Learning & the Brain Presentation: Michael Posner

One of my favorite conferences is the Learning and the Brain Conference held at various locations several times a year. The most recent conference was held in Washington, D.C. in early May. I tried to play the role of on-the-spot-reporter and posted on Twitter live from the conference.

To provide readers with a sense of the conference, I'm going to post my Twitter stream from each presentation. These are the actual "tweets" I posted from the conference. I've cleaned them up a little, but other than a few corrected typos, they represent the raw ideas presented at the conference.

As you read through these "tweets," keep in mind that I was posting the comments/ideas of the presenter. These do not necessarily represent my conclusions from the research.

Here are my posts from the first keynote presenter, Michael Posner:

• First speaker is Michael Posner, topic: Brain’s Attention Networks. Will use initials (MP) to indicate speaker.
• Posner is from the University of Oregon and was recently honored by the President for his work in cognitive neuroscience.
• MP: Attention is a central topic for education. New tech giving us new insight into nature of attention.
• MP: Attention is a set of neural networks—at least 3: alerting, orienting, & executive. Each set associated w/different brain area.
• MP: At rest, two brain networks are active, “default state,” which alert brain to change.
• MP: Alerting deficits in early childhood later negatively affect the executive network.
• MP: There are both overt AND covert shifts in attention.
• MP: A deficit in orienting attention network correlates with some autistic behaviors.
• MP: Executive network is associated with conflicts in sensory data and self-regulation.
• Post on importance of self-regulation: http://is.gd/bXdb.
• MP: Effortful control of attention is one self-regulation element of the executive network.
• MP: The anterior cingulate is related to self-regulation; size & activity can predict self-regulation capacity.
• MP: Executive network deficiency is related to most cognitive disorders.
• MP: Individual differences in executive network functioning are wide-ranging.
• MP: For example, the speed in managing conflicts in sensory data correlate w/self-regulation capacity.
• MP: Separate white matter pathways deal with the three attention networks.
• MP: Recent study shows IBMT (form of meditation) actually influences those white matter pathways positively.
• MP: IBMT meditation influences brain state, which positively influences executive functions.
• MP: Differing neurotransmitters are also associated with each attention network. This can help guide gene research.
• MP: When does executive network begin to self-regulate individual? Evidence shows around 7-10 months of age.
• MP: Around 7 months, a child is aware of conflicts in sensory data—e.g., a scene different from expectation.
• MP: Anticipatory looking at 4-7 months correlates w/some self-regulation abilities at 4 years of age.
• MP: Connectivity of the executive network, however, develops slowly—present at age 9 but not fully connected.
• MP: Showing novel objects may help produce connectivity within executive attention networks.
• MP: Gene DRD4 present on a specific chromosone correlates with ADHD. (Genetic basis discovered?)
• MP: If gene is present AND parenting is poor, MAJOR ADHD impulsivity develops.
• MP: “True experts” have “highly elaborated semantic memory,” correlated w/activity in fusiform gyrus.
• MP: High levels of experience influence brain activity for specific areas. Fusiform gyrus active in chess, bird, & dog experts.
• Posner now taking questions from audience.
• MP: Alerting attention deficiency associates w/aging & ADHD disorders.
• MP: Orienting attention deficiency associates w/autism.
• MP: Executive attention deficiency associates w/Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, addiction, & others.
• MP: Parents not to blame for ADHD children; research shows correlation in extreme impulsivity.
• MP: With research subjects, parenting classes actually decreased children’s impulsivity.
• (As you can imagine, some resistance to these ideas. Posner: “Just sharing what research shows.”)
• MP: My research will be translated to classroom by educators, not me. I’m just a scientist. We need teachers to think this through.

Self-Regulation Supports Student Learning and Achievement

You sit in a room with almost nothing in it. It’s just you, a table, and a single cookie. The researcher who left a moment ago said you could eat the cookie—two chocolate wafers connected by a cream filling. Or, you can wait until he returns in a few minutes and have two cookies. You sit, thinking, “One now? or two later?”

Oh, one more detail: you are four-years-old, and whether you eat one cookie now or wait for two later may predict many aspects of your future.

Thanks to recent Radio Lab episodes, coverage on news programs, and attention from bloggers such as writer Jonah Lehrer and educator Aaron Eyler, self-regulation has become a hot topic. Much of the attention has focused on the original study, often called the “Marshmallow Test,” conducted by Walter Mischel in the 1960’s. (The researchers switched to cookies shortly after launching the experiment.) But more recent research provides insights into the relationship of self-regulation and academic achievement.

Also known as self-discipline, researchers describe self-regulation as the ability to consciously suppress or delay responses in order to work for a higher goal. Examples include “deliberately modulating one’s anger rather than having a temper tantrum, reading test instructions before proceeding to the questions, paying attention to a teacher rather than daydreaming, saving money so that it can accumulate interest in the bank, choosing homework over TV, and persisting on long-term assignments despite boredom and frustration.” Self-regulation predicts academic success better than IQ. It also better predicts GPA, standardized test achievement, homework completion, the potential for GPA gains during the course of a year, and even SAT scores.

Because it significantly influences student achievement, it makes sense to develop students’ self-regulation capacities. But how? How can teachers and schools aid their students’ strengthening of self-regulation? Self-regulation is much like a muscle. It can be exercised and strengthened. Any task that requires ignoring and delaying reward or that requires persistence through boredom or challenge exercises the self-regulation “muscle.” For example:

• Exercise students’ “muscles” of self-regulation. By engaging students in activities that require delayed gratification or perseverance, we provide a self-regulation workout. Just like exercising yields slow but steady results, gradually increasing the amount of self-regulation required for tasks slowly builds capacity. As Aaron Eyler suggests, engage students in complex assignments that require time spent thinking about how ideas connect instead of separate, quickly-completed assignments focused on individual ideas.
• Teach students stick-to-it and wait-for-it strategies, such as self-talk. The messages we consciously “speak” to ourselves influence our thinking, and our thinking influences our actions. In several recent studies, researchers have found that “mental tricks,” motivational and instructional self-talk has “small but significant effects” on “physical exertion…[and] performance” and help us stay “focused.”
• Teach students “cognitive transformation.” Cognitive transformation involves distracting the mind by shifting the focus. For example, in the famous “marshmallow test,” some children managed to avoid eating the marshmallow by imagining it as something else—a cloud, a table, a chef’s hat. This “distraction” prolonged their ability to resist eating the marshmallow.
• Engage students in attention training, such as listening for details, observing closely, and solving complex puzzles. Again, increasing the level and duration of attention required for success can strengthen the self-regulation “muscle.” Reading aloud to students is one of the best ways of accomplishing this. Throughout a school year, increase the amount of time you read to children and the complexity of the texts you read.
• Implement a school FITNESS program. The emphasis needs to be on fitness, not on competition or learning a specific sport. Students engaged in regular physical activity score higher on self-regulation measures.

Some may argue that because self-regulation is non-academic it should not be addressed in school. This perspective fails to recognize the strong connection between self-regulation and learning. Perhaps a metaphor can help. Imagine a suspension bridge, such as San Francisco’s Golden Gate or the Bristol Channel’s Severn. If the road, carrying travelers from one shore to another, represents a student’s learning, the cables, the roadway’s essential support, represent self-regulation. Weak cables limit the roadway’s depth and distance. Strengthening students’ self-regulation capacities supports the academic learning we’re seeking through our teaching.

Duckworth, A. L. (2008). Self-discipline, IQ, and academic achievement. Presented at Learning & the Brain: Using Emotions Research to Enhance Learning. Boston (Fall 2008).

Duckworth, A. L., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2005). Self-discipline outdoes IQ in predicting academic performance of adolescents. Psychological Science 16(12), 939-944.

Duckworth, A. L., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2006). Self-discipline gives girls the edge: Gender in self-discipline, grades, and achievement test scores. Journal of Educational Psychology 98(1), 198-208.

Eyler, A. (2009). Hybridizing education. Stretch our minds (May 22, 2009): http://stretchourminds.blogspot.com.