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Inter-Brain Synchrony in Open-Ended Collaborative Learning: An fNIRS-Hyperscanning Study
Published on: July 21, 2021
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Behavioral and brain synchronization differences between expert and novice teachers when collaborating with students
Binghai Sun1, Weilong Xiao1, Xiaodan Feng1
1School of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang, China; Research Center of Tin Ka Ping Moral Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang, China.
Brain and Cognition
|December 31, 2019
Summary
Expert teachers outperform novice teachers in student collaboration, showing enhanced brain synchronization in the prefrontal cortex. This interpersonal brain synchronization (IBS) is linked to better accuracy and perspective-taking skills in expert dyads.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Educational Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Understanding the differences in teacher-student collaboration is crucial for improving educational outcomes.
- Neural mechanisms underlying expert versus novice teacher collaboration remain largely unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if expert teachers collaborate more effectively with students than novice teachers.
- To explore the neural basis of differences in teacher-student collaboration using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).
Main Methods:
- Recruited novice teacher-student (NT-S) and expert teacher-student (ET-S) dyads for an interactive task with cooperation and independent conditions.
- Recorded neural activity in the prefrontal cortex using fNIRS.
- Analyzed interpersonal brain synchronization (IBS) between dyad members.
Main Results:
- ET-S dyads demonstrated higher accuracy than NT-S dyads specifically in the cooperation condition.
- Increased IBS was observed in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for ET-S dyads during cooperation.
- IBS was stronger in ET-S dyads compared to NT-S dyads, particularly during cooperation, and positively correlated with teacher perspective-taking and accuracy.
Conclusions:
- Expert teachers exhibit superior collaborative skills with students compared to novice teachers.
- Interpersonal brain synchronization in the prefrontal cortex may serve as a neural marker for effective teacher-student collaboration.
Keywords:
Cooperative interactionExpert teacherInterpersonal brain synchronizationNovice teacherfNIRS-based hyperscanning
