Brain-to-Brain Synchrony Predicts Student Engagement and Social Dynamics in the Classroom: A Crowdsourcing Neuroscience Study

• In Event: 44.048 - Using Neuroscience Methods to Study Learning: Focus on the Process, Not Just the Outcomes

Abstract

Classroom interaction is perhaps the best example of real-world context where interactive alignment is crucial to ensure effective communication and successful outcomes. However, little is understood regarding how our brains support such social interactions. In this study, we tested the relationship between brain-to-brain alignment among students in a real-world classroom and their academic and interpersonal development. Specifically, a novel neural marker of brain-to-brain synchrony was introduced and compared to various measures of classroom experience and social dynamics to assess their associations. A better understanding of the neurocognitive mechanisms underlining students’ interactive alignment may help improve education outcomes. In addition, the proposed experimental and analytical approach will yield novel insights into brain functioning in a classroom setting not possible with other means.

Wireless EEG data was recorded from twelve high school students and one teacher simultaneously during eleven 50-minute classes, spread across the school year. During each recording, teaching contents were conveyed using different teaching strategies (reading from a textbook, watching a video, lecturing and group discussion). In addition, students engaged in two baseline sessions, including facing-the-wall resting and facing-each-other resting. They also completed questionnaires assessing both classroom engagement and social dynamics. We used the portable wireless EEG systems Emotiv EPOC headsets to record brain activity simultaneously from the students and teacher in a high school biology class. A novel analysis technique termed Total Interdependence (TI) was utilized to characterize the synchronization of brain activity between individuals. TI quantifies the inter-brain coherence across the frequency spectrum, and was assessed across group synchrony, student-to-group synchrony and student-to-student synchrony. Power spectral analysis was also applied to the EEG data.
Additionally, regression and correlation analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between brain-to-brain synchrony and self-reported behavioral scores.

Increased classroom engagement was correlated with more synchronous brain activity between the students as a group (r = .31, n = 47, p = .036). Significant main effects of teaching method were observed for both student ratings (F(3, 24) = 16.85; p < 10-5) and brain-to-brain synchrony (F(3, 27) = 5.94; p < 0.005). Relative to reading or lecturing students reported higher levels of engagement during video session and during group discussion. Remarkably, brain-to-brain synchrony was also higher during these classroom activities (post hoc Tukey test p < .05). In addition, brain-to-brain synchrony between pairs of students was correlated with how close they felt toward each other at the end of semester (r = .53, n = 32, p = .0019).

To our knowledge, this is the first study to repeatedly record brain activity from multiple people simultaneously as they engage in everyday activities outside of a laboratory environment. Applying this paradigm in the context of classroom interactions, and aided by a novel computational method, we found that brain-to- brain synchrony across students predicted students' classroom engagement and social cohesion, both of which are critical for successful learning. In sum, our paradigm and the analytical approach provide a potentially promising new avenue for investigations into the neuroscience of group interactions ‘in the wild.’

Authors

• Lu Wan, University of Florida

• Suzanne Dikker, New York University

• Ido Davidesco, New York University

• Lisa Kaggen, Stanford University

• Matthias Oostrik, Oostrik Industries

• Jess Rowland, University of Florida

• Jay Van Bavel, New York University

• David Poeppel, New York University

• Mingzhou Ding, University of Florida