The study investigates factors in problem-based learning tutorial groups which promote or inhibit learning. The informants were tutors and students from speech-language pathology and physiotherapy programmes. Semi-structured focus-group interviews and individual interviews were used. Results revealed three themes: Responsibility. Time and Support. Under responsibility, the delicate balance between individual and institutional responsibility and control was shown. Time included short and long-term perspectives on learning. Under support, supporting documents, activities and personnel resources were mentioned. In summary, an increased control by the program and tutors decreases student's motivation to assume responsibility for learning. Support in tutorial groups needs to adapt to student progression and to be well aligned to tutorial work to have the intended effect. A lifelong learning perspective may help students develop a meta-awareness regarding learning that could make tutorial work more meaningful.
Within the field of neuroimaging, the discovery of a constellation of brain regions silently active when we are Bresting^has provided a new view into the elusive effects of meditative practice. This network, called the default mode network (DMN), has been shown by functional neuroimaging to be active when an individual is at rest. Meta-analyses of the fMRI neurocorrelates of meditation have shown that across diverse practices, the most common general effect appears to be modulation of regions within the DMN. The specific practice of mantra meditation is a form of task-positive concentration. These kinds of task-positive activities are regarded by many to be an anti-correlate of DMN activity, thereby in theory, reducing activations within the DMN as concentration on a particular task increases. Yet previous studies on mantra meditation using language tasks as controls have reported only activations, not deactivations within the DMN. A study by Berkovich-Ohana showed that word repetition as control task could mask some of the effects of mantra, which may explain why previous studies using language repetition as control task failed to find significant DMN deactivations during mantra meditation. To investigate these differences, we analyzed mantra meditation using a finger-tapping control task which required a minimal amount of focused attention, yet enough to reduce blood flow to the major hubs of the DMN and minimally reduce network activity. Using a finger-tapping control thus modifies the research question: Can a brief course of this kind be shown to modulate DMN activations during mantra practice beyond that of a minimally active/nonlanguage finger-tapping control condition; and if so, can we see a training effect over time? Our results show that over a 2-week period of Kundalini yoga/meditation, participants successfully decreased activations within subregions of the DMN, namely the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (PACC) and the precuneus, during mantra meditation with trends toward decreased activation in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) as well. These decreased activations were significant despite use of a finger-tapping control task known to deactivate these regions, indicating that mantra practice suppresses activation in these DMN regions beyond the active control task. These results emphasize the importance of the choice of control task and provide insight into the Bmantra effect.^Here, we show that training in mantra meditation, like other practices such as focused attention and open monitoring, also has a suppressive effect on activity within the DMN.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.