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Specific and non-specific cognitive operations as language options for memory questions: AnfMRI study

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Date Issued:
2004
Summary:
In order for memory questions to accomplish the goals of questions, teachers need to determine specific content and cognitive goals for each question so that questions can direct learners' attention and reinforce an organizational structure for the encoding of information. The purpose of this study was to examine the language used in memory questions for assessment purposes and to examine whether different language options used when formulating memory questions engaged brain areas related to memory and cognition. The language of the questions can affect the cognitive process by which the answer is derived. The two language options that affect cognitive processes are non-specific and specific. This study supplements teachers' working knowledge of the methods and techniques for questioning by providing a basic understanding of cognitive processes that different questions can evoke. This study used techniques from neuroscience to test hypotheses derived directly from education-based theories of cognition in order to validate educational theory. Neuroscience provides knowledge about how the brain senses, processes, stores, and retrieves information. It also provides findings that can be translated into practical applications for the classroom. Therefore, the relationship between education and neuroscience contributes to effective planning, practices, and assessment; it allows a more comprehensive understanding of the difficulties and apprehensions associated with learning. The following study utilized fMRI to answer the general question of the relationship between the memory processes associated with specific and non-specific questions. Seventeen undergraduate and graduate students from a university in South Florida served as subjects. Subjects were presented with a stimulus consisting of specific questions, non-specific questions, and control statements. All questions/statements followed the design of 8 seconds to read the question/statement, 10 seconds to "think" about the answer to the question or the material presented in the statement, 4 seconds for response using a "yes" or "no" button, and a 12 second rest period. Images collected were analyzed using AFNI. Specific cognitive operations improved efficiency for the retrieval of information from memory. Results elucidate differences in neural activity associated with encoding processes and the retrieval of information from memory based on the language used in specific and non-specific questions.
Title: Specific and non-specific cognitive operations as language options for memory questions: AnfMRI study.
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Name(s): Jantzen, McNeel Gordon.
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Ashworth, Sara, Thesis advisor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 2004
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 119 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: In order for memory questions to accomplish the goals of questions, teachers need to determine specific content and cognitive goals for each question so that questions can direct learners' attention and reinforce an organizational structure for the encoding of information. The purpose of this study was to examine the language used in memory questions for assessment purposes and to examine whether different language options used when formulating memory questions engaged brain areas related to memory and cognition. The language of the questions can affect the cognitive process by which the answer is derived. The two language options that affect cognitive processes are non-specific and specific. This study supplements teachers' working knowledge of the methods and techniques for questioning by providing a basic understanding of cognitive processes that different questions can evoke. This study used techniques from neuroscience to test hypotheses derived directly from education-based theories of cognition in order to validate educational theory. Neuroscience provides knowledge about how the brain senses, processes, stores, and retrieves information. It also provides findings that can be translated into practical applications for the classroom. Therefore, the relationship between education and neuroscience contributes to effective planning, practices, and assessment; it allows a more comprehensive understanding of the difficulties and apprehensions associated with learning. The following study utilized fMRI to answer the general question of the relationship between the memory processes associated with specific and non-specific questions. Seventeen undergraduate and graduate students from a university in South Florida served as subjects. Subjects were presented with a stimulus consisting of specific questions, non-specific questions, and control statements. All questions/statements followed the design of 8 seconds to read the question/statement, 10 seconds to "think" about the answer to the question or the material presented in the statement, 4 seconds for response using a "yes" or "no" button, and a 12 second rest period. Images collected were analyzed using AFNI. Specific cognitive operations improved efficiency for the retrieval of information from memory. Results elucidate differences in neural activity associated with encoding processes and the retrieval of information from memory based on the language used in specific and non-specific questions.
Identifier: 9780496110360 (isbn), 12115 (digitool), FADT12115 (IID), fau:9025 (fedora)
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Thesis (Ed.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2004.
College of Education
Subject(s): Cognitive learning
Education--Effect of technological innovations on
Experiential learning
Brain--Psychophysiology
Learning--Physiological aspects
Recollection (Psychology)
Memory
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FADT12115
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.