Sustained attention and self-regulation in the classroom: Neural correlates and the influence of training and feedback
Chief investigators:
Annemaree CARROLL, Paul DUX, Rob HESTER, Jason MATTINGLEY,
In virtually every environment our sensory systems are bombarded with far too much information for it all to be processed up to the level of awareness, or for it to be encoded into memory and form the basis for appropriate decisions. To deal with this wealth of information our attention system prioritizes salient or task relevant information for extended processing over information that is irrelevant for behavior. Attention and self-regulation have been hypothesised to play key roles in learning and classroom performance.
The present program of research will employ sensitive cognitive-neuroscientific techniques, such as eye-tracking, electroencephalography (EEG), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to characterize attentional processing and self- regulation in the classroom, and will further explore how these processes influences learning. In addition, the studies will assess how attention and self-regulation may be enhanced through feedback and cognitive training and the neural underpinnings of any identified effects will be probed using functional imaging. The project will have a developmental approach, examining a range of age groups (primary to tertiary) along with those with and without developmental disorders (e.g., specific learning difficulties).