Self-derivation of new knowledge through memory integration varies as a function of prior knowledge

Effects of sequential and non-sequential presentation conditions of multiple-stem facts on memory integration and cognitive resource allocation

What limits the self-generation of new knowledge in the memory integration process? One striking contender is the amount of necessary pieces of information that are dispersed. Specifically, when essential information is scattered across multiple sources/places, it becomes challenging to effectively integrate and generate new knowledge. Most of the studies on memory integration have focused on the study of paired stem facts, but have neglected the exploration of multiple-stem facts. The present study examined college students' performance on memory integration under different conditions of three stem facts. In Experiment 1, participants were exposed to a series of novel, authentic stem facts in which every three relevant ones could be integrated to generate new knowledge. The results of Experiment 1 found that college students could spontaneously generate a new piece of information by integrating two or three separate but related facts. The integration can occur in at least two distinct types due to the different presentation orders of the learning materials: sequential recursive integration and non-recursive integration. College students performed better in sequential recursive integration than in non-sequential recursive integration, and this difference in integration performance is not caused by differences in memory for the stem facts. Based on Experiment 1, Experiment 2 used eye-tracking technology to explore the allocation of internal cognitive resources across different conditions of three stem facts. We found that in non-sequential recursive integration, college students had the longest visual duration and the highest number of fixations on the second stem fact. In sequential recursive integration, there were no other significant differences in the number and duration of visual fixations for the three stem facts. College students paid longer fixations to the second stem fact and the third stem fact in the non-sequential recursive condition than in the sequential recursive condition. Our study suggests that when information is related but cannot be integrated, longer fixation indicates stumbling when dealing with an unresolvable difficulty. When knowledge is presented in a stepwise manner (such as in the sequential recursive integration condition), it results in better semantic memory extension.

Factors affecting children's direct learning and productive memory processes in the context of virtual museums

Informal educational opportunities such as visits to museums, aquariums, and zoos support children's semantic knowledge gain. Most research focuses on outcomes of direct learning, such as factual recall. The extent to which children engage in productive memory processes such as inferential reasoning and self-derivation through memory integration is not yet well understood. We assessed 8- to 9-year-old children's performance on tests of direct (e.g., fact recall) and productive (e.g., inference, integration) learning from virtual museum exhibits. We also examined the influence of children's involvement on learning outcomes, through measuring within-exhibit dyadic conversation and post-exhibit reflection. Children performed successfully on all three tests of learning; fact recall was the most accessible and self-derivation was the least. Both within and post-exhibit involvement predicted overall learning outcomes; within-exhibit conversational phrases predicted self-derivation performance in particular. The current work provides novel insights into mechanisms that support children's informal learning.

Operational encoding enhances action knowledge integration: insights from event-related potential analysis

In this study, we conducted an examination of knowledge integration concerning action information and assessed the impact of operational on this process. Additionally, we delved into the underlying mechanisms of how operational encoding influences the processing of knowledge integration of action information, utilizing the event-related potential technique. The results of our investigation revealed that operational encoding, encompassing the observed operational encoding and the imagined operational encoding, exhibited superior performance in the integration of action knowledge compared to verbal encoding. This distinction may be attributed to the greater efficiency of operant encoding in activating motor cortical areas, thereby inducing more robust brain activity. These findings suggest the potential advantages of operational encoding in facilitating the integration of knowledge related to movement information at both cognitive and neural levels, underscoring its significant role in the processing of such information. Future studies can further explore the applications of operational encoding in domains, such as motor learning, skill training, and rehabilitation therapy. Such investigations may offer novel insights into enhancing human behavior and motor control.

Self-derivation through memory integration: a longitudinal examination of performance and relations with academic achievements in elementary classrooms

Self-derivation through memory integration is the cognitive process of generating new knowledge by integrating individual facts. Across two studies, we longitudinally examined developmental change, individual stability, and relations with academic performance in a diverse agricultural community. We documented children's self-derivation in their classrooms and examined the relation with self-derivation and academic performance a year later. In Study 1, we examined self-derivation (n = 94; Mage= 6.67; initially grades K and 1) using the same paradigm at both time points. We found evidence of developmental change from Time 1 to Time 2. However, self-derivation accounted for a small portion of the variance in self-derivation (reflecting individual stability) and academic performance measured one year later. In Study 2, we examined self-derivation across two different paradigms with children beginning in Grades 2 and 3 (n = 82; Mage= 8.60). Even across paradigms, we found evidence for individual stability. Year 1 self-derivation also predicted Year 2 academic performance. We posit that self-derivation through integration is a domain-general construct related to academic performance.

Applying Legitimation Code Theory to teach breastfeeding in nurse education: A case study

AIM

To use Legitimation Code Theory as a framework to inform the design of nursing education and gain insights into student perspectives of this design.

BACKGROUND

Internationally, the World Health Organization's breastfeeding recommendations are not being met. One contributing factor is that healthcare providers including registered nurses lack the knowledge to support breastfeeding women on an ongoing basis and rely on their personal experiences to inform the care they provide. Undergraduate nursing students should receive education to assist breastfeeding women in practice.

DESIGN

The study is underpinned by case-study methodology. The Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) dimension of Semantics and the concepts of semantic gravity and semantic density were used to theoretically frame and develop an intervention module to teach undergraduate nurses about breastfeeding.

METHODS

This module was part of an elective seven-week paediatric nursing course. University Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC201/203) reviewed the study. Participants (n = 9) completed semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis helped us to understand their experiences of the module. The Template for Intervention and Description and Replication (TIDeR) framework was used to report the intervention.

RESULTS

The breastfeeding module was positively received by participants who noted the module's structure differed from previous courses. Three main themes were identified in the student experience. These are: a) threads and links; b) engaging structure; and c) seedlings.

CONCLUSION

Legitimation Code Theory is an effective course development framework to harness the learners' prior informal knowledge and weave learning activities between theory and contextual practice to develop cumulative knowledge.

IMPACT

With an increased understanding of how undergraduate nursing students develop knowledge, the LCT dimension of Semantics can be ussed to structure content knowledge in instructional design. This approach builds explicit bridges between knowledge development in the nursing curriculum and learners' informal knowledge and contextual practice in clinical settings.

Support for learning under naturalistic conditions

Educational opportunities occur through naturalistic everyday life experiences (e.g., reading a newspaper, listening to a podcast, or visiting a museum). Research primarily examines learning under controlled conditions, such as in a classroom or laboratory. There is relatively little known about the extent to which adults extract semantic content, beyond factual recall, from naturalistic educational experiences. In the present work, we focused on virtual museum exhibits. The materials were sourced directly from an art history museum. The naturalistic nature of this work stems from the type of content used though an important component of naturalistic learning—motivational processes—was not measured. In each of three experiments, we assessed adult learners’ performance on tests of factual recall, inferential reasoning, and self-derivation through memory integration from naturalistic virtual museum exhibits. In anticipation of the potential challenge associated with learning outcomes under naturalistic conditions, we administered a yoked protocol under which participants had opportunities to engage in retrieval practice (Experiment 2a) or restudy (Experiment 2b) as explicit mechanisms of support for the three tests of learning. In all experiments, participants performed successfully on all three tests of learning; factual recall was the most accessible of the three learning outcomes. There was no difference in performance at the group level across experiments, but there was at the individual level, such that idea units generated during retrieval practice predicted learning outcomes, whereas restudy of those exact idea units did not. The current work provides novel insight into mechanisms underlying adult learning from naturalistic educational opportunities.