The Lab-to-Classroom research group conducts research at the intersection of neuroscience, cognitive science, psychology, and education. We are interested in how educators and researchers can work together to improve education. You can find out more about our current research projects below, and please contact us if you would like to be involved.
IntelligentTutoring Systems (ITSs) Project
Computer-based intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs) are designed to adapt to individual students鈥� prior knowledge and learning progression. Even though ITSs have been shown to support student learning and are implemented widely in classrooms, not all students benefit from ITS to the same extent. How students engage with ITS is often hypothesized as a mediating factor in the relation between ITS practice and learning, but few studies have investigated this mediation. The goal of the current proposal is twofold: First, to substantiate the link between behavioral, cognitive, and affective components of learner engagement and subsequent learning outcomes. Second, to inform learning theory and ITS design by studying how student engagement is affected by the level of tutor assistance.聽
In this project, adopt a novel multimodal approach to study student engagement with log-data, eye gaze, Electroencephalography (EEG), and self-reported measures. This school-based neuroscience project is conducted in high schools using a well-tested intelligent tutor for learning chemistry concepts, the StoichTutor, and led by an interdisciplinary and international team with expertise in cognitive neuroscience, educational technology, learning sciences, and cognitive science.
The Role of Internal Attention in Science Learning
In undergraduate STEM college courses, students are often required to focus their attention on a single object, such as an online lecture, for a long period of time. This can be an extremely taxing task since attention is dynamic and tends to fluctuate between external (what is happening in the lecture, and the room around the student) and internal states (what the student is thinking, whether on-task or off-task). While external attention has been studied extensively, very little is known about the functional significance of internal attention - the selection and modulation of internally generated thoughts - and how internal attention might affect college-level learning in online environments. To address this gap in our understanding, we are carrying out an NSF-funded study to investigate how varying the type, duration and frequency of internal attention (鈥渢hinking鈥�) periods presented during an online biology lecture may promote or hinder student learning. While students watch these online lectures, we use electroencephalography (EEG) to identify neural signatures of attention fluctuations during biology learning.
Brain Healthy: Engaging Students in Citizen Science Brain Health and Wellness Investigations to Promote Data Science Literacy
Brain Healthy, funded by the NIH SEPA Award, is a current research program that engages students in investigations of their own brain health and wellness at participating high schools throughout the Northeast. The project has the simultaneous goals of 1) having students participate in a real-world 鈥渃ommunity science鈥� study on the relation between health and lifestyle factors (e.g., physical exercise) and heart rate, mood, and concentration, 2) promoting healthier lifestyle choices, and 3) guiding students through investigation of new research questions, expanding their experience of data science. The research process is supported by curricular materials and by a web-based application (Common Online Data Analysis Platform; CODAP), which provides scaffolding in critical steps, such as composing a research question, data visualization and interpretation. Students use data collected from fitness trackers, surveys, and computerized tasks to explore how brief periods of meditation and physical exercise affect their heart rate, stress, mood, and cognitive performance. Students then design data-driven investigations utilizing a de-identified community science database collected across all participating schools. Using this database, students explore questions of interest, such as how fitness level relates to cognitive performance and how sleep duration relates to mood.聽
Currently, data has been collected at four implementing schools, with over 20 schools projected to participate in the program in the next three years. The effectiveness of the program is assessed using a mixed-methods design, which consists of surveys, students interviews, and classroom observations. Project findings will inform future neuroscience-related curriculum development and generate an extensive community-based database on adolescent health and wellness.
BrainWaves: Measuring EEG Brain Activity in the Classroom
Neuroscience is one of the most rapidly growing STEM fields, with increasing presence in public media and potentially important implications to everyday life (e.g. education, medicine and law). However, brain science is not typically incorporated into K-12 science education, and students鈥� basic knowledge about the brain remains fragmentary. The BrainWaves program, funded by a Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, is a lab-based brain science experience, where students learn to design and carry out original brain experiments using real brainwave scanning equipment in the classroom. Our goal is to provide an opportunity for students to get first-hand experience with the scientific inquiry process through the use of professional lab-standard equipment and the development of unique experimental designs that enable the investigation of students鈥� individual interests.
Virtual Reality Classroom
Over the years educational institutions have witnessed a gradual shift to online modes of learning, a trend which was further accelerated due to the pandemic. As a result, understanding how students and instructors engage within online learning environments has emerged as a timely and important topic of investigation. Most prior research on student engagement relies heavily on self-report data, which poses several methodological and conceptual issues. Moreover, most studies on student engagement are conducted in an artificial lab setting which is far removed from the challenges encountered in real-world classrooms. Given these limitations, our project aims to integrate the use of an immersive virtual reality classroom environment and behavioral, eye gaze, and EEG data to investigate the engagement and learning of undergraduate students.The virtual reality classroom has been designed and programmed using Unity with teacher and student avatars and the classroom scene which participants can interact with using the VR headset and controllers. Findings from this line of inquiry can inform the design of future novel evidence-based instructional methods that leverage the unique benefits of a virtual reality learning environment. Moreover, this project will support the design of instructional technologies that can be tailored to the needs of individual students and promote education equity by supporting students who might not thrive in traditional classrooms
Fostering Computational Thinking Through Neural Engineering Activities in High School STEM Courses
There is a critical need to incorporate Computational Thinking (CT) into K-12 science education to reflect the increasingly computational nature of STEM fields and to prepare students for STEM careers. However, most existing CT education efforts focus on programming and computer science courses, which are only offered at 45% of US high schools. This represents a missed opportunity because these courses are not accessible to all students, especially those from underrepresented groups in STEM. In this NSF-funded project, we explore how CT and engineering design can be incorporated into a core biology high school course and how to increase equitable access to STEM by integrating CT into the core biology curriculum. We develop and evaluate (both formative and summative) a neural engineering unit鈥攁n emerging field that integrates neuroscience, engineering design, and programming鈥攊mplemented in ninth/10th-grade core biology courses and examine the changes in students鈥� CT, engineering design processes, and attitudes towards STEM throughout their participation in the unit. We also develop and implement professional development workshops for teachers and examine how their participation in the PDs and unit implementation shape their self-efficacy for fostering CT in their students.