT-Reading, have stronger lateralization in frontoparietal networks, increased functional connectivity between dorsal striatum and the dorsal attention network, and reduced functional connectivity between dorsal and ventral striatum. The relationship between functional connectivity and reading performance was mediated by cognitive control abilities (i.e., performance on a composite measure of executive function and complex cognition), but not by abilities in other domains, demonstrating the specificity of our findings. Finally, there were no significant interactions with age, suggesting that the observed brain-behavior relationships stay relatively stable over the course of development. Our findings provide important insights into the functional significance of interindividual variability in the network architecture of the developing brain, showing that functional connectivity in domain-general control networks is relevant to academic achievement in the reading domain.

A core issue in psycholinguistic research is what the online processes are by which we combine language input and our background knowledge to construct the meaning of a message. We investigate this issue in the context of reading. To build a coherent and correct mental representation of a text readers monitor incoming information for consistency with the preceding text and with their background knowledge. Prior studies have not distinguished between text-based and knowledge-based monitoring, therefore it is unclear to what extent these two aspects of text comprehension proceed independently or interactively. We addressed this issue in a contradiction paradigm with coherent and incoherent versions of texts. We combined behavioral data with neuroimaging data to investigate shared and unique brain networks involved in text-based and knowledge-based monitoring, focusing on monitoring processes that affected long-term memory representations. Consistent with prior findings, behavioral results indicate that text and background knowledge each have a unique influence on processing. However, neuroimaging data suggests a more nuanced interpretation: Text-based and knowledge-based monitoring involve shared and unique brain regions, as well as regions that are sensitive to interactions between the two sources. It appears that the (d)mPFC and hippocampus-which are important for the influence of existing knowledge on encoding processes in nonreading contexts-are particularly involved in knowledge-based monitoring. In contrast, the right IFG is primarily involved in text-based monitoring, whereas left IFG and precuneus are implicated in integration processes. Furthermore, processes during reading affect recall of information (in)consistent with prior text or background knowledge.

Constructing a knowledge representation from multiple texts requires the integration of information across texts. The aim of the current study was to investigate how elementary school students integrate information across multiple text passages and, particularly, whether students use information from a prior text to improve understanding of a current text. A sample of 105 children in grades 4 and 6 participated in the experiment. The multiple-text integration paradigm was used to study integration processes across texts during reading. Recall and (application) questions were used to investigate the extent to which information from different text passages was integrated into knowledge representations after reading. Individual differences in reading comprehension ability and working memory were also considered. The results indicate that children in both grades spontaneously activate information from an earlier text to aid their understanding during reading, and that they integrate information across texts in their knowledge representations. This was the case regardless of grade or individual differences in reading-comprehension ability and working memory. These findings provide insight into the mechanisms that may be involved in the integration of information across texts.

In two experiments, we examined 9- to 12-year-old children's comprehension and processing of two-clause sentences with a temporal connective (before or after) in the sentence-medial or sentence-initial position. We obtained measures of individual differences in working memory (WM) capacity and WM updating to test their contributions to comprehension. We measured the accuracy of children's responses to the questions "What happened first?" (Experiment 1; N = 74) and "What happened last?" (Experiment 2; N = 50) as well as their sentence reading times. Together, these experiments show continued development of comprehension of temporal relations in children in upper elementary school and suggest that children's comprehension difficulties (i.e., more comprehension errors and longer reading times) were influenced by clause salience and recency effects rather than sentence chronology or the familiarity of the connective. Our findings are consistent with a memory resource-limited account and suggest that individual differences in WM updating and WM capacity make dissociable contributions to processing and comprehension of sentences with temporal order information. (C) 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Psychosis spectrum disorders are conceptualized as neurodevelopmental disorders accompanied by disruption of large-scale functional brain networks. Dynamic functional dysconnectivity has been described in patients with schizophrenia and in help-seeking individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis. Less is known, about developmental aspects of dynamic functional network connectivity (dFNC) associated with psychotic symptoms (PS) in the general population. Here, we investigate resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging data using established dFNC methods in the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort (ages 8-22 years), including 129 participants experiencing PS and 452 participants without PS (non-PS). Functional networks were identified using group spatial independent component analysis. A sliding window approach and k-means clustering were applied to covariance matrices of all functional networks to identify recurring whole-brain connectivity states. PS-associated dysconnectivity of default mode, salience, and executive networks occurred only in a few states, whereas dysconnectivity in the sensorimotor and visual systems in PS youth was more pervasive, observed across multiple states. This study provides new evidence that disruptions of dFNC are present even at the less severe end of the psychosis continuum in youth, complementing previous work on help-seeking and clinically diagnosed cohorts that represent the more severe end of this spectrum.

Psychosis spectrum disorders are conceptualized as neurodevelopmental disorders accompanied by disruption of large-scale functional brain networks. Both static and dynamic dysconnectivity have been described in patients with schizophrenia and, more recently, in help-seeking individuals at clinical high-risk for psychosis. Less is known, however, about developmental aspects of dynamic functional network connectivity (FNC) associated with psychotic symptoms (PS) in the general population. Here, we investigate resting state fMRI data using established dynamic FNC methods in the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort (ages 8-22), including 129 participants experiencing PS and 452 participants without PS (non-PS). Applying a sliding window approach and k-means clustering, 5 dynamic states with distinct whole-brain connectivity patterns were identified. PS-associated dysconnectivity was most prominent in states characterized by synchronization or antagonism of the default mode network (DMN) and cognitive control (CC) domains. Hyperconnectivity between DMN, salience, and CC domains in PS youth only occurred in a state characterized by synchronization of the DMN and CC domains, a state that also becomes less frequent with age. However, dysconnectivity of the sensorimotor and visual systems in PS youth was revealed in other transient states completing the picture of whole-brain dysconnectivity patterns associated with PS. Overall, state-dependent dysconnectivity was observed in PS youth, providing the first evidence that disruptions of dynamic functional connectivity are present across a broader psychosis continuum.

Background: Psychosis onset typically occurs in adolescence, and subclinical psychotic experiences peak in adolescence as well. Adolescence is also a time of critical neural and cognitive maturation. Using cross-sectional data from the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort, we examine whether regional white matter (WM) development is disrupted in psychosis spectrum (PS) youth whether WM maturation mediates the relationship between age and cognition in typically developing (TD) and PS youth. A third group with intermediate symptom severity (limited PS [LPS]) was included in follow-up analyses to determine whether age-related disruptions in WM scaled with symptom severity. Methods: We examined WM microstructure, as assessed via diffusion tensor imaging, in 707 individuals (aged 10–22 years; 499 TD, 171 PS, 37 LPS) by using Tract-Based Spatial Statistics. Multiple regressions were used to evaluate age x group interactions on regional WM indices. Mediation analyses were conducted using a bootstrapping approach. Results: There were age x group interactions on fractional anisotropy (FA) in the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) and retrolenticular internal capsule (RLIC). SLF FA mediated the relationship between age and Complex Cognition in TD, but not PS. Further, inclusion of LPS youth showed that the relationship between age and SLF FA decreased with increasing symptom severity Conclusions: Our results show aberrant age-related changes in SLF and RLIC FA in PS youth. SLF development supports emergence of specific higher-order cognitive functions in TD youth, but not in PS. Future mechanistic explanations for these relationships could facilitate development of earlier and refined targets for therapeutic interventions.

Abstract This chapter describes how comprehension and meaningful learning processes are related. It explains how comprehension processes can contribute to meaningful learning and how knowledge representations in turn affect comprehension processes. Both passive and strategic reading processes are important in comprehending texts and constructing knowledge representations from texts. An overview is provided of reading strategies that are particularly effective improving learning from texts. It is suggested that consolidation and enrichment processes play an important role in effective learning strategies. Furthermore, the chapter describes reader and text characteristics that affect the process of constructing meaningful knowledge representations from texts. It concludes with a summary of ways to improve learning from texts.

A goal of developmental cognitive neuroscience is to uncover brain mechanisms underlying successful learning. While longitudinal studies capture brain changes following ‘schooling as usual’, short-term training studies can more directly link learning to brain changes. We investigated whether eight weeks of cognitive training recapitulates longitudinal changes in hippocampal engagement and connectivity. Nineteen children underwent a training program focused on improving arithmetic skills, along with fifteen children in a no-contact control group. Before and after training, or no-contact, both groups performed an arithmetic task during neuroimaging and a strategy assessment. Training increased activity in the anterior hippocampus, and gains in memory-based strategies were associated with decreased lateral fronto-parietal activity and increased hippocampus-parietal connectivity. No changes were observed in the no-contact control group. Our results demonstrate that short-term training can recapitulate long-term neurodevelopmental changes accompanying learning and identifies plasticity of hippocampal responses as a common locus of cognitive skill development in children.

Mathematical disabilities (MD) have a negative life-long impact on professional success, employment, and health outcomes. Yet little is known about the intrinsic functional brain organization that contributes to poor math skills in affected children. It is now increasingly recognized that math cognition requires coordinated interaction within a large-scale fronto-parietal network anchored in the intraparietal sulcus (IPS). Here we characterize intrinsic functional connectivity within this IPS-network in children with MD, relative to a group of typically developing (TD) children who were matched on age, gender, IQ, working memory, and reading abilities. Compared to TD children, children with MD showed hyper-connectivity of the IPS with a bilateral fronto-parietal network. Importantly, aberrant IPS connectivity patterns accurately discriminated children with MD and TD children, highlighting the possibility for using IPS connectivity as a brain-based biomarker of MD. To further investigate regional abnormalities contributing to network-level deficits in children with MD, we performed whole-brain analyses of intrinsic low-frequency fluctuations. Notably, children with MD showed higher low-frequency fluctuations in multiple fronto-parietal areas that overlapped with brain regions that exhibited hyper-connectivity with the IPS. Taken together, our findings suggest that MD in children is characterized by robust network-level aberrations, and is not an isolated dysfunction of the IPS. We hypothesize that intrinsic hyper-connectivity and enhanced low-frequency fluctuations may limit flexible resource allocation, and contribute to aberrant recruitment of task-related brain regions during numerical problem solving in children with MD.