Is the contextual interference effect generalizable to computer games?

Large-scale citizen science reveals predictors of sensorimotor adaptation

Sensorimotor adaptation is essential for keeping our movements well calibrated in response to changes in the body and environment. For over a century, researchers have studied sensorimotor adaptation in laboratory settings that typically involve small sample sizes. While this approach has proved useful for characterizing different learning processes, laboratory studies are not well suited for exploring the myriad of factors that may modulate human performance. Here, using a citizen science website, we collected over 2,000 sessions of data on a visuomotor rotation task. This unique dataset has allowed us to replicate, reconcile and challenge classic findings in the learning and memory literature, as well as discover unappreciated demographic constraints associated with implicit and explicit processes that support sensorimotor adaptation. More generally, this study exemplifies how a large-scale exploratory approach can complement traditional hypothesis-driven laboratory research in advancing sensorimotor neuroscience.

Contextual Interference Effects on Approach Motivation When Learning Timing Tasks: A Frontal Electroencephalography (EEG) Alpha Asymmetry Study in Older Adults

In this study, we aimed to explore the effects of contextual interference on motivational regulation, as measured by EEG (frontal alpha asymmetry), in older adults. Participants practiced a sequenced timing task in random, algorithmic, or blocked schedules in both similar and dissimilar task difficulty conditions, with task difficulty defined by absolute timing goals (in ms) that were either close to each other (1350, 1500, 1650) or far from each other (1050, 1500, 1950), respectively. We assessed older participants' timing accuracy in these conditions, during acquisition and delayed retention learning, using the frontal alpha asymmetry index, recorded during practice, to measure motivation. On the accuracy measure in delayed retention, the algorithm practice schedule (in both similar and dissimilar conditions) was associated with significantly more accurate performance than random and blocked practice schedules. Also during delayed retention and in both task difficulty conditions, performance was better with a random schedule than a blocked schedule. On the EEG motivational measure, frontal alpha asymmetry was more often higher as practice progressed in the algorithm practice condition than in other practice conditions. However, in the random practice schedule, in late, versus early, acquisition, motivational regulation was higher. The blocked groups showed decreased motivation as practice progressed. We interpreted these findings to be in accordance with the challenge point framework and with OPTIMAL motor learning theory and valence hypothesis.

Block and Random Practice: A Wii Fit Dynamic Balance Training in Older Adults

Purpose: To compare the effectiveness of blocked and random practice schedules of balance training in dynamic balance abilities of older adults using Wii Fit balance game tasks. Method: Forty-one participants who were not receiving hospice care or living in a nursing home participated. Three Wii Fit balance tasks (tasks A, B, and C) were selected for training, and one task (task D) was selected as the transfer test among the nine tasks in the Wii Fit balance game software. Scores for tasks A and D were evaluated. Completion times for tasks B and C were evaluated. Moved distance for the functional reach test (FRT), completion time for the timed up and go test (TUG), and performance score for the Tinetti performance-oriented mobility assessment (POMA) were also tested as clinical balance assessment outcomes. Results: The training significantly improved the performance outcomes of clinical balance assessments and task D. There were no significant group × time interaction effects and no significant main effects by group during the acquisition and retention periods of tasks A, B, and C. However, significant main effects by time were observed for tasks A, B, and C. Conclusions: When dynamic balance training such as the Wii Fit balance system is administered to older adults in a clinical setting, either a block or a random practice schedule can be effectively used to improve the dynamic balance skills. Wii Fit-based balance training is clinically effective for improving the dynamic balance ability.

Memory Consolidation and Contextual Interference Effects with Computer Games

Some investigators of the contextual interference effect contend that there is a direct relation between the amount of practice and the contextual interference effect based on the prediction that the improvement in learning tasks in a random practice schedule, compared to a blocked practice schedule, increases in magnitude as the amount of practice during acquisition on the tasks increases. Research using computer games in contextual interference studies has yielded a large effect ( f = .50) with a random practice schedule advantage during transfer. These investigations had a total of 36 and 72 acquisition trials, respectively. The present study tested this prediction by having 72 college students, who were randomly assigned to a blocked or random practice schedule, practice 102 trials of three computer-game tasks across three days. After a 24-hr. interval, 6 retention and 5 transfer trials were performed. Dependent variables were time to complete an event in seconds and number of errors. No significant differences were found for retention and transfer. These results are discussed in terms of how the amount of practice, task-related factors, and memory consolidation mediate the contextual interference effect.

Contextual Interference: A Meta-Analytic Study

A meta-analysis of the contextual interference effect produced 139 estimates of effect sizes from 61 studies. The average overall effect size was .38. The effect size for basic research (.57) was significantly different from applied research (.19). Significant differences were also obtained between the effect sizes for adults (.50) and those for younger learners (.10). Power for retention and transfer scores was not significantly different. The overall mean power of the studies reviewed was .43.

An awareness-raising E-learning approach for children living in a high diabetic population

Recent epidemiological studies have shown an increased incidence of diabetes worldwide. In United Arab Emirates (UAE), where this study on Emirati children was conducted, over 20% of the population has diabetes. With such a high incidence, there is a need to raise the awareness of the disease in order to reduce the growing number of cases and manage the disease more effectively. This research aims to identify the needs of affected children and proposes a design for an E-learning prototype that can pedagogically raise their awareness and knowledge of the disease. The use of a prototype was chosen in order to validate and refine the usability of the system, and to quickly evaluate user-interface designs without the need for an expensive working model to help refine and develop the system design. The system requirements were identified through a set of interviews with kindergarten teachers, curriculum design experts in UAE, and diabetes nutrition specialists and clinicians. The rationale behind the interview was to identify the optimal age group, describe the appropriate level of the instructional materials and activities, and propose a suitable learning approach that could facilitate and improve diabetes awareness among this age group. The prototype was evaluated by children, teachers, parents (or guardians) and nutrition specialists. We followed a three-stage software development based on a user-informed approach model for stepwise refinement that ranged from prototype to final design. The evaluation results indicate that the proposed computer-supported learning approach can generate positive learning and behavior in children while reducing the time needed to complete awareness tasks when compared to traditional methods; thus making learning more engaging and allowing children to learn at their own pace.

Video gaming promotes concussion knowledge acquisition in youth hockey players

While the positive uses for video games in an educational setting have also been established, the educational aim is usually made explicit. The goal of this research was to develop a video game wherein the educational aspect was implicitly embedded in the video game, such that the gaming activity remained interesting and relevant. Following a pilot study to confirm the usability of an in-house developed game, two studies were conducted with 11-17 year old hockey players (N(1)=130, N(2)=39). Results demonstrated that participants playing the experimental version of the video game scored significantly higher on a concussion symptoms questionnaire, in a significantly faster time, than participants playing the control version of the game. Most participants indicated that they enjoyed the game and would play it again. These results suggest that educational material can be conveyed successfully and in an appealing manner via video game play.

Task duration in contextual interference

Duration of practice trial on a pursuit rotor task in contextual interference was investigated. Participants practiced at each of 4 angular velocities, with 24 participants completing 28 trials lasting 20 sec., and 24 participants completing 112 trials of 5 sec. Half of the participants in each trial-duration condition practiced in a blocked format and half practiced in a random format. After random practice posttest performance was better than blocked practice when practice-trial duration was 20 sec., but worse when practice-trial duration was 5 sec. This result is not consistent with theoretical explanations of the contextual interference effect and is discussed with reference to the task characteristics and demands of the pursuit rotor.

The contextual interference effect in acquisition of dart-throwing skill tested on a transfer test with extended trials

Previous studies of contextual interference have shown that practicing several motor skills randomly (high contextual interference) facilitates retention and transfer in comparison to practicing the same tasks in a blocked order (low contextual interference). However, many studies have not supported this phenomenon in motor learning, and some researchers have questioned whether the effect can be tested by using only a few trials on the transfer test. The present study used a different methodological approach in which the number of test trials was increased to assess whether the contextual interference effect is sustained over an extended number of trials in the transfer phase. Undergraduate students (N=32) were randomly allocated to either a blocked or random group. The participants practiced 80 acquisition trials in the dart-throwing task from distances of 300 cm and 420 cm, using two different grips. The transfer test after a 10-min. interval consisted of 40 trials with a new grip at a distance of 360 cm. The results did not support the contextual interference effect since there were no significant differences between groups on transfer. These findings suggest that the contextual interference effect may not be a global learning phenomenon which can be generalized to all learning situations.