Attention and the Learning of Literacy and Numeracy

这项提议的目的是审查注意力训练在为快速学习阅读和使用数字所涉及的高水平技能提供基础方面的作用。此外，我们希望研究最初接触阅读和数字处理时大脑的变化。之前使用成像和高密度电子记录的研究让我们相信，我们应该看到对特定大脑区域的显著影响，这些区域涉及理解单词和使用数字来确定数量。儿童注意相关感官输入并选择适当策略的能力是这些技能的关键要素。我们计划将接受执行注意力训练的5岁儿童与没有接受这种训练的年龄匹配的对照组进行比较。培训结束后，我们将考察两组人从系统课程中获益的能力，这些课程旨在提高阅读和数字处理的特定亚技能。这些课程将持续10周。我们将使用功能磁共振成像和高密度电子记录来检查大脑区域和连接的变化，这些变化可能是学习的结果。我们之前的工作揭示了对阅读至关重要的特定大脑区域，这些区域应该随着技能的获得而改变，而对数量估计至关重要的大脑区域则截然不同。我们假设，这两种技能的学习将影响完全不同的大脑区域。如果我们的注意力训练成功，我们预计受过训练的孩子会更快地获得技能，然后在两种技能之间产生更高的相关性。如果注意力训练既改善了两种个人技能的学习，又增加了它们之间的相关性，就会支持这样一种观点，即注意力训练是一个一般组成部分，应该被视为所有幼儿课程的一个附属部分。

The aim of this proposal is to examine the role of attention training in providing a basis for the rapid learning of high level skills involved in reading and using numbers. In addition we wish to examine changes in the brain that accompany initial exposure to reading and number processing. Prior research using imaging and high density electrical recording has led us to believe that we should see signficant impact on specific brain areas involved in understanding words and using digits in order to determine quantity. The ability of the child to attend to the relevant sensory input and to select the appropriate strategies are critical elements of these skills. We plan to compare groups of 5 year olds who undergo training of executive attention with age matched control without such training. After the training we will examine the ability of the two groups to profit from systematic lessons designed to improve specific subskills of reading and number processing. These sessions will last ten weeks. We will use fMRI and high density electrical recording to examine changes in brain areas and in connections that might occur as a result of the learning. Our previous work has revealed specific brain areas critical to reading that should be changed with acquisition of the skill and quite different brain areas critical to the estimation of quantity. We hypothesize that the learning of the two skills will influence quite different brain regions. If we are successful with our attention training we expect that the trained children will acquire the skills more rapidly and then produce higher correlations between the two skills. If the attention training both improved the learning of the two individual skills and increased the correlation between them it will support the idea that attention training is a general component that should be considered as an adjunct of all early child curricula.