When and where do we apply what we learn? A taxonomy for far transfer

Testing the Limits of Skill Transfer for Scrabble Experts in Behavior and Brain

We investigated transfer of the skills developed by competitive Scrabble players. Previous studies reported superior performance for Scrabble experts on the lexical decision task (LDT), suggesting near transfer of Scrabble skills. Here we investigated the potential for far transfer to a symbol decision task (SDT); in particular, transfer of enhanced long-term working memory for vertically presented stimuli. Our behavioral results showed no evidence for far transfer. Despite years of intensive practice, Scrabble experts were no faster and no more accurate than controls in the SDT. However, our fMRI and EEG data from the SDT suggest that the neural repertoire that Scrabble experts develop supports task performance even outside of the practiced domain, in a non-linguistic context. The regions engaged during the SDT were different across groups: controls engaged temporal-frontal regions, whereas Scrabble experts engaged posterior visual and temporal-parietal regions. In Scrabble experts, activity related to Scrabble skill (anagramming scores) included regions associated with visual-spatial processing and long-term working memory, and overlapped with regions previously shown to be associated with Scrabble expertise in the near transfer task (LDT). Analysis of source waveforms within these regions showed that participants with higher anagramming scores had larger P300 amplitudes, potentially reflecting greater working memory capacity, or less variability in the participants who performed the task more efficiently. Thus, the neuroimaging results provide evidence of brain transfer in the absence of behavioral transfer, providing new clues about the consequences of long-term training associated with competitive Scrabble expertise.

Dynamic testing and test anxiety amongst gifted and average-ability children

BACKGROUND

Dynamic testing has been proposed as a testing approach that is less disadvantageous for children who may be potentially subject to bias when undertaking conventional assessments. For example, those who encounter high levels of test anxiety, or who are unfamiliar with standardized test procedures, may fail to demonstrate their true potential or capabilities. While dynamic testing has proven particularly useful for special groups of children, it has rarely been used with gifted children.

AIM

We investigated whether it would be useful to conduct a dynamic test to measure the cognitive abilities of intellectually gifted children. We also investigated whether test anxiety scores would be related to a progression in the children's test scores after dynamic training.

SAMPLE

Participants were 113 children aged between 7 and 8 years from several schools in the western part of the Netherlands. The children were categorized as either gifted or average-ability and split into an unguided practice or a dynamic testing condition.

METHODS

The study employed a pre-test-training-post-test design. Using linear mixed modelling analysis with a multilevel approach, we inspected the growth trajectories of children in the various conditions and examined the impact of ability and test anxiety on progression and training benefits.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

Dynamic testing proved to be successful in improving the scores of the children, although no differences in training benefits were found between gifted and average-ability children. Test anxiety was shown to influence the children's rate of change across all test sessions and their improvement in performance accuracy after dynamic training.

Cognitive Training for Post-Acute Traumatic Brain Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective: To quantitatively aggregate effects of cognitive training (CT) on cognitive and functional outcome measures in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) more than 12-months post-injury.

Design: We systematically searched six databases for non-randomized and randomized controlled trials of CT in TBI patients at least 12-months post-injury reporting cognitive and/or functional outcomes.

Main Measures: Efficacy was measured as standardized mean difference (Hedges’ g) of post-training change. We investigated heterogeneity across studies using subgroup analyses and meta-regressions.

Results: Fourteen studies encompassing 575 patients were included. The effect of CT on overall cognition was small and statistically significant (g = 0.22, 95%CI 0.05 to 0.38; p = 0.01), with low heterogeneity (I² = 11.71%) and no evidence of publication bias. A moderate effect size was found for overall functional outcomes (g = 0.32, 95%CI 0.08 to 0.57, p = 0.01) with low heterogeneity (I² = 14.27%) and possible publication bias. Statistically significant effects were also found only for executive function (g = 0.20, 95%CI 0.02 to 0.39, p = 0.03) and verbal memory (g = 0.32, 95%CI 0.14 to 0.50, p < 0.01).

Conclusion: Despite limited studies in this field, this meta-analysis indicates that CT is modestly effective in improving cognitive and functional outcomes in patients with post-acute TBI and should therefore play a more significant role in TBI rehabilitation.

Transfer in Rule-Based Category Learning Depends on the Training Task

While learning is often highly specific to the exact stimuli and tasks used during training, there are cases where training results in learning that generalizes more broadly. It has been previously argued that the degree of specificity can be predicted based upon the learning solution(s) dictated by the particular demands of the training task. Here we applied this logic in the domain of rule-based categorization learning. Participants were presented with stimuli corresponding to four different categories and were asked to perform either a category discrimination task (which permits learning specific rule to discriminate two categories) or a category identification task (which does not permit learning a specific discrimination rule). In a subsequent transfer stage, all participants were asked to discriminate stimuli belonging to two of the categories which they had seen, but had never directly discriminated before (i.e., this particular discrimination was omitted from training). As predicted, learning in the category-discrimination tasks tended to be specific, while the category-identification task produced learning that transferred to the transfer discrimination task. These results suggest that the discrimination and identification tasks fostered the acquisition of different category representations which were more or less generalizable.

Initial feasibility and validity of a prospective memory training program in a substance use treatment population

Individuals with substance use disorders have shown deficits in the ability to implement future intentions, called prospective memory. Deficits in prospective memory and working memory, a critical underlying component of prospective memory, likely contribute to substance use treatment failures. Thus, improvement of prospective memory and working memory in substance use patients is an innovative target for intervention. We sought to develop a feasible and valid prospective memory training program that incorporates working memory training and may serve as a useful adjunct to substance use disorder treatment. We administered a single session of the novel prospective memory and working memory training program to participants (n = 22; 13 men, 9 women) enrolled in outpatient substance use disorder treatment and correlated performance to existing measures of prospective memory and working memory. Generally accurate prospective memory performance in a single session suggests feasibility in a substance use treatment population. However, training difficulty should be increased to avoid ceiling effects across repeated sessions. Consistent with existing literature, we observed superior performance on event-based relative to time-based prospective memory tasks. Performance on the prospective memory and working memory training components correlated with validated assessments of prospective memory and working memory, respectively. Correlations between novel memory training program performance and established measures suggest that our training engages appropriate cognitive processes. Further, differential event- and time-based prospective memory task performance suggests internal validity of our training. These data support the development of this intervention as an adjunctive therapy for substance use disorders. (PsycINFO Database Record

Does Early Mathematics Intervention Change the Processes Underlying Children's Learning?

Early educational intervention effects typically fade in the years following treatment, and few studies have investigated why achievement impacts diminish over time. The current study tested the effects of a preschool mathematics intervention on two aspects of children's mathematical development. We tested for separate effects of the intervention on "state" (occasion-specific) and "trait" (relatively stable) variability in mathematics achievement. Results indicated that, although the treatment had a large impact on state mathematics, the treatment had no effect on trait mathematics, or the aspect of mathematics achievement that influences stable individual differences in mathematics achievement over time. Results did suggest, however, that the intervention could affect the underlying processes in children's mathematical development by inducing more transfer of knowledge immediately following the intervention for students in the treated group.

Working memory training involves learning new skills

We present a new framework characterizing training-induced changes in WM as the acquisition of novel cognitive routines akin to learning a new skill. Predictions were tested in three studies analyzing the transfer between WM tasks following WM training. Study 1 reports a meta-analysis establishing substantial transfer when trained and untrained tasks shared either a serial recall, complex span or backward span paradigm. Transfer was weaker for serial recall of verbal than visuo-spatial material, suggesting that this paradigm is served by an existing verbal STM system and does not require a new routine. Re-analysis of published WM training data in Study 2 showed that transfer was restricted to tasks sharing properties proposed to require new routines. In a re-analysis of data from four studies, Study 3 demonstrated that transfer was greatest for children with higher fluid cognitive abilities. These findings suggest that development of new routines depends on general cognitive resources and that they can only be applied to other similarly-structured tasks.

Cognitive Training in Parkinson's Disease: A Review of Studies from 2000 to 2014

Cognitive deficits are prevalent among patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), in both early and late stages of the disease. These deficits are associated with lower quality of life, loss of independence, and institutionalization. To date, there is no effective pharmacological treatment for the range of cognitive impairments presented in PD. Cognitive training (CT) has been explored as an alternative approach to remediating cognition in PD. In this review we present a detailed summary of 13 studies of CT that have been conducted between 2000 and 2014 and a critical examination of the evidence for the effectiveness and applicability of CT in PD. Although the evidence shows that CT leads to short-term, moderate improvements in some cognitive functions, methodological inconsistencies weaken these results. We discuss several key limitations of the literature to date, propose methods of addressing these questions, and outline the future directions that studies of CT in PD should pursue. Studies need to provide more detail about the cognitive profile of participants, include larger sample sizes, be hypothesis driven, and be clearer about the training interventions and the outcome measures.

IMPROVING MEDICAL EDUCATION: SIMULATING CHANGES IN PATIENT ANATOMY USING DYNAMIC HAPTIC FEEDBACK

Virtual simulation is an emerging field in medical education. Research suggests that simulation reduces complication rates and improves learning gains for medical residents. One benefit of simulators is their allowance for more realistic and dynamic patient anatomies. While potentially useful throughout medical education, few studies have explored the impact of dynamic haptic simulators on medical training. In light of this research void, this study was developed to examine how a Dynamic-Haptic Robotic Trainer (DHRT) impacts medical student self-efficacy and skill gains compared to traditional simulators developed to train students in Internal Jugular Central Venous Catheter (IJ CVC) placement. The study was conducted with 18 third year medical students with no prior CVC insertion experience who underwent a pre-test, simulator training (manikin, robotic, or mixed) and post-test. The results revealed the DHRT as a useful method for training CVC skills and supports further research on dynamic haptic trainers in medical education.

Learning strategies: a synthesis and conceptual model

The purpose of this article is to explore a model of learning that proposes that various learning strategies are powerful at certain stages in the learning cycle. The model describes three inputs and outcomes (skill, will and thrill), success criteria, three phases of learning (surface, deep and transfer) and an acquiring and consolidation phase within each of the surface and deep phases. A synthesis of 228 meta-analyses led to the identification of the most effective strategies. The results indicate that there is a subset of strategies that are effective, but this effectiveness depends on the phase of the model in which they are implemented. Further, it is best not to run separate sessions on learning strategies but to embed the various strategies within the content of the subject, to be clearer about developing both surface and deep learning, and promoting their associated optimal strategies and to teach the skills of transfer of learning. The article concludes with a discussion of questions raised by the model that need further research.

Long-term far-transfer effects of working memory training in children with ADHD: a randomized controlled trial

ADHD affects working memory (WM) and other executive functions (EFs) and thereby negatively impacts school performance, clinical symptoms and functional impairment. The main aim of this study was to analyse the efficacy of computerized WM training (CWMT) on EF rating scales. A secondary objective was to assess its efficacy on performance-based measures of EF (PBMEF), learning, clinical symptoms and functional impairment. 66 children with combined-type ADHD between 7 and 12 years of age from the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Unit (Spain) were included in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group clinical trial. The participants were randomized (1:1) to an experimental group (EG) (CWMT) (n = 36) or a control group (CG) (placebo training). Assessments were conducted at baseline (T0), 1-2 weeks (T1), and 6 months post-intervention (T2) with the administration of EF rating scales, PBMEF, measures of academic achievement, and questionnaires regarding clinical symptoms and functional impairment. Participants, parents, teachers and professionals who performed the cognitive assessments were blinded. Adjusted multiple linear regression analysis showed significant improvements in EF scales-parent version, from T1 to T2, on the metacognition index [p = 0.03, d' = -0.78 (95 % CI -1.28 to -0.27)] and on WM (also significant at T2-T0) and plan/organize subscales. Significant improvements were also noted in EF scales-teacher version, from T0 to T1 and T2, on the metacognitive index [p = 0.05, d' = -0.37 (95 % CI -0.86 to 0.12) T1-T0, p = 0.02, d' = -0.81 (95 % CI -1.31 to -0.30) T2-T0] and on the initiate, WM, monitor and shift subscales. There were also significant improvements in PBMEF, ADHD symptoms, and functional impairment. CWMT had a significant impact on ADHD deficits by achieving long-term far-transfer effects.

Patterns of multiple health risk-behaviours in university students and their association with mental health: application of latent class analysis

INTRODUCTION

University and college campuses may be the last setting where it is possible to comprehensively address the health of a large proportion of the young adult population. It is important that health promoters understand the collective challenges students are facing, and to better understand the broader lifestyle behavioural patterning evident during this life stage. The purpose of this study was to examine the clustering of modifiable health-risk behaviours and to explore the relationship between these identified clusters and mental health outcomes among a large Canadian university sample.

METHODS

Undergraduate students (n = 837; mean age = 21 years) from the University of Toronto completed the National College Health Assessment survey. The survey consists of approximately 300 items, including assessments of student health status, mental health and health-risk behaviours. Latent class analysis was used to identify patterning based on eight salient health-risk behaviours (marijuana use, other illicit drug use, risky sex, smoking, binge drinking, poor diet, physical inactivity, and insufficient sleep).

RESULTS

A three-class model based on student behavioural patterns emerged: "typical," "high-risk" and "moderately healthy." Results also found high-risk students reporting significantly higher levels of stress than typical students (χ2(1671) = 7.26, p < .01).

CONCLUSION

Students with the highest likelihood of engaging in multiple health-risk behaviours reported poorer mental health, particularly as it relates to stress. Although these findings should be interpreted with caution due to the 28% response rate, they do suggest that interventions targeting specific student groups with similar patterning of multiple health-risk behaviours may be needed.

The early emergence and puzzling decline of relational reasoning: Effects of knowledge and search on inferring abstract concepts

We explore the developmental trajectory and underlying mechanisms of abstract relational reasoning. We describe a surprising developmental pattern: Younger learners are better than older ones at inferring abstract causal relations. Walker and Gopnik (2014) demonstrated that toddlers are able to infer that an effect was caused by a relation between two objects (whether they are the same or different), rather than by individual kinds of objects. While these findings are consistent with evidence that infants recognize same-different relations, they contrast with a large literature suggesting that older children tend to have difficulty inferring these relations. Why might this be? In Experiment 1a, we demonstrate that while younger children (18-30-month-olds) have no difficulty learning these relational concepts, older children (36-48-month-olds) fail to draw this abstract inference. Experiment 1b replicates the finding with 18-30-month-olds using a more demanding intervention task. Experiment 2 tests whether this difference in performance might be because older children have developed the general hypothesis that individual kinds of objects are causal - the high initial probability of this alternative hypothesis might override the data that favors the relational hypothesis. Providing additional information falsifying the alternative hypothesis improves older children's performance. Finally, Experiment 3 demonstrates that prompting for explanations during learning also improves performance, even without any additional information. These findings are discussed in light of recent computational and algorithmic theories of learning.

The Significance of Contextual Factors in African American Students’ Transfer of Learning

This study sought to address the lack of experimental research examining the influence of contextual factors on African American students’ learning. A total of 162 low-income African American and White fourth graders were randomly assigned to ethnically homogeneous, communally structured groups of three to work on a motion acceleration task using either computer simulation or physical tools, or to a control group that did not participate in the learning activities. A 3 (condition) × 2 (ethnicity) MANOVA was computed with initial learning and transfer as dependent variables. Results indicate African American and White students performed equally well on the test of initial learning, with both groups scoring significantly higher than the control group. However, African Americans’ transfer outcomes were better than those of their White counterparts. Regarding tools, work with physical apparatus yielded better transfer outcomes than work with computer simulation. Implications for creating optimal learning contexts for African American students are discussed.

Comment on Wakebe et al. (2015): Factors Accounting for Difficulties in Analogical Problem Solving

A prior study by Wakebe, Hidaka, and Watamura, exploring the role of processing demands in analogical reasoning, showed that presenting a target problem in a foreign language decreases analogical problem-solving ability in a resource-independent manner. The present commentary, however, describes several factors that can affect the ability to draw analogies precisely by reducing processing resources, including working memory, executive functions, and relational knowledge. In future studies, it would therefore be interesting to ascertain whether the observed differences are due solely to the presentation of the target problem in a foreign language or also to the aforementioned factors.

Working Memory Training Does Not Improve Performance on Measures of Intelligence or Other Measures of "Far Transfer": Evidence From a Meta-Analytic Review

It has been claimed that working memory training programs produce diverse beneficial effects. This article presents a meta-analysis of working memory training studies (with a pretest-posttest design and a control group) that have examined transfer to other measures (nonverbal ability, verbal ability, word decoding, reading comprehension, or arithmetic; 87 publications with 145 experimental comparisons). Immediately following training there were reliable improvements on measures of intermediate transfer (verbal and visuospatial working memory). For measures of far transfer (nonverbal ability, verbal ability, word decoding, reading comprehension, arithmetic) there was no convincing evidence of any reliable improvements when working memory training was compared with a treated control condition. Furthermore, mediation analyses indicated that across studies, the degree of improvement on working memory measures was not related to the magnitude of far-transfer effects found. Finally, analysis of publication bias shows that there is no evidential value from the studies of working memory training using treated controls. The authors conclude that working memory training programs appear to produce short-term, specific training effects that do not generalize to measures of "real-world" cognitive skills. These results seriously question the practical and theoretical importance of current computerized working memory programs as methods of training working memory skills.

Improving outcome for mental disorders by enhancing memory for treatment

Patients exhibit poor memory for treatment. A novel Memory Support Intervention, derived from basic science in cognitive psychology and education, is tested with the goal of improving patient memory for treatment and treatment outcome. Adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) were randomized to 14 sessions of cognitive therapy (CT)+Memory Support (n = 25) or CT-as-usual (n = 23). Outcomes were assessed at baseline, post-treatment and 6 months later. Memory support was greater in CT+Memory Support compared to the CT-as-usual. Compared to CT-as-usual, small to medium effect sizes were observed for recall of treatment points at post-treatment. There was no difference between the treatment arms on depression severity (primary outcome). However, the odds of meeting criteria for 'response' and 'remission' were higher in CT+Memory Support compared with CT-as-usual. CT+Memory Support also showed an advantage on functional impairment. While some decline was observed, the advantage of CT+Memory Support was evident through 6-month follow-up. Patients with less than 16 years of education experience greater benefits from memory support than those with 16 or more years of education. Memory support can be manipulated, may improve patient memory for treatment and may be associated with an improved outcome.

Retrieval practice: the lack of transfer to deductive inferences

Retrieval practice has been shown to enhance later recall of information reviewed through testing, whereas final-test measures involving making inferences from the learned information have produced mixed results. In four experiments, we examined whether the benefits of retrieval practice could transfer to deductive inferences. Participants studied a set of related premises and then reviewed these premises either by rereading or by taking fill-in-the-blank tests. As was expected, the testing condition produced better final-test recall of the premises. However, performance on multiple-choice inference questions showed no enhancement from retrieval practice.

Deliberate Play and Preparation Jointly Benefit Motor and Cognitive Development: Mediated and Moderated Effects

In light of the interrelation between motor and cognitive development and the predictive value of the former for the latter, the secular decline observed in motor coordination ability as early as preschool urges identification of interventions that may jointly impact motor and cognitive efficiency. The aim of this study was twofold. It (1) explored the outcomes of enriched physical education (PE), centered on deliberate play and cognitively challenging variability of practice, on motor coordination and cognitive processing; (2) examined whether motor coordination outcomes mediate intervention effects on children's cognition, while controlling for moderation by lifestyle factors as outdoor play habits and weight status. Four hundred and sixty children aged 5-10 years participated in a 6-month group randomized intervention in PE, with or without playful coordinative and cognitive enrichment. The weight status and spontaneous outdoor play habits of children (parental report of outdoor play) were evaluated at baseline. Before and after the intervention, motor developmental level (Movement Assessment Battery for Children) was evaluated in all children, who were then assessed either with a test of working memory (Random Number Generation task), or with a test of attention (from the Cognitive Assessment System). Children assigned to the 'enriched' intervention showed more pronounced improvements in all motor coordination assessments (manual dexterity, ball skills, static/dynamic balance). The beneficial effect on ball skills was amplified by the level of spontaneous outdoor play and weight status. Among indices of executive function and attention, only that of inhibition showed a differential effect of intervention type. Moderated mediation showed that the better outcome of the enriched PE on ball skills mediated the better inhibition outcome, but only when the enrichment intervention was paralleled by a medium-to-high level of outdoor play. Results suggest that specifically tailored physical activity (PA) games provide a unique form of enrichment that impacts children's cognitive development through motor coordination improvement, particularly object control skills, which are linked to children's PA habits later in life. Outdoor play appears to offer the natural ground for the stimulation by designed PA games to take root in children's mind.

Conscious Augmentation of Creative State Enhances "Real" Creativity in Open-Ended Analogical Reasoning

Humans have an impressive ability to augment their creative state (i.e., to consciously try and succeed at thinking more creatively). Though this “thinking cap” phenomenon is commonly experienced, the range of its potential has not been fully explored by creativity research, which has often focused instead on creativity as a trait. A key question concerns the extent to which conscious augmentation of state creativity can improve creative reasoning. Although artistic creativity is also of great interest, it is creative reasoning that frequently leads to innovative advances in science and industry. Here, we studied state creativity in analogical reasoning, a form of relational reasoning that spans the conceptual divide between intelligence and creativity and is a core mechanism for creative innovation. Participants performed a novel Analogy Finding Task paradigm in which they sought valid analogical connections in a matrix of word-pairs. An explicit creativity cue elicited formation of substantially more creative analogical connections (measured via latent semantic analysis). Critically, the increase in creative analogy formation was not due to a generally more liberal criterion for analogy formation (that is, it appeared to reflect “real” creativity rather than divergence at the expense of appropriateness). The use of an online sample provided evidence that state creativity augmentation can be successfully elicited by remote cuing in an online environment. Analysis of an intelligence measure provided preliminary indication that the influential “threshold hypothesis,” which has been proposed to characterize the relationship between intelligence and trait creativity, may be extensible to the new domain of state creativity.

Approaches to Foster Transfer of Formal Principles: Which Route to Take?

Enabling learners to transfer knowledge about formal principles to new problems is a major aim of science and mathematics education, which, however, is notoriously difficult to reach. Previous research advocates different approaches of how to introduce principles to foster the transfer of knowledge about formal principles. One approach suggests teaching a generic formalism of the principles. Another approach suggests presenting (at least) two concrete cases instantiating the principle. A third approach suggests presenting a generic formalism accompanied by a case. As yet, though, empirical results regarding the transfer potential of these approaches are mixed and difficult to integrate as the three approaches have rarely been tested competitively. Furthermore, the approaches have been evaluated in relation to different control conditions, and they have been assessed using varying transfer measures. In the present experiment, we introduced undergraduates to the formal principles of propositional logic with the aim to systematically compare the transfer potential of the different approaches in relation to each other and to a common control condition by using various learning and transfer tasks. Results indicate that all approaches supported successful learning and transfer of the principles, but also caused systematic differences in the magnitude of transfer. Results indicate that the combination of a generic formalism with a case was surprisingly unsuccessful while learners who compared two cases outperformed the control condition. We discuss how the simultaneous assessment of the different approaches allows to more precisely capture the underlying learning mechanisms and to advance theory on how these mechanisms contribute to transfer performance.

Auditory Discrimination Learning: Role of Working Memory

Perceptual training is generally assumed to improve perception by modifying the encoding or decoding of sensory information. However, this assumption is incompatible with recent demonstrations that transfer of learning can be enhanced by across-trial variation of training stimuli or task. Here we present three lines of evidence from healthy adults in support of the idea that the enhanced transfer of auditory discrimination learning is mediated by working memory (WM). First, the ability to discriminate small differences in tone frequency or duration was correlated with WM measured with a tone n-back task. Second, training frequency discrimination around a variable frequency transferred to and from WM learning, but training around a fixed frequency did not. The transfer of learning in both directions was correlated with a reduction of the influence of stimulus variation in the discrimination task, linking WM and its improvement to across-trial stimulus interaction in auditory discrimination. Third, while WM training transferred broadly to other WM and auditory discrimination tasks, variable-frequency training on duration discrimination did not improve WM, indicating that stimulus variation challenges and trains WM only if the task demands stimulus updating in the varied dimension. The results provide empirical evidence as well as a theoretic framework for interactions between cognitive and sensory plasticity during perceptual experience.

Gifted and Average-Ability Children’s Progression in Analogical Reasoning in a Dynamic Testing Setting

This study sought to provide more insight into potential differences in progression of analogical reasoning comparing gifted with average-ability children taking into account age, using a dynamic testing approach, using graduated prompting techniques, in combination with microgenetic methods. The participants were between the ages of 5 and 8 years old and were divided into 4 subgroups: gifted unguided control (n = 37), gifted dynamic training (n = 41), average-ability unguided control (n = 95), and average-ability dynamic training (n = 93). We predicted that gifted and average-ability children would show differential progression in analogical reasoning, benefit differentially from a dynamic training procedure, and would show differential instructional needs. The two “ability categories” (i.e., gifted vs. average-ability) were found to show similar, rather than differential, progression paths, and to benefit from a training procedure, whereas gifted children outperform their average-ability peers in accuracy at each session. Likewise, no differences in need for instruction were found among these two groups. In general, moreover, younger children seemed to have lower accuracy scores, progress less, and need more help than older children. Implications of these findings for the research field of giftedness as well as for education of the gifted and talented are considered in the discussion.

The Two Settings of Kind and Wicked Learning Environments

Inference involves two settings: In the first, information is acquired (learning); in the second, it is applied (predictions or choices). Kind learning environments involve close matches between the informational elements in the two settings and are a necessary condition for accurate inferences. Wicked learning environments involve mismatches. This conceptual framework facilitates identifying sources of inferential errors and can be used, among other things, to suggest how to target corrective procedures. For example, structuring learning environments to be kind improves probabilistic judgments. Potentially, it could also enable economic agents to exhibit maximizing behavior.

Enhancing diagnostic competence with self-explanation prompts and adaptable feedback

CONTEXT

The fostering of diagnostic competence is an important goal of medical education. Worked-example cases with integrated errors represent a promising method of doing so.

OBJECTIVES

This study investigates whether the provision of self-explanation prompts and adaptable feedback fosters diagnostic competence in a computer-supported learning environment based on worked-example cases with integrated errors.

METHODS

A total of 103 medical students participated in the study. After a test of prior diagnostic competence, learners studied worked examples with integrated errors for cases of heart failure of different causes in a computer-based learning environment. The worked examples started with the description of a clinical situation in which a student apprentice diagnoses a patient and commits errors in the conclusions he draws from the information presented. Participants were randomly assigned to four learning conditions that varied in two factors: self-explanation prompts and adaptable feedback. In the self-explanation prompts condition, students were prompted to reflect on the errors. Independently of the condition, the student apprentice in the worked example receives feedback on his diagnosis. In the adaptable feedback condition, students were able to adjust the level of elaboration of the feedback. A post-test of diagnostic competence was administered.

RESULTS

Adaptable feedback had a positive effect on important aspects of diagnostic competence (strategic knowledge: F(1,93)  = 4.15, p < 0.05, partial η(2)  = 0.04; decision-oriented practical knowledge: F(1,93)  = 4.41, p < 0.05, partial η(2)  = 0.05), whereas self-explanation prompts did not further improve the effectiveness of the learning environment.

CONCLUSIONS

In the use of worked examples with integrated errors, the provision of adaptable feedback whereby learners have control over the amount of feedback they receive seems to be advantageous to the development of important decision-oriented aspects of diagnostic competence. Additional help to stimulate reflection about the error by self-explanation prompts does not seem to be critical.

Framing effects are robust to linguistic disambiguation: A critical test of contemporary theory

Theoretical accounts of risky choice framing effects assume that decision makers interpret framing options as extensionally equivalent, such that if 600 lives are at stake, saving 200 implies that 400 die. However, many scholars have argued that framing effects are caused, instead, by filling in pragmatically implied information. This linguistic ambiguity hypothesis is grounded in neo-Gricean pragmatics, information leakage, and schema theory. In 2 experiments, we conducted critical tests of the linguistic ambiguity hypothesis and its relation to framing. We controlled for this crucial implied information by disambiguating it using instructions and detailed examples, followed by multiple quizzes. After disambiguating missing information, we presented standard framing problems plus truncated versions, varying types of missing information. Truncations were also critical tests of prospect theory and fuzzy trace theory. Participants were not only college students, but also middle-age adults (who showed similar results). Contrary to the ambiguity hypothesis, participants who interpreted missing information as complementary to stated information nonetheless showed robust framing effects. Although adding words like "at least" can change interpretations of framing information, this form of linguistic ambiguity is not necessary to observe risky choice framing effects.

Debiasing Decisions

From failures of intelligence analysis to misguided beliefs about vaccinations, biased judgment and decision making contributes to problems in policy, business, medicine, law, education, and private life. Early attempts to reduce decision biases with training met with little success, leading scientists and policy makers to focus on debiasing by using incentives and changes in the presentation and elicitation of decisions. We report the results of two longitudinal experiments that found medium to large effects of one-shot debiasing training interventions. Participants received a single training intervention, played a computer game or watched an instructional video, which addressed biases critical to intelligence analysis (in Experiment 1: bias blind spot, confirmation bias, and fundamental attribution error; in Experiment 2: anchoring, representativeness, and social projection). Both kinds of interventions produced medium to large debiasing effects immediately (games ≥ −31.94% and videos ≥ −18.60%) that persisted at least 2 months later (games ≥ −23.57% and videos ≥ −19.20%). Games that provided personalized feedback and practice produced larger effects than did videos. Debiasing effects were domain general: bias reduction occurred across problems in different contexts, and problem formats that were taught and not taught in the interventions. The results suggest that a single training intervention can improve decision making. We suggest its use alongside improved incentives, information presentation, and nudges to reduce costly errors associated with biased judgments and decisions.

A longitudinal, mixed method evaluation of self-awareness training in the workplace

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to investigate whether self-awareness, which is associated with general well-being and positive life outcomes, is also of specific benefit in the workplace. The authors tested the relationship between self-awareness and job-related well-being, and evaluated two different interventions designed to improve dispositional self-awareness at work.

Design/methodology/approach

– Full-time employees took part in these training interventions and completed questionnaires using a switching-replications design. Questionnaires measured dispositional self-attentiveness (reflection and rumination) and job well-being (satisfaction, enthusiasm and contentment) at three time points over a period of six weeks. Statistical analyses were complemented with qualitative analysis of reported impacts.

Findings

– Self-awareness was positively associated with job-related well-being and was improved by training. Employees reported gaining a greater appreciation of diversity, improved communication with colleagues and increased confidence.

Research limitations/implications

– Sample size limited the extent to which the relatively weak relationships between the concepts could be identified.

Practical implications

– Self-awareness is demonstrated to be of value at work, associated with higher well-being and improvements in several positive occupational outcomes. The self-awareness training is more likely to result in active work-based improvements than in reflective changes.

Originality/value

– Dispositional self-awareness is shown to be subject to change through training. The study demonstrates the value of self-awareness at work and identifies a range of related work outcomes.

The Power of Testing Memory: Basic Research and Implications for Educational Practice

A powerful way of improving one's memory for material is to be tested on that material. Tests enhance later retention more than additional study of the material, even when tests are given without feedback. This surprising phenomenon is called the testing effect, and although it has been studied by cognitive psychologists sporadically over the years, today there is a renewed effort to learn why testing is effective and to apply testing in educational settings. In this article, we selectively review laboratory studies that reveal the power of testing in improving retention and then turn to studies that demonstrate the basic effects in educational settings. We also consider the related concepts of dynamic testing and formative assessment as other means of using tests to improve learning. Finally, we consider some negative consequences of testing that may occur in certain circumstances, though these negative effects are often small and do not cancel out the large positive effects of testing. Frequent testing in the classroom may boost educational achievement at all levels of education.

Do brief alcohol interventions reduce tobacco use among adolescents and young adults? A systematic review and meta-analysis

This meta-analysis synthesizes studies of brief interventions (BIs) that targeted alcohol consumption and reported both alcohol and tobacco outcomes. It examines whether BIs reduce alcohol and tobacco use for adolescents and young adults among interventions that (1) directly targeted tobacco and alcohol use, or (2) did not target tobacco use but measured it as a secondary outcome. Multiple databases and grey literature sources were searched (1980-2012) resulting in the identification of 18 randomized or controlled quasi-experimental studies (5949 participants). Analyses were conducted using random effects inverse-variance weighted three-level models. BIs were associated with a significant reduction in alcohol consumption relative to control groups [g = 0.11, 95 % CI (0.04, 0.17)] but not with a significant decrease in tobacco use [g = 0.07, 95 % CI (-0.01, 0.16)]. Directly addressing tobacco was not a significant moderator affecting tobacco use outcomes. Post-hoc exploratory analysis revealed potential questions to address with future research.

Do semantic contextual cues facilitate transfer learning from video in toddlers?

Young children typically demonstrate a transfer deficit, learning less from video than live presentations. Semantically meaningful context has been demonstrated to enhance learning in young children. We examined the effect of a semantically meaningful context on toddlers’ imitation performance. Two- and 2.5-year-olds participated in a puzzle imitation task to examine learning from either a live or televised model. The model demonstrated how to assemble a three-piece puzzle to make a fish or a boat, with the puzzle demonstration occurring against a semantically meaningful background context (ocean) or a yellow background (no context). Participants in the video condition performed significantly worse than participants in the live condition, demonstrating the typical transfer deficit effect. While the context helped improve overall levels of imitation, especially for the boat puzzle, only individual differences in the ability to self-generate a stimulus label were associated with a reduction in the transfer deficit.

The benefits of testing for learning on later performance

Testing has been shown to enhance retention of learned information beyond simple studying, a phenomena known as test-enhanced learning (TEL). Research has shown that TEL effects are greater for tests that require the production of responses [e.g., short-answer questions (SAQs)] relative to tests that require the recognition of correct answers [e.g., multiple-choice questions (MCQs)]. High stakes licensure examinations have recently differentiated MCQs that require the application of clinical knowledge (context-rich MCQs) from MCQs that rely on the recognition of "facts" (context-free MCQs). The present study investigated the influence of different types of educational activities (including studying, SAQs, context-rich MCQs and context-free MCQs) on later performance on a mock licensure examination. Fourth-year medical students (n = 224) from four Quebec universities completed four educational activities: one reading-based activity and three quiz-based activities (SAQs, context-rich MCQs, and context-free MCQs). We assessed the influence of the type of educational activity on students' subsequent performance in a mock licensure examination, which consisted of two types of context-rich MCQs: (1) verbatim replications of previous items and (2) items that tested the same learning objective but were new. Mean accuracy scores on the mock licensure exam were higher when intervening educational activities contained either context-rich MCQs (Mean z-score = 0.40) or SAQs (M = 0.39) compared to context-free MCQs (M = -0.38) or study only items (M = -0.42; all p < 0.001). Higher mean scores were only present for verbatim items (p < 0.001). The benefit of testing was observed when intervening educational activities required either the generation of a response (SAQs) or the application of knowledge (context-rich MCQs); however, this effect was only observed for verbatim test items. These data provide evidence that context-rich MCQs and SAQs enhance learning through testing compared to context-free MCQs or studying alone. The extent to which these findings generalize beyond verbatim questions remains to be seen.

Investigating cognitive transfer within the framework of music practice: genetic pleiotropy rather than causality

The idea of far transfer effects in the cognitive sciences has received much attention in recent years. One domain where far transfer effects have frequently been reported is music education, with the prevailing idea that music practice entails an increase in cognitive ability (IQ). While cross-sectional studies consistently find significant associations between music practice and IQ, randomized controlled trials, however, report mixed results. An alternative to the hypothesis of cognitive transfer effects is that some underlying factors, such as shared genes, influence practice behaviour and IQ causing associations on the phenotypic level. Here we explored the hypothesis of far transfer within the framework of music practice. A co-twin control design combined with classical twin-modelling based on a sample of more than 10,500 twins was used to explore causal associations between music practice and IQ as well as underlying genetic and environmental influences. As expected, phenotypic associations were moderate (r = 0.11 and r = 0.10 for males and females, respectively). However, the relationship disappeared when controlling for genetic and shared environmental influences using the co-twin control method, indicating that a highly practiced twin did not have higher IQ than the untrained co-twin. In line with that finding, the relationship between practice and IQ was mostly due to shared genetic influences. Findings strongly suggest that associations between music practice and IQ in the general population are non-causal in nature. The implications of the present findings for research on plasticity, modularity, and transfer are discussed.