Journal
FRONTIERS IN HUMAN NEUROSCIENCE
Volume 12, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00038
Keywords
electroencephalography (EEG); event-related potential (ERP); neuroeducation; reinforcement learning; reward positivity; N250; anatomy education
Categories
Funding
- University of Calgary grants
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Doctoral Studentship [752-2016-1457]
- Alberta Innovates Health Solutions (AIHS) Graduate Studentship [201600086]
- Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Doctoral Scholarship
- Alberta Innovates [201600086] Funding Source: researchfish
Ask authors/readers for more resources
In anatomy education, a key hurdle to engaging in higher-level discussion in the classroom is recognizing and understanding the extensive terminology used to identify and describe anatomical structures. Given the time-limited classroom environment, seeking methods to impart this foundational knowledge to students in an efficient manner is essential. Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT) methods incorporate pre-class exercises (typically online) meant to establish foundational knowledge in novice learners so subsequent instructor-led sessions can focus on deeper, more complex concepts. Determining how best do we design and assess pre-class exercises requires a detailed examination of learning and retention in an applied educational context. Here we used electroencephalography (EEG) as a quantitative dependent variable to track learning and examine the efficacy of JiTT activities to teach anatomy. Specifically, we examined changes in the amplitude of the N250 and reward positivity event-related brain potential (ERP) components alongside behavioral performance as novice students participated in a series of computerized reinforcement-based learning modules to teach neuroanatomical structures. We found that as students learned to identify anatomical structures, the amplitude of the N250 increased and reward positivity amplitude decreased in response to positive feedback. Both on a retention and transfer exercise when learners successfully remembered and translated their knowledge to novel images, the amplitude of the reward positivity remained decreased compared to early learning. Our findings suggest ERPs can be used as a tool to track learning, retention, and transfer of knowledge and that employing the reinforcement learning paradigm is an effective educational approach for developing anatomical expertise.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available