Tim Jay

Auditory icon and earcon mobile service notifications: intuitiveness, learnability, memorability and preference

With an ever increasing number of mobile services, meaningful audio notifications could effectively inform users of the incoming services while minimising undesired and intrusive interruptions. Therefore, careful design of mobile service notification is needed. In this paper we evaluate two types of audio (auditory icons and earcons) as mobile service notifications, by comparing them on 4 measures: intuitiveness, learnability, memorability and user preference. A 4-stage longitudinal evaluation involving two lab experiments, a field study and a web-based experiment indicated that auditory icons performed significantly better in all measures. Implications for mobile audio notification design are presented.

Gamification of Learning Deactivates the Default Mode Network.

We hypothesized that embedding educational learning in a game would improve learning outcomes, with increased engagement and recruitment of cognitive resources evidenced by increased activation of working memory network (WMN) and deactivation of default mode network (DMN) regions. In an fMRI study, we compared activity during periods of learning in three conditions that were increasingly game-like: Study-only (when periods of learning were followed by an exemplar question together with its correct answer), Self-quizzing (when periods of learning were followed by a multiple choice question in return for a fixed number of points) and Game-based (when, following each period of learning, participants competed with a peer to answer the question for escalating, uncertain rewards). DMN hubs deactivated as conditions became more game-like, alongside greater self-reported engagement and, in the Game-based condition, higher learning scores. These changes did not occur with any detectable increase in WMN activity. Additionally, ventral striatal activation was associated with responding to questions and receiving positive question feedback. Results support the significance of DMN deactivation for educational learning, and are aligned with recent evidence suggesting DMN and WMN activity may not always be anti-correlated.

Reward, learning and games

The link between reward and learning has chiefly been studied scientifically in the context of reinforcement learning. This type of learning, which relies upon midbrain dopaminergic response, differs greatly from the learning valued by educators, which typically involves declarative memory formation. However, with recent insights regarding the modulation of hippocampal function by midbrain dopamine, scientific understanding of the midbrain response to reward may be becoming more relevant to education. Here, we consider the potential for our current understanding of reward to inform educational learning, and consider its implications for game-like interventions in the classroom.

Understanding and supporting block play: Video observation research on preschoolers’ block play to identify features associated with the development of abstract thinking

ABSTRACT This article reports on a study conducted to investigate the development of abstract thinking in preschool children (ages from three years to four years old) in a nursery school in England. Adopting a social influence approach, the researcher engaged in ‘close listening’ to document children’s ideas expressed in various representations through video observation. The aim was to identify behaviours connected with features of the functional dependency relationship – a cognitive function that connects symbolic representations with abstract thinking. The article presents three episodes to demonstrate three dominating features, which are (i) child/child sharing of thinking and adult and child sharing of thinking; (ii) pause for reflection; and (iii) satisfaction as a result of self-directed play. These features were identified as signs of learning, and were highlighted as phenomena that can help practitioners to understand the value of quality play and so provide adequate time and space for young children and plan for a meaningful learning environment. The study has also revealed the importance of block play in promoting abstract thinking.

Why is parental involvement in children's mathematics learning hard? Parental perspectives on their role supporting children's learning

This article focuses on parents’ experiences and practices supporting children’s mathematics learning. We employ a conceptual framework that makes a distinction between school-centered and parent-centered approaches to parental involvement in children’s learning. We review literature showing that aspects of both school-centered and parent-centered approaches can be problematic, and explore this further in a group interview study. Group interviews were conducted with parents of children in 16 primary schools in a city in the southwest of England. Topics of discussion included parents’ level of confidence and perceived ability in mathematics, their experience of doing mathematics with their children out-of-school, and their interactions with school about mathematics. Findings revealed some specific negative effects of school-centered approaches, and suggested that school-centered approaches may in fact restrict parents’ understanding of how they can support mathematics learning in the home. However, the analysis also adds useful depth to our understanding of opportunities associated with a parent-centered approach to parental involvement in mathematics learning.

Researching Adaptivity for Individual Differences in Numeracy Games

There is increasing evidence that mathematics video games can play a large role in mathematics education, in support of childrens learning. However, despite the interdisciplinary nature of the subject, research in this area has traditionally been fragmented between disciplines. The RAIDING project was conceived to bring together researchers in neuroscience, maths cognition, and game-based learning to develop a maths game that can act as a research platform for furthering knowledge in this field. The game will employ free-to-play design elements, alongside an adaptive learner model to investigate how children learn maths, through a range of empirical studies.

Adoption, adaptation, and integration: renegotiating the identity of educational research through interdisciplinarity

With increasing calls for large-scale research projects that cross boundaries of disciplines, institutions, and countries, there has never been a more appropriate time to problematize collaborative research practices, both within education and between education and other disciplines. This special issue draws together examples and discussion of interdisciplinary research in education to consider the complexities of working across and beyond disciplinary boundaries. Despite such complexities, we propose that there is potential for education to take a clear position within research partnerships that cross disciplinary boundaries: a position that takes account of the unique characteristics of our field and that goes beyond merely providing a context for other disciplines to test out their concepts. Considering this potential helps us to consider the identity of educational research as a discipline, and of educational researchers as individuals. This special issue has brought together papers that seek to understand how and why interdisciplinary research can

First- and second-order reactivity to verbal protocols: an example from a study on strategy variability

Verbal reports are a common method of data collection in studies of mathematics learning, often in studies with a longitudinal component or those employing microgenetic methods where several observations of problem-solving are made over a short period of time. Whilst there is a fairly substantial literature on reactivity to verbal reports, addressing concerns that the production of verbal reports will change the behaviour that participants are reporting on, little of this literature addresses the question of how verbal reports might affect subsequent trials (what we would like to call second-order reactivity). In order to address the issues of both first- and second-order reactivity, ninety-nine 14-year-old participants were asked to provide answers to a set of six questions on two occasions, one week apart. Fifty-eight participants were asked for written answers and explanations, while 41 participants were asked for both concurrent and retrospective verbal reports. The results show evidence for both first- and second-order reactivity. The distribution of strategies employed in the first session was different for the two conditions and there were some interesting differences in patterns of strategy selection across the two sessions. These findings have some important implications for the use of verbal reports over multiple trials.