Self-derivation of new knowledge through memory integration

该项目解决了儿童如何随着时间和经验积累关于世界的事实知识的基本问题。人们不可能在一次经历中获得关于一个主题的所有知识。相反，它是建立在时间上分离的经验或教训之上的。课程也可以来自不同的来源，如书籍、讲座、视频、博物馆展览。一个主要的挑战是解释个体的、独立的学习片段是如何相互整合的，这样知识库就会随着时间的推移而积累起来。这个知识库超出了我们明确学到的知识，通过归纳和演绎等逻辑过程，包括了自衍生的信息。先前的研究发现，年龄相关的能力增加了，通过整合单独的学习片段，从明确的信息扩展到自我获得新知识的能力。该研究还发现，在这个过程中，与学业成就有关的个体差异。这项新的研究将突出这些差异的来源。这些发现将为促进这些进程的干预措施提供信息，从而提高学习的深度和广度。除了具有转化潜力外，该项目还将通过提高本科生和研究生的科学素养以及吸引来自不同背景的儿童参与，使社会受益。该项目关注的是通过整合独立但相关的新学习片段，自我衍生新事实知识的具体生产过程。当学习者将一课中新获得的信息（例如，液体因热膨胀）与另一课中新获得的信息（温度计中含有液体）结合起来，并有效地推导出新的事实知识（温度计工作是因为液体随着热量的增加而膨胀），就会发生这种情况。通过跨学年的整合，自我推导有年龄相关的增加。该项目的主要目标是测试改进的来源。这项研究是在更广泛的记忆整合文献中进行的。它的特点是注重发展，注重过程，注重生产事实性知识。指导假设是，年龄相关的改善可以通过五个组成过程的效率和功效的发育变异性来解释：编码、再激活、整合、选择和自我衍生。学龄前至小学儿童的行为与成功参与这些过程的发展进程是一致的。该项目将直接测试4至9岁儿童的进步。行为测量将辅以眼动追踪。跟踪视觉注意为认知努力提供了一个窗口，表明了组成过程的参与，以及它们与新知识自我衍生的关系。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The project addresses the fundamental question of how children build up factual knowledge about the world over time and experiences. People do not acquire all knowledge about a topic in a single experience. Instead, it is built up over experiences or lessons that are separated in time. The lessons also may come from different sources, such as books, lectures, videos, museum exhibits. A major challenge is to explain how individual, separate episodes of learning are integrated with one another, such that the knowledge base accumulates over time. This knowledge base extends beyond what we have learned explicitly, to include self-derived information, through logical processes such as induction and deduction. Prior research has found age-related increases in the ability to extend beyond explicit information to self-derive new knowledge through integration of separate episodes of learning. It also has found individual variability in the process, that relates to academic achievement. This new research will highlight the sources of these differences. These discoveries will inform interventions to promote these processes, thereby improving the depth and breadth of learning. In addition to its translational potential, the project also will benefit society by increasing the scientific literacy of undergraduate and graduate students, and by engaging children from diverse backgrounds. This project concerns the specific productive process of self-derivation of new factual knowledge through integration of separate yet related episodes of new learning. This occurs when learners integrate information newly acquired in one lesson (e.g., liquids expand with heat) with information newly acquired in another (thermometers contain liquid), and productively derive new factual knowledge (thermometers work because liquid expands as heat increases). There are age-related increases in self-derivation through integration across the school years. The major objective of the project is to test the source of the improvements. The research is situated in a broader literature on memory integration. It is distinguished by its focus on development, on process, and on producing factual knowledge. The guiding hypothesis is that age-related improvements are explained by developmental variability in the efficiency and efficacy of five component processes: encoding, reactivation, integration, selection, and self-derivation. The behavior of preschool to elementary-age children is consistent with a developmental progression in successful engagement of these processes. The project will directly test the suggested progression in 4- to 9-year-olds. Behavioral measures will be complemented by eye tracking. Tracking visual attention provides a window on cognitive effort, indicating engagement of component processes, and their relation to self-derivation of new knowledge.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.