Physics instruction induces changes in neural knowledge representation during successive stages of learning

Mason, Robert A.; Just, Marcel Adam

doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.12.086

Cited by 29 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 51 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Prefrontal cortex is also a neural correlate of reasoning about disconfirming evidence in logical (Goel & Dolan, 2003) and scientific (Fugelsang & Dunbar, 2005) contexts. Finally, prefrontal cortex is recruited as people deepen their understanding of physical systems (Mason & Just, 2015). One question, then, is whether strict vs. permissive reasoners rely on different brain areas when reasoning about disconfirming evidence, reflecting the employment of different cognitive processes as documented in the current study.…”

Section: Limitations and Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 81%

Middle School Students’ Approaches to Reasoning about Disconfirming Evidence

Varma¹,

Boekel²,

Varma³

2018

JEDP

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study investigated differences in how middle school children reason about disconfirming evidence. Scientists evaluate hypotheses against evidence, rejecting those that are disconfirmed. Although this instant rationality propels empirical science, it works less for theoretical science, where it is often necessary to delay rationality -to tolerate disconfirming evidence in the short run. We used behavioral measures to identify two groups of middle-school children: strict reasoners who prefer instant rationality and quickly dismiss disconfirmed hypotheses, and permissive reasoners who prefer delayed rationality and retain disconfirmed hypotheses for further evaluation. We measured their scientific reasoning performance as well as their cognitive ability and motivational orientation. What distinguished the groups was not overall differences in these variables, but their predictive relation. For strict reasoners, better scientific reasoning was associated with faster processing, whereas for permissive reasoners, better scientific reasoning was associated with more deliberate thinking -slower processing and broader consideration of both disconfirmed and alternate hypotheses. These findings expand our understanding of "normative" scientific reasoning.

show abstract

Section: Limitations and Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 81%

Middle School Students’ Approaches to Reasoning about Disconfirming Evidence

Varma¹,

Boekel²,

Varma³

2018

JEDP

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…(The choice of 200 voxels was guided by previous studies in which 100–200 stable voxels were the smallest set sizes that could still attain among the highest accuracies in classification of individual concepts, e.g. Just et al, 2010; Mason & Just, 2015). Cross-classification was expected to result in higher accuracies between basic concepts and their typical versus atypical subordinate concepts.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A brain-based account of “basic-level” concepts

Bauer

Just

2017

NeuroImage

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study provides a brain-based account of how object concepts at an intermediate (basic) level of specificity are represented, offering an enriched view of what it means for a concept to be a basic-level concept, a research topic pioneered by Rosch and others (Rosch et al., 1976). Applying machine learning techniques to fMRI data, it was possible to determine the semantic content encoded in the neural representations of object concepts at basic and subordinate levels of abstraction. The representation of basic-level concepts (e.g. bird) was spatially broad, encompassing sensorimotor brain areas that encode concrete object properties, and also language and heteromodal integrative areas that encode abstract semantic content. The representation of subordinate-level concepts (robin) was less widely distributed, concentrated in perceptual areas that underlie concrete content. Furthermore, basic-level concepts were representative of their subordinates in that they were neurally similar to their typical but not atypical subordinates (bird was neurally similar to robin but not woodpecker). The findings provide a brain-based account of the advantages that basic-level concepts enjoy in everyday life over subordinate-level concepts: the basic level is a broad topographical representation that encompasses both concrete and abstract semantic content, reflecting the multifaceted yet intuitive meaning of basic-level concepts.

show abstract

“…Mason and Just [12] studied 14 participants who were learning the internal mechanisms of four devices: a bathroom scale, a fire extinguisher, an automobile braking system, and a trumpet. For all 14 participants, the brain regions involved in learning how each device worked progressed through the same stages:…”

Section: The Cognitive Cyclementioning

confidence: 99%

The Cognitive Cycle

Sowa¹

2015

Annals of Computer Science and Information Systems

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract-In the twenty years from first grade to a PhD, students never learn any subject by the methods for which machine-learning algorithms have been designed. Those algorithms are useful for analyzing large volumes of data. But they don't enable a computer system to learn a language as quickly and accurately as a three-year-old child. They're not even as effective as a mother raccoon teaching her babies how to find the best garbage cans. For all animals, learning is integrated with the cognitive cycle from perception to purposeful action. Many algorithms are needed to support that cycle. But an intelligent system must be more than a collection of algorithms. It must integrate them in a cognitive cycle of perception, learning, reasoning, and action. That cycle is key to designing intelligent systems.

show abstract

Physics instruction induces changes in neural knowledge representation during successive stages of learning

Cited by 29 publications

References 51 publications

Middle School Students’ Approaches to Reasoning about Disconfirming Evidence

Middle School Students’ Approaches to Reasoning about Disconfirming Evidence

A brain-based account of “basic-level” concepts

The Cognitive Cycle

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About