Individual Differences In Learning Research Articles

Learning is the key twenty-first century skill

ABSTRACTWhy are some people more effective learners than others? Despite the centrality of learning to life success, solid, comprehensive answers to this question do not yet exist. Global ability constructs do not provide adequate answers, and the case is made here for the need to go beyond them to closely examine the learning process itself and the multiple skills and dispositions that contribute to it. Only equipped with such knowledge can we understand individual differences in learning and be able to use this understanding to help all students become better learners.

Sensitivity to value-driven attention is predicted by how we learn from value

Reward learning is known to influence the automatic capture of attention. This study examined how the rate of learning, after high- or low-value reward outcomes, can influence future transfers into value-driven attentional capture. Participants performed an instrumental learning task that was directly followed by an attentional capture task. A hierarchical Bayesian reinforcement model was used to infer individual differences in learning from high or low reward. Results showed a strong relationship between high-reward learning rates (or the weight that is put on learning after a high reward) and the magnitude of attentional capture with high-reward colors. Individual differences in learning from high or low rewards were further related to performance differences when high- or low-value distractors were present. These findings provide novel insight into the development of value-driven attentional capture by showing how information updating after desired or undesired outcomes can influence future deployments of automatic attention.

Previous Institutionalization Is Followed by Broader Amygdala–Hippocampal–PFC Network Connectivity during Aversive Learning in Human Development

Early institutional care can be profoundly stressful for the human infant, and, as such, can lead to significant alterations in brain development. In animal models, similar variants of early adversity have been shown to modify amygdala-hippocampal-prefrontal cortex development and associated aversive learning. The current study examined this rearing aberration in human development. Eighty-nine children and adolescents who were either previously institutionalized (PI youth; N = 46; 33 females and 13 males; age range, 7-16 years) or were raised by their biological parents from birth (N = 43; 22 females and 21 males; age range, 7-16 years) completed an aversive-learning paradigm while undergoing functional neuroimaging, wherein visual cues were paired with either an aversive sound (CS+) or no sound (CS-). For the PI youth, better aversive learning was associated with higher concurrent trait anxiety. Both groups showed robust learning and amygdala activation for CS+ versus CS- trials. However, PI youth also exhibited broader recruitment of several regions and increased hippocampal connectivity with prefrontal cortex. Stronger connectivity between the hippocampus and ventromedial PFC predicted significant improvements in future anxiety (measured 2 years later), and this was particularly true within the PI group. These results suggest that for humans as well as for other species, early adversity alters the neurobiology of aversive learning by engaging a broader prefrontal-subcortical circuit than same-aged peers. These differences are interpreted as ontogenetic adaptations and potential sources of resilience. Prior institutionalization is a significant form of early adversity. While nonhuman animal research suggests that early adversity alters aversive learning and associated neurocircuitry, no prior work has examined this in humans. Here, we show that youth who experienced prior institutionalization, but not comparison youth, recruit the hippocampus during aversive learning. Among youth who experienced prior institutionalization, individual differences in aversive learning were associated with worse current anxiety. However, connectivity between the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex prospectively predicted significant improvements in anxiety 2 years following scanning for previously institutionalized youth. Among youth who experienced prior institutionalization, age-atypical engagement of a distributed set of brain regions during aversive learning may serve a protective function.

On neural correlates of individual differences in novel grammar learning: An fMRI study

We examine the role of language analytical ability, one of the components of language aptitude – a specific ability for learning languages – during acquisition of a novel grammar. We investigated whether the neural basis of Artificial Grammar Learning (AGL) differs between populations of highly and moderately skilled learners. Participants performed an AGL task during an fMRI scan and data from task's test phases were analysed. Highly skilled learners performed better than moderately skilled ones and engaged during the task more neural resources in the right hemisphere, i.e. in the right angular/supramarginal gyrus and superior frontal and middle frontal gyrus and in the posterior cingulate gyrus. Additional analyses investigating the temporal dynamics of brain activity during learning revealed lateralisation differences in the modulation of activity in the parietal and temporal cortex. In particular, the left angular gyrus BOLD activity was coupled with high performance on the AGL task and with a steep learning curve.

Feeling of knowing and over-claiming in students from secondary school to university

The feeling of knowing (FOK) is a component of meta-memory that helps people decide if they know or do not know a specific piece of information. By using over-claiming technique as a convenient method for measuring FOK, this study aims to analyse if it varies systematically across different academic levels. It is worth to analyse this issue because FOK may be influenced by the different curricular content learned in each course. Results show that FOK of compulsory secondary school students (aged 15–16, n=506) is significantly lower than that of students of upper secondary education (aged 16 to 17, n=469), which in turn, is also significantly lower than that of the undergraduates (aged 18 and more, n=968). Also, the research has found that FOK is significantly different depending on the specialization of the students in university. Finally, over claiming technique is shown to be a new and simple way to evaluate FOK, a construct that can contribute to a better understanding of individual differences in academic learning.

COMT Val(158) Met genotype is associated with reward learning: a replication study and meta-analysis.

Identifying mechanisms through which individual differences in reward learning emerge offers an opportunity to understand both a fundamental form of adaptive responding as well as etiological pathways through which aberrant reward learning may contribute to maladaptive behaviors and psychopathology. One candidate mechanism through which individual differences in reward learning may emerge is variability in dopaminergic reinforcement signaling. A common functional polymorphism within the catechol-O-methyl transferase gene (COMT; rs4680, Val(158) Met) has been linked to reward learning, where homozygosity for the Met allele (linked to heightened prefrontal dopamine function and decreased dopamine synthesis in the midbrain) has been associated with relatively increased reward learning. Here, we used a probabilistic reward learning task to asses response bias, a behavioral form of reward learning, across three separate samples that were combined for analyses (age: 21.80 ± 3.95; n = 392; 268 female; European-American: n = 208). We replicate prior reports that COMT rs4680 Met allele homozygosity is associated with increased reward learning in European-American participants (β = 0.20, t = 2.75, P < 0.01; ΔR(2) = 0.04). Moreover, a meta-analysis of 4 studies, including the current one, confirmed the association between COMT rs4680 genotype and reward learning (95% CI -0.11 to -0.03; z = 3.2; P < 0.01). These results suggest that variability in dopamine signaling associated with COMT rs4680 influences individual differences in reward which may potentially contribute to psychopathology characterized by reward dysfunction.

Membangun Metakognisi Siswa dalam Memecahkan Masalah Matematika

Problem solving is a high level of mental activity, where every student has the ability or cognitive styles vary, so the ability to solve problems will also be different. Cognitive styles one can explain the success of individual differences in learning. In evaluating the achievement of learning outcomes currently only gives emphasis on the cognitive goals without regard to the dimensions of cognitive processes, particularly metacognitive knowledge and metacognitive skills. As a result, efforts to introduce metacognition in solving mathematical problems to students is very less. Metacognition is the students ‘knowledge of cognition involving awareness of their own thinking in terms of the ability of planning, monitoring and evaluation process of thinking. The purpose of this article to describe a strategy to build students' metacognition when solving math problems. With the development of metacognition awareness, students are expected to get used to monitor, control and evaluate what has been and will be done, so that students know and realize the strengths and the weaknesses in solving mathematical problems.

The Relationship between Perceptual Learning Styles and Reading Comprehension Performance of Iranian EFL Learners

&lt;p&gt;Reading comprehension is one of the most important aspects in the process of language learning. Individual differences in foreign language learning have also been a common theme among L2 researchers and various factors such as gender, aptitude, motivation, and learning styles have been the subject of numerous studies indicating their effect on language learning. Along the same lines, this study focused on the relationship between perceptual learning styles and L2 reading comprehension and how well each perceptual learning style contributes to L2 reading comprehension. The study was carried out on 60 Iranian foreign language learners. The results of statistical analyses indicated that only tactile and kinesthetic learning styles had a significant relationship with L2 reading comprehension performance. Moreover, the findings of the study revealed that the tactile learning style was the best predictor of L2 reading comprehension performance. Based on the findings of the study, it can be concluded that teachers should try to accommodate different learning styles in teaching reading comprehension. If the educational settings become compatible with the learners’ personal orientations, learners may be able to engage in educational activities more and will thus gain an advantage in learning.&lt;/p&gt;

Understanding the structure of skill through a detailed analysis of Individuals' performance on the Space Fortress game

In this paper we describe a novel approach to the study of individual differences in acquired skilled performance in complex laboratory tasks based on an extension of the methodology of the expert-performance approach (Ericsson & Smith, 1991) to shorter periods of training and practice. In contrast to more traditional approaches that study the average performance of groups of participants, we explored detailed behavioral changes for individual participants across their development on the Space Fortress game. We focused on dramatic individual differences in learning and skill acquisition at the individual level by analyzing the archival game data of several interesting players to uncover the specific structure of their acquired skill. Our analysis revealed that even after maximal values for game-generated subscores were reached, the most skilled participant's behaviors such as his flight path, missile firing, and mine handling continued to be refined and improved (Participant 17 from Boot et al., 2010). We contrasted this participant's behavior with the behavior of several other participants and found striking differences in the structure of their performance, which calls into question the appropriateness of averaging their data. For example, some participants engaged in different control strategies such as “world wrapping” or maintaining a finely-tuned circular flight path around the fortress (in contrast to Participant 17′s angular flight path). In light of these differences, we raise fundamental questions about how skill acquisition for individual participants should be studied and described. Our data suggest that a detailed analysis of individuals' data is an essential step for generating a general theory of skill acquisition that explains improvement at the group and individual levels.

Living Language: Self-Assessment, Oral Production, and Domestic Immersion

AbstractWith 24 adolescent students enrolled in a French language summer camp, the present study examines the relationship between self‐assessment and oral production in French, interpreting results through a framework of individual learning variables. Participants were surrounded by French inside and outside the classroom. Self‐assessment was measured through a criterion‐referenced self‐assessment questionnaire (Brantmeier, Vanderplank, &amp; Strube, 2012). Oral production was examined with a structured oral interview that involved recording students for four minutes while they described four images (Llanes &amp; Muñoz, 2009). The recording was coded on measures including words per minute, silent pauses per minute, and longest fluent run (Llanes &amp; Muñoz, 2009). Findings demonstrated significant improvement in oral production. Self‐assessment measures and performance on posttest measures for oral production were significantly correlated. Upon arrival at camp this was not true, which may indicate that students who were unable to assess their French abilities at the beginning of camp were better able to assess their abilities following the program. Results have strong pedagogical implications, as self‐assessment may serve as a metacognitive tool for students to learn to self‐diagnose strengths and weaknesses, which may help instructors account for individual learner differences. Implications suggest that self‐assessing such strengths and weaknesses may be easier after a multitude of real‐world and need‐based interactions.

Ambiguity Tolerance and Perceptual Learning Styles of Chinese EFL Learners

&lt;p&gt;Ambiguity tolerance and perceptual learning styles are the two influential elements showing individual differences in EFL learning. This research is intended to explore the relationship between Chinese EFL learners’ ambiguity tolerance and their preferred perceptual learning styles. The findings include (1) the learners are sensitive to English ambiguities and are more reliable on the tactile and kinesthetic learning styles than on visual and auditory styles, (2) most Chinese EFL learners have more than one learning style preferences, (3) significant gender difference exists in ambiguity tolerance, but not in perceptual learning style preferences, and (4) the four perceptual learning styles are significantly correlated with ambiguity tolerance and the auditory learning style would exert more influence on ambiguity tolerance than the visual, tactile and kinesthetic learning styles.&lt;/p&gt;

Imitation: Not in Our Genes

A powerful longitudinal study has failed to find any evidence that newborn babies can imitate facial gestures, hand movements or vocalisations. After 40 years of uncertainty, these findings indicate that humans learn to imitate; this capacity is not inborn.

Orthographic consistency and individual learner differences in second language literacy acquisition

This study investigated whether orthographic consistency and individual learner differences including working memory (WM), first language (L1) background, and second language (L2) proficiency affect Chinese L2 learners’ literacy acquisition. Seventy American college students in beginning or intermediate Chinese classes participated in a character learning-and-reading experiment, and completed WM tasks and an L2 proficiency test. In the learning phase of the experiment, participants were asked to master 18 unfamiliar Chinese characters of three levels of consistency—consistent, semi-consistent, and inconsistent. Then in the transfer test of the experiment, participants read 60 novel, artificial characters analogous to the learned characters. Significant consistency effects for learning and reading new characters were found, with no effects of WM and L1. In particular, an interaction effect between consistency and L2 proficiency found in the learning phase indicated that participants with higher L2 proficiency learned the fully consistent characters better and faster than those with lower proficiency. These results suggest that L2 proficiency facilitates awareness of consistency, enabling learners to learn novel characters faster and more accurately. The findings of this study are compared with the character acquisition of beginning L1 Chinese readers and with L2 learners’ acquisition of other types of characters.

Task-related functional connectivity of the caudate mediates the association between trait mindfulness and implicit learning in older adults.

Accumulating evidence shows a positive relationship between mindfulness and explicit cognitive functioning, i.e., that which occurs with conscious intent and awareness. However, recent evidence suggests that there may be a negative relationship between mindfulness and implicit types of learning, or those that occur without conscious awareness or intent. Here we examined the neural mechanisms underlying the recently reported negative relationship between dispositional mindfulness and implicit probabilistic sequence learning in both younger and older adults. We tested the hypothesis that the relationship is mediated by communication, or functional connectivity, of brain regions once traditionally considered to be central to dissociable learning systems: the caudate, medial temporal lobe (MTL), and prefrontal cortex (PFC). We first replicated the negative relationship between mindfulness and implicit learning in a sample of healthy older adults (60-90 years old) who completed three event-related runs of an implicit sequence learning task. Then, using a seed-based connectivity approach, we identified task-related connectivity associated with individual differences in both learning and mindfulness. The main finding was that caudate-MTL connectivity (bilaterally) was positively correlated with learning and negatively correlated with mindfulness. Further, the strength of task-related connectivity between these regions mediated the negative relationship between mindfulness and learning. This pattern of results was limited to the older adults. Thus, at least in healthy older adults, the functional communication between two interactive learning-relevant systems can account for the relationship between mindfulness and implicit probabilistic sequence learning.

Teaching foreign languages to adult learners: Issues, options, and opportunities

As is the case with any other age group, teaching a foreign language to adults has its own specificity, with some attributes of older learners being facilitative of this task and others constituting a source of major difficulties. The paper aims to provide an overview of key issues relevant to language learning and teaching in the case of adults, highlighting options that teachers have at their disposal and illustrating ways in which the characteristics of this age group can be capitalized upon to enhance instruction. In the first place, common myths about language learning are tackled, which is followed by a consideration of issues concerning the identification of the aims of instruction, the choice of the syllabus as well as instructional techniques, the role of grammar teaching and error correction, the influence of individual learner differences, and the contribution of autonomy and language learning strategies.

Handbook of research on individual differences in computer-assisted language learning

The latest advances and trends in technology have enabled rapid development in the field of language education. Students and teachers alike now benefit from the assistance of various technological innovations, thus increasing the overall effectiveness of the curriculum. The Handbook of Research on Individual Differences in Computer-Assisted Language Learning addresses the implementation of current research methodologies within EFL and ESL classroom settings and the variety of modifications employed by language experts. Focusing on quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies, this book is an essential reference source for applied linguists, CALL researchers, language teachers, and upper-level students within the field of foreign language education.

Measuring individual differences in statistical learning: Current pitfalls and possible solutions

Most research in statistical learning (SL) has focused on the mean success rates of participants in detecting statistical contingencies at a group level. In recent years, however, researchers have shown increased interest in individual abilities in SL, either to predict other cognitive capacities or as a tool for understanding the mechanism underlying SL. Most if not all of this research enterprise has employed SL tasks that were originally designed for group-level studies. We argue that from an individual difference perspective, such tasks are psychometrically weak, and sometimes even flawed. In particular, the existing SL tasks have three major shortcomings: (1) the number of trials in the test phase is often too small (or, there is extensive repetition of the same targets throughout the test); (2) a large proportion of the sample performs at chance level, so that most of the data points reflect noise; and (3) the test items following familiarization are all of the same type and an identical level of difficulty. These factors lead to high measurement error, inevitably resulting in low reliability, and thereby doubtful validity. Here we present a novel method specifically designed for the measurement of individual differences in visual SL. The novel task we offer displays substantially superior psychometric properties. We report data regarding the reliability of the task and discuss the importance of the implementation of such tasks in future research.

English Language Learners' Nonword Repetition Performance: The Influence of Age, L2 Vocabulary Size, Length of L2 Exposure, and L1 Phonology.

This study examined individual differences in English language learners' (ELLs) nonword repetition (NWR) accuracy, focusing on the effects of age, English vocabulary size, length of exposure to English, and first-language (L1) phonology. Participants were 75 typically developing ELLs (mean age 5;8 [years;months]) whose exposure to English began on average at age 4;4. Children spoke either a Chinese language or South Asian language as an L1 and were given English standardized tests for NWR and receptive vocabulary. Although the majority of ELLs scored within or above the monolingual normal range (71%), 29% scored below. Mixed logistic regression modeling revealed that a larger English vocabulary, longer English exposure, South Asian L1, and older age all had significant and positive effects on ELLs' NWR accuracy. Error analyses revealed the following L1 effect: onset consonants were produced more accurately than codas overall, but this effect was stronger for the Chinese group whose L1s have a more limited coda inventory compared with English. ELLs' NWR performance is influenced by a number of factors. Consideration of these factors is important in deciding whether monolingual norm referencing is appropriate for ELL children.

Individual Differences in Statistical Learning: Conceptual and Measurement Issues

The ability to adapt to statistical structure (often referred to as “statistical learning”) has been proposed to play a major role in the acquisition and use of natural languages. Several recent studies have explored the relationship between individual differences in statistical learning and language outcomes. These studies have produced mixed results, with some studies finding a significant relationship between statistical learning and language outcomes, and others finding weak or null results. Furthermore, the few studies that have used multiple measures of statistical learning have reported that they are not correlated (e.g., [1]). The current study assesses the reliability of various measures of auditory statistical segmentation, and their consistency over time. That is, do the generally low correlations observed between measures of statistical learning stem from task demands, the psychometric properties of the measures, or the fact that statistical learning may be a highly fragmented construct? Our results confirm previous reports that individual measures of statistical learning tend not to correlate with each other, and suggest that the somewhat weak reliability of the measures may be an important factor in the low correlations. Our data also suggest that aggregating performance across tasks may be an avenue for improving the reliability of the measures.

Discussion on Individual Differences of Adult Learners and Its implications for Adult TCSL

Discussion on Individual Differences of Adult Learners and Its implications for Adult TCSL