FMRI of Expert-Novice Teachers within the Reading the Eyes in the Mind Test

1. fMRI of Expert-Novice Teachers within the “Reading the Eyes in the Mind” Test

2. Abstract History of expertise research Traits common to experts Difficulties within the research Proposed methodology Predicted findings

3. Introduction to Expert-Novices How is an expert defined? An expert is an individual widely recognized as reliable source of particular knowledge, technique, or ability whose judgment is accorded authority and status by the public Niels Bohr “An expert is a man who made all the mistakes in a very narrow field”

4. Why Unravel the Nature of Expertise? Expert performances provide a temporary pedagogical theory Scaffolding Instructional benefits

5. Characterization of Expert-Novices Experts are better able to recall facts, features, and specific patterns with their domain of expertise Thought and Choice in Chess (de Groot, 1965) Perception, memory, organization of knowledge and decision making of experts was different to novices Prerequisite for expertise lies in the development of functional, efficient ways of perceiving, recalling, processing and organizing information within a particular domain

6. Characterization of Expert-Novices(cont.) Perception in Chess (Chase & Simon, 1973) Superior performance is for specifically meaningful information Increased memory for chess positions The acquisition of of perceptual diagnostic skill in radiology (Lesgold et al., 1981) Experts perceive meaningful data more efficiently because they recognize more meaning in the information

7. Expert-Novice Distinctions in Teaching There exist two predominant frameworks that define the patterns existent in master level teachers Multifaceted cognitive ability (Anderson, 1984) Improvisational practice (Yinger, 1987)

8. Developing the Perception of an Expert Teacher The better a teacher becomes at interpreting the significance of what they see, the better information is available to make sound decisions in the classroom Development of acute perceptual capacities is a primary characteristic for expert teachers (Berliner, 1984) Experts are better able to observe students and discern critical cues that provide insight for informed and intuitive decisions (Woorons, 2001).

9. Four Features of How Experts See Focus on events relevant to student performance and learning Make inferences from observations Pay attention to atypical occurrences Observe with a critical eye

10. Experts & fMRI The automation of skill is correlated with less cognitive involvement and effort (Allard, 1993) Professional piano players activated a smaller number of voxels during a finger movement task (Krings et al., 2000) Board game cognition activated other cortical areas during analysis (Chen et al., 2002) High degree of frontal lobe involvement (Levy & Goldman0Rakic, 2000)

11. Expert Teachers and fMRI? NOTHING? No one has yet to try it. Why? No “Checkmate” Teaching tasks are difficult to conduct in a scanner Identification of skilled teachers Pedagogical knowledge is undervalued

12. “Reading the Mind in the Eyes”(Baron-Cohen, 2001) Involves inferring the mental state of a person from just the information conveyed in photographs of eyes Consists of 36 images that were normed with a large population Initially used as a Theory of Mind Task to assess both Autism and Asperger’s syndrome

13. fMRI Proposal Teachers and the “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” Test Experts are better at interpreting what they see Acute perceptual capacities Discern critical cues that provide insight for informed and intuitive decisions

14. Predictions Experts will display a decrease in total activation Response time difference between experts and novices Perhaps experts will have activations in alternative regions

15. Subjects Subjects will be drawn as in previous behavioral expert-novice teacher studies Experts Will be identified from recommendations from school superintendents and principals Each nominee will be observed on multiple occasions Novices First-year teachers who have recently graduated and been certified N=12, 6 right handed expert teachers & 6 novice counterparts Elementary school teachers

16. Methodology Example of the task prior to the scan Event-related design 100 face perception stimuli 33 control, shape perception task 8 sec duration of the stimuli (piloted) 18 minute scan/subject 4 choice right handed button press

17. Experimental Stimulus

18. Control Stimulus

19. fMRI data Acquisition Gradient echoplanar imaging will be acquired in a GE Signa 1.5T scanner One hundred T1* and T2* weighted images depicting BOLD contrast over 18 minutes 14 near-linear axial slices, 7mm thick, with a 0.7 mm interslice gap TR: 3 sec, TE: 40 ms Total Cost: $2800.00

20. Implications for Teaching Bridges still need to be built between neuroscience and basic educational research Designing of preparation programs for the training of novices May range from the manner in which science class is taught to authentic teacher evaluation

21. Limitations of the Study The findings have numerous potential implications for future research; however, the devised tasks may have been too artificial to simulate other important differences in the way experts and novices actually distinguish and proceed upon classroom situations

22. Questions? The goal of education is not to create consumers of evidence, but rather generators of knowledge.