Browse
Submit Data
Databases
API
Help

Dataset Information

30 Views

0 Connections

0 Citations

0 Reanalyses

0 Downloads

Omics score: 0

Computer-assisted instruction versus inquiry-based learning: The importance of working memory capacity

ABSTRACT: The Covid-19 pandemic has led millions of students worldwide to intensify their use of digital education. This massive change is not reflected by the scant scientific research on the effectiveness of methods relying on digital learning compared to other innovative and more popular methods involving face-to-face interactions. Here, we tested the effectiveness of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) in Science and Technology compared to inquiry-based learning (IBL), another modern method which, however, requires students to interact with each other in the classroom. Our research also considered socio-cognitive factors–working memory (WM), socioeconomic status (SES), and academic self-concept (ASC)–known to predict academic performance but usually ignored in research on IBL and CAI. Five hundred and nine middle-school students, a fairly high sample size compared with relevant studies, received either IBL or CAI for a period varying from four to ten weeks prior to the Covid-19 events. After controlling for students’ prior knowledge and socio-cognitive factors, multilevel modelling showed that CAI was more effective than IBL. Although CAI-related benefits were stable across students’ SES and ASC, they were particularly pronounced for those with higher WM capacity. While indicating the need to adapt CAI for students with poorer WM, these findings further justify the use of CAI both in normal times (without excluding other methods) and during pandemic episodes.

SUBMITTER: Chevalere J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8577743 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Json Xml

Similar Datasets

Gesture during math instruction specifically benefits learners with high visuospatial working memory capacity.

Project description:BackgroundCharacteristics of both teachers and learners influence mathematical learning. For example, when teachers use hand gestures to support instruction, students learn more than others who learn the same concept with only speech, and students with higher working memory capacity (WMC) learn more rapidly than those with lower WMC. One hypothesis for the effect of gesture on math learning is that gestures provide a signal to learners that can reduce demand on working memory resources during learning. However, it is not known what sort of working memory resources support learning with gesture. Gestures are motoric; they co-occur with verbal language and they are perceived visually.MethodsIn two studies, we investigated the relationship between mathematical learning with or without gesture and individual variation in verbal, visuospatial, and kinesthetic WMC. Students observed a videotaped lesson in a novel mathematical system that either included instruction with both speech and gesture (Study 1) or instruction with only speech (Study 2). After instruction, students solved novel problems in the instructed system and transfer problems in a related system. Finally, students completed verbal, visuospatial, and kinesthetic working memory assessments.ResultsThere was a positive relationship between visuospatial WMC and math learning when gesture was present, but no relationship between visuospatial WMC and math learning when gesture was absent. Rather, when gesture was absent, there was a relationship between verbal WMC and math learning.ConclusionProviding gesture during instruction appears to change the cognitive resources recruited when learning a novel math task.

| S-EPMC7283399 | biostudies-literature

Working-memory capacity protects model-based learning from stress.

Project description:Accounts of decision-making have long posited the operation of separate, competing valuation systems in the control of choice behavior. Recent theoretical and experimental advances suggest that this classic distinction between habitual and goal-directed (or more generally, automatic and controlled) choice may arise from two computational strategies for reinforcement learning, called model-free and model-based learning. Popular neurocomputational accounts of reward processing emphasize the involvement of the dopaminergic system in model-free learning and prefrontal, central executive-dependent control systems in model-based choice. Here we hypothesized that the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis stress response--believed to have detrimental effects on prefrontal cortex function--should selectively attenuate model-based contributions to behavior. To test this, we paired an acute stressor with a sequential decision-making task that affords distinguishing the relative contributions of the two learning strategies. We assessed baseline working-memory (WM) capacity and used salivary cortisol levels to measure HPA axis stress response. We found that stress response attenuates the contribution of model-based, but not model-free, contributions to behavior. Moreover, stress-induced behavioral changes were modulated by individual WM capacity, such that low-WM-capacity individuals were more susceptible to detrimental stress effects than high-WM-capacity individuals. These results enrich existing accounts of the interplay between acute stress, working memory, and prefrontal function and suggest that executive function may be protective against the deleterious effects of acute stress.

| S-EPMC3876216 | biostudies-literature

Working memory capacity predicts effects of methylphenidate on reversal learning.

Project description:Increased use of stimulant medication, such as methylphenidate, by healthy college students has raised questions about its cognitive-enhancing effects. Methylphenidate acts by increasing extracellular catecholamine levels and is generally accepted to remediate cognitive and reward deficits in patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. However, the cognitive-enhancing effects of such 'smart drugs' in the healthy population are still unclear. Here, we investigated effects of methylphenidate (Ritalin, 20 ?mg) on reward and punishment learning in healthy students (N=19) in a within-subject, double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over design. Results revealed that methylphenidate effects varied both as a function of task demands and as a function of baseline working memory capacity. Specifically, methylphenidate improved reward vs punishment learning in high-working memory subjects, whereas it impaired reward vs punishment learning in low-working memory subjects. These results contribute to our understanding of individual differences in the cognitive-enhancing effects of methylphenidate in the healthy population. Moreover, they highlight the importance of taking into account both inter- and intra-individual differences in dopaminergic drug research.

| S-EPMC3746683 | biostudies-literature

Effects of methylphenidate on reinforcement learning depend on working memory capacity.

Project description:RationaleBrain catecholamines have long been implicated in reinforcement learning, exemplified by catecholamine drug and genetic effects on probabilistic reversal learning. However, the mechanisms underlying such effects are unclear.Objectives and methodsHere we investigated effects of an acute catecholamine challenge with methylphenidate (20 mg, oral) on a novel probabilistic reversal learning paradigm in a within-subject, double-blind randomised design. The paradigm was designed to disentangle effects on punishment avoidance from effects on reward perseveration. Given the known large individual variability in methylphenidate's effects, we stratified our effects by working memory capacity and trait impulsivity, putatively modulating the effects of methylphenidate, in a large sample (n = 102) of healthy volunteers.ResultsContrary to our prediction, methylphenidate did not alter performance in the reversal phase of the task. Our key finding is that methylphenidate altered learning of choice-outcome contingencies in a manner that depended on individual variability in working memory span. Specifically, methylphenidate improved performance by adaptively reducing the effective learning rate in participants with higher working memory capacity.ConclusionsThis finding emphasises the important role of working memory in reinforcement learning, as reported in influential recent computational modelling and behavioural work, and highlights the dependence of this interplay on catecholaminergic function.

| S-EPMC8629893 | biostudies-literature

Working memory capacity estimates moderate value learning for outcome-irrelevant features.

Project description:To establish accurate action-outcome associations in the environment, individuals must refrain from assigning value to outcome-irrelevant features. However, studies have largely ignored the role of attentional control processes on action value updating. In the current study, we examined the extent to which working memory-a system that can filter and block the processing of irrelevant information in one's mind-also filters outcome-irrelevant information during value-based learning. For this aim, 174 individuals completed a well-established working memory capacity measurement and a reinforcement learning task designed to estimate outcome-irrelevant learning. We replicated previous studies showing a group-level tendency to assign value to tasks' response keys, despite clear instructions and practice suggesting they are irrelevant to the prediction of monetary outcomes. Importantly, individuals with higher working memory capacity were less likely to assign value to the outcome-irrelevant response keys, thus suggesting a significant moderation effect of working memory capacity on outcome-irrelevant learning. We discuss the role of working memory processing on value-based learning through the lens of a cognitive control failure.

| S-EPMC9669000 | biostudies-literature

Using Computer-Assisted Instruction to Increase Otolaryngology Education During Medical School.

Project description:IntroductionA quarter of all complaints seen in adult primary care and half of all complaints seen in pediatric primary care are otolaryngology related. Even though half of all medical students enter primary care fields, there is no standardized curriculum for otolaryngology during medical school. Due to increasing limitations on specialty teaching during general medical education, computer-assisted instruction has been suggested as a format for increasing exposure to otolaryngology.MethodsWe designed a computer-based learning module for teaching high-yield otolaryngology topics for third- and fourth-year medical students during their primary care clerkship at our institution from 2016-2018. We evaluated students' prior otolaryngology knowledge with 11 case-based, multiple-choice questions and then evaluated the efficacy of the module by a similar posttest.ResultsThree-hundred and sixty-five students completed the module. The average pre- and posttest scores were 44% (SD = 21%) and 70% (SD = 17%), respectively, showing that the module resulted in significantly increased scores (p < .01).DiscussionThe improvement of test scores indicates that this module was an effective educational intervention at our institution for increasing exposure and improving otolaryngology knowledge in third- and fourth-year medical students. As medical schools shift toward adult learning principles such as independent and self-directed learning, computer-assisted instruction is an alternative to classroom-based didactics. Creating resources for independent study will allow more time for otolaryngology faculty and residents to teach clinical exam skills and interactive case-based discussions, which are less suitable to teach via computer-assisted instruction.

| S-EPMC7809942 | biostudies-literature

Working Memory Capacity Limits Memory for Bindings.

Project description:I propose that the capacity of working memory places a specific limit on the maintenance of temporary bindings. Two experiments support this binding hypothesis: Participants remembered word lists of varying length. When tested on a randomly selected word, their error rates increased with the length of the list, reflecting a limited capacity for short-term maintenance. This increase in errors was predominantly due to binding errors: People confused the correct word with other words of the current memory list, but very rarely with words not in the list. The frequencies of response choices were analyzed through two measurement models - one based on the assumption of discrete memory states, one on the assumption of continuous memory strength - that capture memory for items and for bindings in separate parameters. Increasing memory set size impaired binding memory but not item memory, supporting the binding hypothesis.

| S-EPMC6753309 | biostudies-literature

Selection History Modulates Working Memory Capacity.

Project description:Recent studies have shown that past selection history affects the allocation of attention on target selection. However, it is unclear whether context-driven selection history can modulate the efficacy of attention allocation on working memory (WM) representations. This study tests the influences of selection history on WM capacity. A display of one item (low load) or three/four items (high load) was shown for the participants to hold in WM in a delayed response task. Participants then judged whether a probe item was in the memory display or not. Selection history was defined as the number of items attended across trials in the task context within a block, manipulated by the stimulus set-size in the contexts with fewer possible stimuli (4-item or 5-item context) or more possible stimuli (8-item or 9-item context) from which the memorized content was selected. The capacity measure (i.e., the K measure) was estimated to reflect the number of items that can be held in WM. Across four behavioral experiments, the results revealed that the capacity was significantly reduced in the context with more possible stimuli relative to the context with fewer possible stimuli. Moreover, the reduction in capacity was significant for high WM load and not observed when the focus was on only a single item. Together, these findings indicate that context-driven selection history and focused attention influence WM capacity.

| S-EPMC5053993 | biostudies-literature

Visual working memory capacity and proactive interference.

Project description:Visual working memory capacity is extremely limited and appears to be relatively immune to practice effects or the use of explicit strategies. The recent discovery that visual working memory tasks, like verbal working memory tasks, are subject to proactive interference, coupled with the fact that typical visual working memory tasks are particularly conducive to proactive interference, suggests that visual working memory capacity may be systematically under-estimated.Working memory capacity was probed behaviorally in adult humans both in laboratory settings and via the Internet. Several experiments show that although the effect of proactive interference on visual working memory is significant and can last over several trials, it only changes the capacity estimate by about 15%.This study further confirms the sharp limitations on visual working memory capacity, both in absolute terms and relative to verbal working memory. It is suggested that future research take these limitations into account in understanding differences across a variety of tasks between human adults, prelinguistic infants and nonlinguistic animals.

| S-EPMC2447156 | biostudies-literature

Individual differences in working memory capacity moderate effects of post-learning activity on memory consolidation over the long term.

Project description:Similar to sleeping after learning, a brief period of wakeful resting after encoding new information supports memory retention in contrast to task-related cognition. Recent evidence suggests that working memory capacity (WMC) is related to sleep-dependent declarative memory consolidation. We tested whether WMC moderates the effect of a brief period of wakeful resting compared to performing a distractor task subsequent to encoding a word list. Participants encoded and immediately recalled a word list followed by either an 8 min wakeful resting period (eyes closed, relaxed) or by performing an adapted version of the d2 test of attention for 8 min. At the end of the experimental session (after 12-24 min) and again, after 7 days, participants were required to complete a surprise free recall test of both word lists. Our results show that interindividual differences in WMC are a central moderating factor for the effect of post-learning activity on memory retention. The difference in word retention between a brief period of wakeful resting versus performing a selective attention task subsequent to encoding increased in higher WMC individuals over a retention interval of 12-24 min, as well as over 7 days. This effect was reversed in lower WMC individuals. Our results extend findings showing that WMC seems not only to moderate sleep-related but also wakeful resting-related memory consolidation.

| S-EPMC7578020 | biostudies-literature

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

OmicsDI is an Elixir interoperability service. Learn more ›

Tweets

OmicsDI Databases

PRIDE
PeptideAtlas
MassIVE
JPOST Repository
Physiome Model Repository

EGA
EVA
ENA
LINCS
PAXDB
Cell Collective

MetaboLights
Metabolomics Workbench
MetabolomeExpress
GNPS
BioModels
FAIRDOMHub

ArrayExpress
dbGaP
ExpressionAtlas
GEO
NODE

Information

Databases
Help
API
Contact us
Code on GitHub
Terms of use
Submit Data