High Cognitive Demand Tasks Research Articles

Cognitive challenge as a probe to expose sex- and age-related differences during static contractions.

Despite activities of daily living being frequently performed simultaneously with a cognitive task, motor function is often investigated in isolation, which can hinder the applicability of findings. This brief review presents evidence that 1) performing a cognitive challenge simultaneously with a motor task can negatively impact force steadiness and fatigability of limb muscles during a static contraction, 2) the negative impact on old adults (>65years old), particularly older women is greater than young when a cognitive challenge is simultaneously performed with a static motor task, 3) age-related mechanisms potentially explain impairments in motor performance in the presence of a cognitive challenge, and 4) the mechanisms for the age-related decrements in motor performance can be distinct between men and women. These observations are highly relevant to the older adults, given the increased risk of accidents and injury when a motor task is performed with a high cognitive-demand task, especially in light of the expanding reliance on an aging workforce.

Assessments of students’ gains in conceptual understanding and technical skills after using authentic, online learning modules on hydrology and water resources

The need to adapt quickly to online or remote instruction has been a challenge for instructors during the COVID pandemic. A common issue instructors face is finding high-quality curricular materials that can enhance student learning by engaging them in solving complex, real-world problems. The current study evaluates a set of 15 web-based learning modules that promote the use of authentic, high-cognitive demand tasks. The modules were developed collaboratively by a group of instructors during a HydroLearn hackathon-workshop program. The modules cover various topics in hydrology and water resources, including physical hydrology, hydraulics, climate change, groundwater flow and quality, fluid mechanics, open channel flow, remote sensing, frequency analysis, data science, and evapotranspiration. The study evaluates the impact of the modules on students’ learning in terms of two primary aspects: understanding of fundamental concepts and improving technical skills. The study uses a practical instrument to measure students’ perceived changes in concepts and technical skills known as the Student Assessment of Learning Gains (SALG) survey. The survey was used at two-time points in this study: before the students participated in the module (pre) and at the conclusion of the module (post). The surveys were modified to capture the concepts and skills aligned with the learning objectives of each module. We calculated the learning gains by examining differences in students’ self-reported understanding of concepts and skills from pre- to post-implementation on the SALG using paired samplest-tests. The majority of the findings were statistically at the 0.05 level and practically significant. As measured by effect size, practical significance is a means for identifying the strength of the conclusions about a group of differences or the relationship between variables in a study. The average effect size in educational research isd= 0.4. The effect sizes from this study [0.45, 1.54] suggest that the modules play an important role in supporting students’ gains in conceptual understanding and technical skills. The evidence from this study suggests that these learning modules can be a promising way to deliver complex subjects to students in a timely and effective manner.

High cognitive demand tasks may detect mild alterations in executive functions in American football players: A pilot study

High cognitive demand tasks may detect mild alterations in executive functions in American football players: A pilot study

Mental fatigue, anticipated effort, and subjective valuations of exercising predict choice to exercise or not: A mixed-methods study

ObjectivesThis study examined the effects of mental fatigue on people's decisions to engage in an acute bout of exercise quantitatively, through a sequentially mediated pathway consisting of perceived effort and benefit vs. cost valuations and qualitatively, using exit interviews to survey the conscious reasoning behind participants' choices. DesignMixed methods, randomized, experimenter blind to group. MethodParticipants (N = 84, Mage = 19.07 ± 1.86 years) completed either a high cognitive demand (incongruent Stroop) task or low cognitive demand (documentary viewing) task for 12 min. Before and after the cognitive task, participants rated their anticipated effort and subjective evaluations (benefits and costs) of engaging in a 20-min moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise task. After completing the latter ratings, participants chose between the exercise task or a non-exercise task (seated “free time” and use of smartphone or computer). Participants were led to believe they would actually engage in the task; however, once their choice was made, they were not required to complete the task but were invited to complete a semi-structured interview to probe the reasoning behind their choice. ResultsSerial mediation analyses revealed a significant indirect effect from mental fatigue to choice through perceived effort and benefit vs. cost valuations (95% C.I. = −0.01 to −0.0004). Qualitative data, organized by categories based on group/choice pairings, yielded twelve unique codes explaining how the cognitive tasks affected choice. ConclusionsResults demonstrate mental fatigue alters decision-making through a sequentially mediated process including subjective perceptions of effort, benefits, and costs. Interview responses also highlight the individual-level consequences of completing cognitively demanding and non-demanding tasks on effort-based decision-making. Future research should explore additional feeling states as they relate to people's choices to engage in exercise or sedentary behaviors.

Effect of standing desk use on cognitive performance and physical workload while engaged with high cognitive demand tasks

It is clear that the cognitive resources invested in standing are greater than in sitting, but six of eight previous studies suggested that there is no difference in cognitive performance. This study investigated the effects of sitting and standing workstations on the physical workload and cognitive performance under variable cognitive demand conditions. Fifteen participants visited two times for testing sitting and standing workstations, and were asked to play two difficulty levels of Tetris game for 40 min while kinematic variables, CoP regularity, CoP SD, and cognitive performances were captured every 5 min. Results revealed a more neural posture in standing than in sitting, but using the standing workstation degraded attention and executive function. The CoP SD was 7 times greater in standing, but the CoP regularity was 1/4 in sitting, denoting greater attentional investment while engaged at the standing workstation.

Computer-Based and Paper-and-Pencil Tests: A Study in Calculus for STEM Majors

Computer-based testing is an expanding use of technology offering advantages to teachers and students. We studied Calculus II classes for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics majors using different testing modes. Three sections with 324 students employed: paper-and-pencil testing, computer-based testing, and both. Computer tests gave immediate feedback and allowed multiple submissions and pooling. Paper-and-pencil tests (PPTs) required work and explanation allowing inspection of high cognitive demand tasks. Each test mode used the strength of its method. Students were given the same lecture by the same instructor on the same day and the same homework assignments and due dates. The design is quasi-experimental, but students were not aware of the testing mode at registration. Two basic questions examined were as follows: (a) Do paper-and-pencil and computer-based tests (CBTs) measure knowledge and skill in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Calculus II in a consistent manner? (b) How does the knowledge and skill gained by students in a fully computer-based Calculus II class compare to students in a class requiring pencil-and-paper tests and hence some paper-and-pencil work. These results indicate that CBTs are as consistent with PPTs as CBTs are with themselves. Results are also consistent with classes using PPTs having slightly better outcomes than fully computer-based classes using only computer assessments.

Purposeful Questioning with High Cognitive–Demand Tasks

We share ideas for preparing for and enacting high-cognitive demand tasks in ways that support students in articulating and justifying their ideas. We offer strategies for developing and posing several types of purposeful questions: (1) eliciting thinking, (2) generating ideas, (3) clarifying explanations, and (4) justifying claims.

Effects of mental fatigue on exercise decision-making

ObjectivesThe study investigated the effects of exerting high cognitive effort on people's decisions to engage in an acute bout of exercise through a serially-mediated process involving mental fatigue and benefit vs. cost evaluations. We also examined the relationship between perceived mental fatigue, perceived exertion and behavior among participants who chose to exercise. Design. Randomized, experimenter blind to group. MethodParticipants (N = 55, Mage = 19.04 ± 1.04 years) completed either a 10-min, high cognitive demand (incongruent Stroop) task or low cognitive demand (video documentary monitoring) task. Participants then made a choice between engaging in either a 22-min self-paced moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise task or a 22-min non-exercise task. Prior to making their choice, participants rated their mental fatigue and perceived benefits and costs of engaging in the exercise task. ResultsApproximately half the sample chose to exercise (n = 30). There was no direct effect of experimental group on choice. However, serial mediation analyses revealed significant indirect effects, indicating the high cognitive demand task causes increased mental fatigue, which in turn led to lower benefit vs. cost scores, and decreased likelihood of choosing to exercise (95% C.I. = −1.03 to −0.01). Among participants who elected to exercise, mental fatigue was not associated with the amount of work performed, but positively correlated with ratings of perceived exertion while exercising. ConclusionsFindings suggest mental fatigue affects exercise decision-making by elevating subjective evaluation of the costs of engaging in exercise as opposed to sedentary alternatives.

How teachers learn to maintain the cognitive demand of tasks through Lesson Study

Among the critical components related to the improvement of mathematics learning are the design of high cognitive demand tasks and teachers’ ability to maintain these cognitive demands during their implementation of lessons. We investigate the factors affecting the maintenance and decline of cognitive demand in the implementation of a statistics lesson by two teachers who participated in a Lesson Study group for third graders (8–9 years old). The results of the investigation show notable changes in the maintenance factors associated with the teachers’ questions and feedback, the scaffolding provided for the students’ reasoning and the modelling of high-level performance. In terms of the decline in the level of cognitive demand, the greatest changes were found in factors corresponding to the routinization of problematic aspects of the task and to problems in lesson management. Based on the results of our collaborative work with teachers in the context of Lesson Study, we conclude that it is possible to design and implement statistical tasks in primary school classrooms that maintain high cognitive demand.

Force Steadiness During a Cognitively Challenging Motor Task Is Predicted by Executive Function in Older Adults.

Motor performance and cognitive function both decline with aging. Older adults for example are usually less steady for a constant-force task than young adults when performing low-intensity contractions with limb muscles. Healthy older adults can also show varying degrees of cognitive decline, particularly in executive function skills. It is not known, however, whether age-related changes in steadiness of low-force tasks and cognitive function are independent of one another. In this study, we determined if executive function skills in aging are associated with the steadiness during a low-force muscle contraction performed with and without the imposition of a cognitive challenge. We recruited 60 older adults (60–85 years old, 34 women, 26 men) and 48 young adults (19–30 years old, 24 women, 24 men) to perform elbow flexor muscle contractions at 5% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) force in the presence and absence of a difficult mental-math task (counting backward by 13 from a four-digit number). Force steadiness was quantified as the coefficient of variation (CV) of force and executive function was estimated with the Trail-making Test part A and B. The cognitive challenge increased the CV of force (i.e., decreased force steadiness) with greater changes in older adults than young adults (5.2 vs. 1.3%, respectively, cognitive challenge × age: P < 0.001). Older adults were 35% slower in both parts A and B of the Trail-making Test (P < 0.001), and to eliminate the effects of age and education on this variable, all further analyses were performed with the age-corrected z-scores for each individual using established normative values. Hierarchical regression models indicated that decreased force steadiness during a cognitive challenge trial was in part, explained by the performance in the Trail-making Test part A and B in older (r = 0.53 and 0.50, respectively, P < 0.05), but not in young adults (P > 0.05). Thus, healthy community-dwelling older adults, who have poorer executive function skills, exhibit reduced force steadiness during tasks when also required to perform a high cognitive demand task, and are likely at risk of reduced capacity to perform daily activities that involve cognitively challenging motor tasks.

An Examination of Academic Self-Esteem in Historically Black College/University (HBCU) Students: Considering Academic Performance and Task Difficulty

Aim/Purpose: Using a sample of historically Black college/university (HBCU) students, the study examined (1) differences in academic self-esteem (ASE) levels when considering students’ performance on an academic task that was either easy (low in cognitive demand) or difficult (high in cognitive demand), (2) gender differences in ASE levels, and (3) variations in academic self-concepts, given baseline general self-esteem levels, GPA, academic performance (AP), and perceptions of task difficulty. Background: This study is the first to date which examines African American students' ASE differences as a result of academic performance and perceptions of task rigor. The optimal arousal theory serves as a framework for the study design; the study utilized a manipulation of the cognitive demand task condition as a means of investigating ASE. Given the mixed and limited literature on gender differences in African American/HBCU subjects, gender differences were explored. Methodology: Quantitative analyses of systematically-built surveys and assessments allowed for the examination of participants (n = 410 HBCU student; 303 females). Correlations, analyses of variance, and regression analyses were completed to address research aims. Contribution: A novel approach to examining ASE variants within African American students matriculating through an HBCU context is provided. Findings: Students in the Low Cognitive Demand task condition displayed significantly higher levels of academic self-esteem (ASE) than High Cognitive Demand task participants; males yielded marginally higher academic self-esteem levels than females (M = 54.21, M = 51.58; p = .04); and while academic performance marginally predicted ASE levels, most of the variance was attributed to baseline self-esteem levels and subjects’ perceptions of task rigor. Recommendations for Practitioners: Educational stakeholders, namely, teachers and administrators, are advised to contemplate the importance of students’ perceptions of task difficulty and feasibility and the possible impacts on academic self-concepts. Additionally, educators may consider students’ initial self-concepts when deciding how and when to provide feedback on academic performance. Recommendation for Researchers: Self-esteem levels are likely to vary as a result of other self-concepts (e.g., motivational, personal, and contextual factors) that were not examined. As such, the study findings provide clarity on varying ASE levels within the specific sample and should be taken with care. Impact on Society: Increasing our understanding of what negatively or positively impacts academic self-esteem levels in students will further aid our ability to foster stronger scholastic self-concepts in the generations to come. Future Research: Future research should examine ASE levels and the extent that perceptions of task rigor impact varying self-esteem levels in African American students enrolled at more racially-heterogenous higher educational contexts (e.g., primarily White institutions, Hispanic serving institutions).

Improving cognitive and affective learning outcomes of students through mathematics instructional tasks of high cognitive demand

ABSTRACTThis study investigated the relationship between three cognitive features of mathematical instruction tasks (high cognitive demand, multiple representations, and multiple solution methods) and student learning outcomes among 1,779 students from 30 Chinese fifth-grade classrooms using a new mathematics curriculum. Measures of mathematics learning outcomes at two data points over 16 months were analyzed. These included cognitive (calculation, routine problem solving, and complex problem solving) as well as affective outcomes (expressed interest in learning mathematics, classroom participation, views of mathematics, and views of learning mathematics). The student post-assessment was administered 13 months after the assessment of teaching quality on the three task variables. The results indicated that the frequency of mathematical tasks involving multiple representations positively predicted students' improvement in solving complex questions. The frequency of mathematical tasks of high cognitive demand did not predict any of the three cognitive learning outcomes. However, it did positively predict students' indicated interest in learning mathematics, indicated classroom participation, and a dynamic view of learning mathematics. The results highlight the significance of the cognitive demand of instructional tasks—connecting procedural and conceptual aspects of mathematics—in facilitating students' positive relationships with mathematics and mathematics classrooms. The findings provide much-needed normative data of a systematic description that links the three cognitive features of instructional tasks to the specific student learning outcomes in a cultural setting, which is a unique addition to the literature of pedagogy on mathematics instructional tasks.

An analysis of context-based similarity tasks in textbooks from Brazil and the United States

ABSTRACTThree textbooks from Brazil and three textbooks from the United States were analysed with a focus on similarity and context-based tasks. Students’ opportunities to learn similarity were examined by considering whether students were provided context-based tasks of high cognitive demand and whether those tasks included missing or superfluous information. Although books in the United States included more tasks, the proportion of tasks focused on similarity were about the same. Context-based similarity tasks accounted for 9%–29% of the similarity tasks, and many of these contextual tasks were of low cognitive demand. In addition, the types of contexts that were included in the textbooks were critiqued and examples provided.

Doing things: Organizing for agency in mathematical learning

In the United States, school mathematics generally fails to help students see themselves as capable of impacting their world – a perspective Freire argues defines human agency. This analysis draws from a five-week Algebra intervention for middle school students (n=46) designed to promote agency through collaborative mathematical activity. Typically, students identified as underperforming (as most in this intervention were), teachers revert to procedural, low-level instruction. In contrast, this intervention was designed around tasks of high cognitive demand that required visual or symbolic representation of algebraic concepts. Qualitative coding of student interviews (n=46) confirm the design principles of authority, agency and collaboration were positively impactful for students. In particular, interviews evidence a changing perspective from math as boring to the possibility of math as comingling intellectual challenge and personal enjoyment. These results are traced to the design principles and in particular, the focus on organizing for agency.

Aerobic and Cognitive Exercise (ACE) Pilot Study for Older Adults: Executive Function Improves with Cognitive Challenge While Exergaming.

Dementia cases are increasing worldwide; thus, investigators seek to identify interventions that might prevent or ameliorate cognitive decline in later life. Extensive research confirms the benefits of physical exercise for brain health, yet only a fraction of older adults exercise regularly. Interactive mental and physical exercise, as in aerobic exergaming, not only motivates, but has also been found to yield cognitive benefit above and beyond traditional exercise. This pilot study sought to investigate whether greater cognitive challenge while exergaming would yield differential outcomes in executive function and generalize to everyday functioning. Sixty-four community based older adults (mean age=82) were randomly assigned to pedal a stationary bike, while interactively engaging on-screen with: (1) a low cognitive demand task (bike tour), or (2) a high cognitive demand task (video game). Executive function (indices from Trails, Stroop and Digit Span) was assessed before and after a single-bout and 3-month exercise intervention. Significant group × time interactions were found after a single-bout (Color Trails) and after 3 months of exergaming (Stroop; among 20 adherents). Those in the high cognitive demand group performed better than those in the low cognitive dose condition. Everyday function improved across both exercise conditions. Pilot data indicate that for older adults, cognitive benefit while exergaming increased concomitantly with higher doses of interactive mental challenge.

Relations of Instructional Tasks to Teacher–Student Discourse in Mathematics Classrooms of Chinese Primary Schools

This study, based on observation of 90 fifth-grade mathematics classes in Chinese elementary schools, examined how the task features, high cognitive demand, multiple representations, and multiple solution methods may relate to classroom discourse. Results indicate that high cognitive demand tasks were associated with teachers’ use higher order questioning. Higher order questioning but not the high cognitive demand tasks themselves generated participatory responses among students. However, when teachers pursued multiple solution methods, they were more inclined to ask memorization and procedural lower order questions than explanatory and analytical higher order questions. Contrary to our hypothesis, high cognitive demand tasks and higher order questions related to teacher authority in evaluating students’ answers whereas neither cognitive demand, multiple representations, nor teachers’ pursuit of multiple solution methods were directly related to teacher–student joint authority in discourse. Implications regarding the relationship between tasks and discourse and instructional practice in a cultural context are discussed.

Interhemispheric coupling improves the brain’s ability to perform low cognitive demand tasks in Alzheimer’s disease and high cognitive demand tasks in normal aging.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects the corpus callosum (CC), which plays a key role in interhemispheric coupling in high-demand conditions. Using 3D callosal measurements and a letter-matching paradigm, this 2-part study investigated the neural substrate of interhemispheric coupling in individuals with AD or amnestic mild cognitive impairment (a-MCI) and age-matched healthy individuals (HC). Thirty-three right-handed participants were MRI scanned to measure the volume of the CC in 5 sections. In Study 1, AD, a-MCI, and HC individuals performed a low-demand perceptual letter shape-matching task (e.g., A-A); in Study 2, a-MCI and HC individuals performed a "case-sensitive" letter-matching task (Study 2A) and a "load-sensitive" letter-matching task (Study 2B). The results showed a positive correlation between Response Times and the midbody of the CC at the lowest cognitive demand level (Study 1) in participants with AD, and the total CC, midbody, caudal body, and isthmus of the CC at high cognitive demand levels (Study 2A) in normal aging. The volume of the anterior part of the CC was significantly negatively correlated with the interhemispheric behavioral indices for the a-MCI group (Study 1 and Study 2B). This study provides evidence that interhemispheric coupling may constitute a flexible mechanism that can improve the brain's ability to meet processing demands for low cognitive demand in AD and for high cognitive demand in normal aging.

Examining the Types of Mathematical Tasks Used to Explore the Mathematics Instruction by Elementary School Teachers

This study examined the different types of mathematical tasks used in the classroom to explore the nature of mathematics instruction of three sixth grade teachers in an elementary school. Case studies, instructional observations, and classroom artifacts were used to collect data. The results showed that the three teachers used different types of mathematical tasks and implementation methods. One teacher focused on high cognitive demand tasks, most of which involved substantial group discussion and students working cooperatively. Even though the other two also used many high cognitive demand tasks, these were mainly presented via teacher-student dialogue. By examining the types of mathematical tasks and their implementation, it was found that the group discussion tasks were generally all high cognitive demand tasks, in which the students fully explained the solution process. As for the tasks administered through teacher-student dialogue, due to the usage of large amounts of closed-ended dialogue, the students used low cognition to solve the mathematical tasks and did not have the opportunity to completely explain their thinking about the solutions. Thus, in order to fully understand the nature of mathematics instruction by teachers, there should be simultaneous consideration of the types of mathematical tasks used as well as how the tasks were implemented.

“Ecological” and Highly Demanding Executive Tasks Detect Real-Life Deficits in High-Functioning Adult ADHD Patients

Objective: Many adult ADHD patients with a convincing history of real-life executive deficits perform entirely within normal limits or with minimally impaired performance in classical executive tests. The authors assessed a group of high cognitive functioning adult ADHD participants on “ecological” and “highly demanding” executive tasks. Method: A total of 117 adult ADHD participants were classified as showing either a high-functioning (Hi-ADHD) or a low-functioning (Lo-ADHD) neuropsychological profile based on standard assessment. Their performance was compared with healthy controls (n = 21) on an ecological task of executive function (the hotel task) and computerized tasks of high cognitive demand. Results: Lo-ADHD significantly differed from controls on multiple standard neuropsychological variables as well as on the experimental tasks. Hi-ADHD and healthy controls did not differ significantly on any of the standard neuropsychological variables, but a significant difference was found between the groups on measures of the experimental tasks. Conclusion: Real-life executive dysfunction of patients with ADHD who perform within normal range on standard assessment can be detected with the use of more ecological and highly demanding tasks.

Cognition–Emotion Integration in the Anterior Insular Cortex

Both cognitive and affective processes require mental resources. However, it remains unclear whether these 2 processes work in parallel or in an integrated fashion. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we investigated their interaction using an empathy-for-pain paradigm, with simultaneous manipulation of cognitive demand of the tasks and emotional valence of the stimuli. Eighteen healthy adult participants viewed photographs showing other people's hands and feet in painful or nonpainful situations while performing tasks of low (body part judgment) and high (laterality judgment) cognitive demand. Behavioral data showed increased reaction times and error rates for painful compared with nonpainful stimuli under laterality judgment relative to body part judgment, indicating an interaction between cognitive demand and stimulus valence. Imaging analyses showed activity in bilateral anterior insula (AI) and primary somatosensory cortex (SI), but not posterior insula, for main effects of cognitive demand and stimulus valence. Importantly, cognitive demand and stimulus valence showed a significant interaction in AI, SI, and regions of the frontoparietal network. These results suggest that cognitive and emotional processes at least partially share common brain networks and that AI might serve as a key node in a brain network subserving cognition-emotion integration.