Modeling Brain Dynamics During Virtual Reality-Based Emergency Response Learning Under Stress

Background Stress affects learning during training, and virtual reality (VR) based training systems that manipulate stress can improve retention and retrieval performance for firefighters. Brain imaging using functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) can facilitate development of VR-based adaptive training systems that can continuously assess the trainee’s states of learning and cognition. Objective The aim of this study was to model the neural dynamics associated with learning and retrieval under stress in a VR-based emergency response training exercise. Methods Forty firefighters underwent an emergency shutdown training in VR and were randomly assigned to either a control or a stress group. The stress group experienced stressors including smoke, fire, and explosions during the familiarization and training phase. Both groups underwent a stress memory retrieval and no-stress memory retrieval condition. Participant’s performance scores, fNIRS-based neural activity, and functional connectivity between the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and motor regions were obtained for the training and retrieval phases. Results The performance scores indicate that the rate of learning was slower in the stress group compared to the control group, but both groups performed similarly during each retrieval condition. Compared to the control group, the stress group exhibited suppressed PFC activation. However, they showed stronger connectivity within the PFC regions during the training and between PFC and motor regions during the retrieval phases. Discussion While stress impaired performance during training, adoption of stress-adaptive neural strategies (i.e., stronger brain connectivity) were associated with comparable performance between the stress and the control groups during the retrieval phase.

Evaluating phrasal verb exercises: An investigation into the effectiveness of error-free and trial-and-error learning

<p>Although phrasal verbs are perhaps the most challenging type of verb phrase for L2 students to learn, only a handful of studies have looked into the effects of methods to enhance their acquisition, but these studies focused exclusively on the use of exemplary study input materials. The present thesis investigates this topic by examining and comparing learning procedures that consist of a study trial followed by a test trial (retrieval conditions) with learning procedures that include a test trial followed by a study trial (generation conditions). In the field of cognitive psychology, these two procedures have received considerable attention for the learning of single words but less so in the field of applied linguistics for the learning of phrases. In essence, the use of retrieval and generation conditions for the learning of phrasal verbs by non-native speakers of English was examined in three separate studies in this thesis. Additionally, it investigated the extent to which versions of these conditions occur in general ESL/EFL course textbooks. The studies were carried out in L2 classrooms and data were collected electronically from a group of L2 learners whose L1 system lacks phrasal verbs. In the first study, 199 students from five parallel classes were assigned to either a retrieval condition or a generation condition. In the retrieval condition, the study trial presented a phrasal verb and a paraphrase of its meaning, and then the test trial displayed the initial letter of the verb followed by the paraphrase of the phrasal verb’s meaning. The generation condition was comprised of the same two trials; however, the order of their presentation was reversed, so the test trial preceded the study trial. In the second study, 153 students from four parallel L2 classes were assigned to one of four conditions. All the conditions were comprised of the same study trial and test trial. The study trial presented a phrasal verb along with a paraphrase of its meaning. The test trial displayed the verb of the phrasal verb followed by the paraphrase of its definition. In the study-test condition, the study trial and the test trial occurred consecutively, while in the study-delay-test condition, they were separated by approximately 6.5 minutes. In the test-study condition, the study trial occurred immediately after the test trial, while in the test-delay-study condition, a 6.5-minute interval separated the two trials. The last study examined contextualized versions of the retrieval condition and the generation condition on 172 L2 students from six parallel L2 classes. This thesis produced the following main findings. First, a vast majority (72% to be exact) of phrase learning conditions in existing course textbooks are generation-oriented. Second, the experimental studies showed that retrieval learning conditions offer significantly better short-term learning of phrasal verbs than generation learning, although no such advantage was found in long-term learning retention. Third, contextualized learning (i.e., learning phrasal verbs with the contextual support of exemplars) yields more effective learning than decontextualized learning does. Fourth, errors produced in generation conditions are difficult to unlearn. Overall, these findings provide us with some new insights about the learning and teaching of phrasal verbs. These results also have direct, meaningful pedagogical implications for the teaching of phrasal verbs as they show specifically which teaching procedures are more effective and which ones are less effective or ineffective for the learning of these difficult English verb phrases.</p>

Evaluating phrasal verb exercises: An investigation into the effectiveness of error-free and trial-and-error learning

<p>Although phrasal verbs are perhaps the most challenging type of verb phrase for L2 students to learn, only a handful of studies have looked into the effects of methods to enhance their acquisition, but these studies focused exclusively on the use of exemplary study input materials. The present thesis investigates this topic by examining and comparing learning procedures that consist of a study trial followed by a test trial (retrieval conditions) with learning procedures that include a test trial followed by a study trial (generation conditions). In the field of cognitive psychology, these two procedures have received considerable attention for the learning of single words but less so in the field of applied linguistics for the learning of phrases. In essence, the use of retrieval and generation conditions for the learning of phrasal verbs by non-native speakers of English was examined in three separate studies in this thesis. Additionally, it investigated the extent to which versions of these conditions occur in general ESL/EFL course textbooks. The studies were carried out in L2 classrooms and data were collected electronically from a group of L2 learners whose L1 system lacks phrasal verbs. In the first study, 199 students from five parallel classes were assigned to either a retrieval condition or a generation condition. In the retrieval condition, the study trial presented a phrasal verb and a paraphrase of its meaning, and then the test trial displayed the initial letter of the verb followed by the paraphrase of the phrasal verb’s meaning. The generation condition was comprised of the same two trials; however, the order of their presentation was reversed, so the test trial preceded the study trial. In the second study, 153 students from four parallel L2 classes were assigned to one of four conditions. All the conditions were comprised of the same study trial and test trial. The study trial presented a phrasal verb along with a paraphrase of its meaning. The test trial displayed the verb of the phrasal verb followed by the paraphrase of its definition. In the study-test condition, the study trial and the test trial occurred consecutively, while in the study-delay-test condition, they were separated by approximately 6.5 minutes. In the test-study condition, the study trial occurred immediately after the test trial, while in the test-delay-study condition, a 6.5-minute interval separated the two trials. The last study examined contextualized versions of the retrieval condition and the generation condition on 172 L2 students from six parallel L2 classes. This thesis produced the following main findings. First, a vast majority (72% to be exact) of phrase learning conditions in existing course textbooks are generation-oriented. Second, the experimental studies showed that retrieval learning conditions offer significantly better short-term learning of phrasal verbs than generation learning, although no such advantage was found in long-term learning retention. Third, contextualized learning (i.e., learning phrasal verbs with the contextual support of exemplars) yields more effective learning than decontextualized learning does. Fourth, errors produced in generation conditions are difficult to unlearn. Overall, these findings provide us with some new insights about the learning and teaching of phrasal verbs. These results also have direct, meaningful pedagogical implications for the teaching of phrasal verbs as they show specifically which teaching procedures are more effective and which ones are less effective or ineffective for the learning of these difficult English verb phrases.</p>

A multi-study examination of the role of repeated spaced retrieval in the word learning of children with developmental language disorder

Background Many children with developmental language disorders (DLD) have well-documented weaknesses in vocabulary. In recent years, investigators have explored the nature of these weaknesses through the use of novel word learning paradigms. These studies have begun to uncover specific areas of difficulty and have provided hints about possible intervention strategies that might help these children learn words more accurately and efficiently. Among the studies of this type are those that incorporate repeated spaced retrieval activities in the learning procedures. Methods In this study, we examined the data from four of these studies that employed the same types of participants (4- and 5-year-old children with DLD and same-age children with typical language development), research design, and outcome measures. The studies differed primarily in the type of learning condition that was being compared to a spaced retrieval condition. A mixed-effects modeling framework was used, enabling the data from the four studies and different outcome measures to be aggregated. Results Across the studies, more words in the repeated spaced retrieval condition were recalled than those in the comparison conditions. This was true regardless of outcome measure. Children with typical language development recalled more words than the children with DLD. Both groups benefited from spaced retrieval, though effects were larger for the group with DLD. Children recalled words as accurately 1 week after learning as they did at the 5-min mark; the two groups were essentially identical in this respect. Conclusions Overall, the findings support the continued refinement of these types of repeated spaced retrieval procedures, as they may have potential to serve as effective approaches to intervention.

Learning by Explaining Orally or In Written Form? Text Difficulty Matters

In this experiment, we examined whether text difficulty moderates the effect of the modality of explaining on students’ learning. Students (N = 115) read a high-difficult and a low-difficult text. Additionally, students generated either a written or an oral explanation. A control group of students retrieved the content. For the low-difficult text, we found no significant differences between conditions. For the high-difficult text, however, oral explaining yielded better comprehension than writing explanations. The retrieval condition showed the lowest performance. Mediation analyses revealed that the effect of explaining modality was mediated by the number of personal references and the comprehensiveness of the generated explanations. Our findings suggest that the effect of explaining modality emerges when students are required to learn from difficult text materials. Furthermore, the findings show that oral explaining is effective, as it triggers distinct generative processes due to increased social presence during explaining.

Self-Reference Effect Induced by Self-Cues Presented During Retrieval

The self-reference effect (SRE) refers to better memory for self-relevant than for other-relevant information. Generally, the SRE is found in conditions in which links between the stimuli and the self are forged in the encoding phase. To investigate the possibility that such conditions are not prerequisites for the SRE, this research developed two conditions by using two recognition tasks involving abstract geometric shapes (AGSs). One was the cue-in-encoding condition in which self- and other-cues were presented to construct links with AGSs during the encoding phase, and the other was the cue-in-retrieval condition in which self- and other-cues were presented to construct links with AGSs during the retrieval phase. The SRE was found in both conditions. The findings reveal that self-cues merely presented during the retrieval phase are sufficient to induce the SRE. Links between the stimuli and the self constructed during the encoding phase may not be necessary prerequisites for the SRE.

Retrieval Practice and Word Learning in Children With Specific Language Impairment and Their Typically Developing Peers

Purpose In this article, we review the role of retrieval practice on the word learning and retention of children with specific language impairment (SLI). Method Following a brief review of earlier findings on word learning in children with SLI and the assumptions behind retrieval practice, four experiments are described that compared novel words learned in a repeated spaced retrieval condition and those learned in either a repeated study condition or a repeated immediate retrieval condition. Preschool-age children with SLI and their same-age peers with typical language development were the participants in all experiments. The effects of repeated spaced retrieval were assessed through measures of recall of word form and meaning and, receptively, through both picture-pointing and electrophysiological measures. Results Repeated spaced retrieval resulted in greater recall of word form and meaning across the experiments. This advantage was seen not only for word–picture pairs used during the learning period but also when generalization of the word to new pictures was required. Receptive testing through picture pointing showed similar results, though in some experiments, ceiling effects rendered this measure less sensitive to differences. An alternative receptive measure—the N400 elicited during picture–word mismatches—showed evidence at the neural level favoring repeated spaced retrieval. The advantages of repeated spaced retrieval were seen in both children with SLI and their typically developing age mates. Conclusion Future efforts are warranted to refine and extend the experiments reviewed here. If these efforts prove successful, procedures that incorporate repeated spaced retrieval into more naturalistic clinical and educational activities might be an appropriate next step. Presentation Video https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.13063730

Learners’ harmonic preferences are modulated by lexical retrieval difficulty

Typological work has established the existence of language universals – features or combinations of features that (co-) occur in unrelated languages more frequently than expected by chance. The origins of language universals are a fundamental question in language sciences as these universals are considered a reflection of cognitive mechanisms underlying human language. In this study, we use a miniature artificial language learning paradigm to explore whether a well-known universal – a preference for harmonic word ordering between adpositional and verb phrases (i.e., placing the head in a consistent position with respect to the complements across the two phrase types) – originates in biases during language learning and whether this preference interacts with memory constraints (operationalized as lexical retrieval difficulty). We first trained participants on miniature languages containing adpositional phrases of a deterministic word order (either prepositional or postpositional inputs) and then briefly exposed them to simple transitive sentences (verb-subject-object and subject-object-verb order, equally frequent in the input). At test, we asked learners to describe simple transitive scenes. We found that in the hard lexical retrieval condition, learners exposed to a postpositional language showed a preference for harmonic ordering but learners of the prepositional language did not, which is only partially consistent to the typological distribution. In the easy lexical retrieval condition, learners of neither the postpositional nor prepositional language showed a preference for harmonic ordering, indicating that this preference is modulated by memory constraints.

Attention-direction versus retrieval practice: which fosters the productive recall of German formulaic sequences best?

This article reports on a classroom-based (quasi)-experiment with a pre-test post-test design that explored the effect of two types of activities on the productive recall of German formulaic sequences (FS): 1) attention-directing activities and 2) retrieval practice. Two intact classes of Dutch-speaking university students of German participated in the study. One class was randomly assigned to the attention-directing condition (n=18), the other one to the retrieval condition (n=11). Twenty-two target FS were selected as learning items. Each group processed the FS in a different condition. In the attention-directing condition, students had to 1) re-read a video transcript with the FS in bold typeface and 2) translate the targets into Dutch. In the retrieval condition, students had to 1) complete a transcript in which the FS were deleted and 2) translate the targets into German. Results indicate that the retrieval condition led to better productive phrase learning than the attention-directing condition.

Adjective Learning in Young Typically Developing Children and Children With Developmental Language Disorder: A Retrieval-Based Approach

Purpose There are strong retention benefits when learners frequently test themselves during the learning period. This practice of repeated retrieval has recently been applied successfully to children's word learning. In this study, we apply a repeated retrieval procedure to the learning of novel adjectives by preschool-age children with developmental language disorder (DLD) and their typically developing (TD) peers. We ask whether the benefits of retrieval extend to children's ability to apply the novel adjectives to newly introduced objects sharing the same characteristics as the objects used during the learning period. Method Fourteen children with DLD ( M age = 62.64 months) and 13 TD children ( M = 62.54 months) learned novel adjectives in 2 sessions. For each child, half of the adjectives were learned in a repeated spaced retrieval condition, and half were learned in a repeated study–only condition. Recall was assessed immediately after the second learning session and 1 week later. A recognition test was also administered at the 1-week mark. Results On the recall tests, for both groups of children, recall was better for adjectives learned in the repeated spaced retrieval condition. Adjectives learned by the 2nd day were retained 1 week later. Every adjective correctly applied to an object used during the learning period was also extended accurately to new objects with the same characteristics. On these recall tests, the children with DLD did not differ from the TD group in the number of items recalled, though their phonetic accuracy was lower. On the recognition test, the DLD group showed greater accuracy for adjectives that had been learned in the repeated spaced retrieval condition than for those learned in the repeated study condition, whereas the TD group performed at high levels in both conditions. Conclusion Repeated spaced retrieval appears to provide an effective boost to word learning. Because its benefits are seen even when a word must be extended to new objects, the application of this procedure seems well suited for learning new language material rather than being limited to item-specific memorization.