FJL.2 – LEARNING BY OBSERVATION: CAN A COGNITIVE PROCESS BE TRANSFORMED
Transcription
FJL.2 – LEARNING BY OBSERVATION: CAN A COGNITIVE PROCESS BE TRANSFORMED
FJL.2 – LEARNING BY OBSERVATION: CAN A COGNITIVE PROCESS BE TRANSFORMED INTO A POWERFUL REHABILITATION TOOL IN THE PRESENCE OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES? Responsabile scientifico del progetto FRANCESCA IRENE FOTI Università Sapienza di Roma – Fondazione Santa Lucia Fondation Jérôme-Lejeune – Finanziamento 2013 Sezione III: Attività per progetti PARTNERS 1 – Fondazione Santa Lucia, Università Sapienza di Roma (Dipartimento di Psicologia): Francesca Irene Foti 2 – Università Sapienza di Roma (Dipartimento di Psicologia), Fondazione Santa Lucia: Laura Petrosini 3 – Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù, Roma: Stefano Vicari 4 – Università di Napoli Parthenope (DiSIST), Fondazione Santa Lucia: Laura Mandolesi 5 – Università di Napoli Parthenope (DiSIST): Giuliana Valerio 6 – Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù, Palidoro (Roma): Antonino Crinò 7 – Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù, Roma: Deny Menghini 8 – Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù, Roma: Paolo Alfieri RATIONALE New competencies may be learned both through active experience and observation of others’ experiences. Observing another person performing a complex action accelerates the observer’s acquisition of the same action, multiplies learning opportunities, limits the time-consuming process of learning by trial and error, and reduces the practice needed to learn the skill [Bird, Heyes, 2005]. So, learning by observing and imitating experts is an accelerator of learning [Meltzoff et al., 2009; Petrosini, 2007]. Observational learning does not just involve copying an action but it requires that the observer transforms the observation into an action as similar as possible to that of the actor in terms of the goal to be reached and the motor strategies to be applied [Meltzoff, Decety, 2003]. Observational learning requires the coordination of complex cognitive functions such as action representation, attention, effort and motivation and at same time understanding others’ gestures, reading their minds and emotions and making inferences about their behaviors [Gallese, Goldman, 1998; Grezes, Decety, 2001]. Observational learning is already present at birth [Meltzoff et al., 2009; Nadel, Butterworth, 1998] and it is crucial for developing complex abilities such as language, social responsiveness, the use of instruments to get things done [Meltzoff, Decety, 2003]. In children, learning new competencies by observing adults or peers is a central process in cognitive development [Fenstermacher, Saudino, 2006]. Despite its central role in both learning and social cognition, developmental studies of observational learning still are rare and even more rare are studies documenting the capacities of children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities (ID) to learn by observation. The objective of this research project is by means of innovative learning tasks, to analyze the ability to learn by observation or by trial and error in Down syndrome (DS), Williams syndrome (WS) and Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), in order to facilitate interventions that develop the acquisition of new cognitive and motor abilities permitting better social integration and development of selfefficacy and self-confidence as well as devising new methods of teaching and educational practices. 552 2013 FJL.2 – Learning by observation: can a cognitive process be transformed... Learning by observation and by trial and error will be assessed through two innovative tasks: the first one (LEGO) requires to assemble structures with geometric properties (Lego® bricks), while the second one (v-LEGO) requires to detect a visuo-motor sequence (virtual squares). The employment of two tests designed for different age ranges appears to be a strength point of the present research project. In fact, the LEGO task is designed to analyze performances at an early age (from 2 to 5 years). Since this task does not include verbal instructions can be given even to non-verbal children. v-LEGO task is suitable and qualified to analyze performances in older children and adolescents (from 5 years onwards). Importantly, it will be possible to investigate how the abilities of learning by observation exhibited by individuals with DS, WS and PWS might be used to acquire new competencies during the difficult process toward autonomy. Moreover, the results of the present research project will allow developing specific programs to facilitate the acquisition of new cognitive and motor competencies allowing better social integration and development of self-efficacy and self-confidence. Furthermore, the results will allow devising new methods of teaching and educational practices. The project main purpose is to develop specific strategies to treat and improve the learning and memory processes of individuals affected by genetic illness, with focus also on the early childhood. CURRENT STATUS OF RESEARCH ON THIS SUBJECT As underlined in the previous section, developmental studies of observational learning still are rare and even more rare are studies documenting the capacities of children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities (ID) to learn by observation [Menghini et al., 2011; Nadel et al., 2011]. By employing an innovative task based on learning to detect a visuo-motor sequence of correct items either by seeing do it or by actually doing it, our research team recently demonstrated that in the presence of developmental dyslexia the ability to learn by observation a previously observed visuo-motor sequence is markedly impaired, while the ability to detect the sequence of correct items by trial and error is preserved [Menghini et al., 2011]. Furthermore, their impaired ability to learn by observation can be reversed by a previous actual execution of the task that may supply a powerful learning mechanism. These results that have had important implications for developing interventions stimulating and improving learning in dyslexic population, will allow also people with ID an increase of their possibilities of learning in various domains. Learning abilities will be analyzed in three different populations with ID, whose cognitive profile is known but learning properties require further analysis. Namely, WS subjects are severely impaired in visuo-spatial processing ability, number manipulation, planning and implicit learning [Atkinson et al., 2001, 2003; Bellugi, St George, 2001; Vicari et al., 2001, 2007]. WS subjects have difficulty in maintaining visuo-spatial, but not visuo-object, information 2013 553 Sezione III: Attività per progetti in working memory and in performing long-term memory tasks [Vicari et al., 2005, 2006]. Furthermore, WS individuals have difficulties on spatial tasks including remembering locations [Paul et al., 2002], judging spatial relations between stimuli presented simultaneously [Farran, Jarrold, 2005], and exploring to search multiple rewards [Foti et al., 2011; Mandolesi et al., 2009]. People with DS show reduced performance in both visual-spatial and visualobject tests as well as reduced verbal short-term memory span [Menghini et al., 2011; Vicari, Carlesimo, 2006]. Taken together, these results reinforce the view that intellectual disability is not a unitary condition with homogeneous slowness of cognitive development but encompasses a variety of conditions in which some cognitive functions may be more disrupted than others. Actually, despite the cognitive profiles of WS and DS people are deeply studied, there are no studies that assess their observational learning. Conversely of WS and DS syndromes, the cognitive profile of PWS syndrome is not yet well investigated. In addition, not all PWS patients exhibit the same cognitive profile. The differences in specific cognitive domains have been correlated with different genotypes of this syndrome [Dykens, 2002]. Very recently we investigated PWS spatial abilities by using a Radial Arm Maze (RAM) task [Foti et al., 2011]. We trained PWS individuals with the deletion subtype in two different RAM paradigms that tapped different aspects of spatial memory. The findings evidenced the impairment of PWS individuals in solving the RAM task. Their spatial deficits may be related to the malfunctioning of spatial and motor integrative processing. Given the almost total lack of studies that investigate observational learning in the presence of specific ID, seems mandatory to investigate the abilities of learning by observation of DS, WS and PWS individuals to promote specific therapeutic intervention programs focused mainly on acquisition of new abilities and competencies. PROJECT OBJECTIVES The present project is aimed at studying the learning by observation or by trial and error in DS, WS and PWS individuals in order to create effective tools of intervention to improve the acquisition of new abilities and competencies. With this goal, we will proceed following the outlined steps below. First, the individuals with DS, WS and PWS will be submitted to an extensive neuropsychological battery to delineate their cognitive profile. Afterwards, they will be tested through the two tasks of learning by observation and learning by trial and error according to their mental and chronological age. Finally, the results will be analyzed in order to provide a more detailed picture of their cognitive abilities and to promote therapeutic intervention programs that develop and improve the acquisition of new abilities and competencies as well as the best teaching approach. In fact, the results obtained with the two tasks will have important implications for developing interventions to stimulate and improve learning. In school, teaching may be based on first showing how a task 554 2013 FJL.2 – Learning by observation: can a cognitive process be transformed... should be executed and then allowing to actually perform it. Conversely, teaching may be based on first allowing to actually perform a task and then showing how to perform the task previously experienced. The data that will be obtained will be able to indicate which teaching strategy has the superior learning power according to the specific learning disabilities. Furthermore, the results of the present project will allow to verify whether a specific teaching strategy may be extended to different learning practices. MATERIAL, METHODS AND METHODOLOGY Participants and neuropsychological assessment Forty children and adolescents with DS, 40 with WS, 40 with PWS, and 40 with typically developing (TD) individuals will be recruited. All the individuals with DS, WS and PWS come from the Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù of Rome and Palidoro (Rome), where periodically receive medical examinations and neuropsychological assessments. The control group will be comprised of 40 TD children and adolescents to match the DS, WS and PWS groups on the basis of mental age (MA) and socio-economic criteria. Individuals with DS, WS and PWS will be tested at the Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù in Rome or Palidoro (Rome), while TD forming the control group will be individually evaluated at school in a quiet room. Informed consent will be requested from each child and their parents. A short description of the neuropsychological battery that will be administered to individuals is reported below. – Cognitive global level: Stanford-Binet intelligence Scale, Form L-M, [Bozzo, Mansueto Zecca, 1993]; Raven’s progressive Matrices [Raven et al., 1986]. – Linguistic abilities: Boston naming test [Nicholas et al., 1989]; Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test [Dunn and Dunn, 1981]; Grammar Comprehension Test [Rustioni, 1994]. – Verbal fluency: This task is organized into two different subtests: the categorical subtest (CAT) and the phonological subtest (FAS) [Riva et al., 2000]. – Short-term memory: Digit forward span test; spatial forward span is established according to the procedure devised by Corsi [Orsini et al., 1987]. – Visual-spatial abilities: Block Design [WBD; Wechsler, 1986]; Visual Motor Integration Test [VMI; Beery, 1997]. – Long-term memory: A Visual-Object and a Visual-Spatial Learning Test [Vicari et al., 2005]. Behavioral learning tasks After the neuropsychological testing, all individuals, according to their mental and chronological age, will be tested in the tasks below described. – LEGO (Learning Enhancement by a Game Observation) – This task does not include any verbal instruction, so it is also suitable to test very young children or non-verbal individuals with severe language delay representing 2013 555 Sezione III: Attività per progetti thus a powerful tool to study the development of the imitative abilities. Designed to foster creativity and learning, Lego® bricks allow the children to play and to design different structures and in parallel to develop their motor skills and problem-solving skills. The subject’s task is to build structures with geometric properties by assembling bricks. The task consists in building a little house with some Lego® bricks provided to child by the experimenter. The participants learn to build the house either by assembling the bricks after an observational training in which they observe an actor who builds the house by using the same pieces (Learning by Observation) or by assembling the bricks to build the house without any demonstration (Learning by Trial and Error). The behavior of the children will be video-recorded during the entire trial. All actions of the children will be coded according to three categories: moves leading to correctly build the house; moves incorrect but related to build the house; fully inappropriate moves. We will calculate the time employed to construct the structure, the number of moves to construct it and the number of demonstrations necessary to build it. The data obtained will be first tested for normality and homoscedasticity and then compared by using analyses of variance (ANOVAs) and correlated with data of neuropsychological tests. – v-LEGO (virtual-Learning Enhancement by a Game Observation) – A 8×8 black matrix appears on a computer touch screen. The individual will be asked to find a hidden sequence of correct squares prepared in advance by the experimenters. The sequence will be composed of 10 adjacent spatial positions in the matrix, which formed a complex snake-like pattern. The participant starts by touching a grey square, which is the first element of the sequence and is always lit up. In the search for the second correct position, the participants touch one of the four black squares bordering the grey square by moving vertically or horizontally, but never diagonally, in the matrix. If the correct position is discovered, the touched square turns grey; conversely, if an incorrect position is touched the square turns red and the last correctly touched square turns grey until a new correct position is touched. Each touched square (correct or incorrect) is lit up for 500 ms and then becomes black again; thus, no trace of the performed sequence remains on the screen. Participants have to start the sequence again each time they find a new correct position. The same rules are applied in searching for all new positions [Menghini et al., 2011]. Once again, the participants will learn the sequence either by performing the task after observing an actor detect the sequence of correct items (observational training) or by actually performing the task by trial and error. For each trial, errors and times will be calculated. The data obtained will be first tested for normality and homoscedasticity and then compared by using analyses of variance (ANOVAs) and correlated with data of neuropsychological tests. EXPECTED OUTCOMES The present research project has the potential to single out the learning deficits in DS, WS and PWS subjects focusing on their spared learning 556 2013 FJL.2 – Learning by observation: can a cognitive process be transformed... capabilities. Their learning profile will make it possible to build interventions tailored to each individual affected by DS, WS and PWS in order to facilitate the acquisition of new cognitive and motor competencies and permit better social integration and development of self-efficacy and self-confidence. Namely, the results of the present project can promote progress in three areas: early intervention programs, learning outside of school, and formal education. Children are born learning, and how much they learn depends on environmental input. 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