SL-CN: Contributions of Executive Function Subdomains to Math and Reading Cognition in the Classroom

了解学生的大脑如何学习新信息，并在现实世界中灵活地应用这些信息，对于指导改善美国教育体系的努力至关重要。学生的学习方式从根本上与认知的核心方面有关，称为执行功能(EFS)。众所周知，EFS在多个内容领域(如数学和阅读)都能预测学业成绩；然而，关于EFS究竟如何对学业成绩做出贡献，以及EFS薄弱的情况是否可以通过认知训练来增强，仍有许多悬而未决的问题。重要的是要准确地了解这些能力是如何在儿童时期发展起来的，以及如何提高它们，以便为教育者提供准确的工具和洞察力，以便在学生陷入困境时是否、何时以及如何进行干预。近年来，关于EFS如何对学业成就做出贡献的研究进展迅速，但通常不包括对童年中期EFS的调查。由于童年中期是神经可塑性较高的时期，因此在EFS较弱的时候进行干预是很有希望的。这项研究计划开发了一种创新的方法，改进了诊断和干预方法，以检测和补救教育环境中的EF弱点。该计划利用一种新的、精确的EF评估工具，以快速评估和纵向跟踪儿童EFS随时间的多维概况。关键的进步是评估工具的适应性，随着学习者的进步，评估工具的难度增加。这种适应性允许随着时间的推移进行多项准确的评估，从而能够前所未有地了解不同的EF特征在童年中期是如何发展的，尤其是这些特征是如何对数学和阅读成绩做出贡献的。此外，通过利用一种新颖的干预措施，在体能训练期间使用每个学生的多维EF概况来选择性地挑战EF的子域，研究将告诉我们个性化的、多因素的EF训练是否可以改善数学和阅读成绩。具体地说，这项研究将：(1)填补关于儿童早期教育与学业技能之间关系的现有知识的空白，(2)描述这些关系是如何随着年龄的发展而演变的，(3)确定教育因素对某些内容领域(数学和阅读的子领域)是否更关键，以及(4)促进该领域对个性化教育干预的可行性和时间表的理解。重要的是，这项研究将为未来的学习科学研究奠定明确的基础。特别是，拟议的对典型发育中的大脑的调查将为了解ADHD和自闭症等发育障碍的努力提供信息。最后，EFS评估工具将公之于众，以促进在不同的学生学习者范围内对EFS进行广泛的调查。准确地理解EFS的多维特征如何对学业成就做出贡献，通过指导在学生学习困难时进行干预的努力，有望产生巨大的社会影响。

Understanding how the brain of a student learns new information and flexibly applies that information in real-world settings is critical for guiding efforts to improve the U.S. education system. How a student learns is fundamentally related to core aspects of cognition, termed executive functions (EFs). EFs are known predictors of academic achievement across multiple content areas (e.g., math and reading); however, there remain many unanswered questions regarding exactly how EFs contribute to academic performance and whether weak EFs can be enhanced with cognitive training. It is important to build a precise understanding of how these abilities develop over childhood and how they can be improved in order to supply educators with precise tools and insights about whether, when, and how to intervene when a student is struggling.The study of how EFs contribute to academic achievement has advanced rapidly in recent years, but has not typically included the investigation of EFs in middle childhood. Because middle childhood is a period of high neural plasticity, it promises great opportunity to intervene when EFs are weak. This research program develops an innovative approach that improves both diagnostic and intervention methodology for detecting and remediating EF weaknesses in educational settings. The program leverages a novel, precision EF assessment tool in order to rapidly assess and longitudinally track the multidimensional profile of EFs in children over time. The critical advancement is the adaptive nature of the assessment tool, which increases in difficulty as the learner improves. This adaptivity allows multiple, precise assessments over time and thus enables unprecedented understanding of how different EF profiles develop across middle childhood and, critically, how these profiles contribute to math and reading achievement. Additionally, by utilizing a novel intervention that uses each student's multidimensional EF profile to selectively challenge subdomains of EF during physical fitness training, the research will inform us if personalized, multi-factor EF training can improve math and reading outcomes. Specifically, the research will: (1) fill gaps in existing knowledge about the relationship between EF profiles and academic skills beyond early childhood, (2) characterize how these relationships evolve across age, (3) determine whether EFs are more critical to certain content areas (subdomains of math and reading), and (4) advance the field's understanding of the feasibility and timeline of personalized EF interventions. Importantly, this research will serve to lay a definitive foundation for future science of learning research to build upon. In particular, the proposed investigations of the typically developing mind will inform efforts to understand disorders of development such as ADHD and autism. Finally, the EFs assessment tool will be made publicly available, to promote widescale investigations of EFs across the diverse range of student learners. A precise understanding of how the multidimensional profile of EFs contributes to academic achievement promises tremendous societal impact by guiding efforts to intervene when students are struggling academically.