Why did you carry out this study?
Many concepts in maths and science are counterintuitive [1]. This is
because children hold naïve theories based on their first-hand experiences
of the world (e.g. a belief that the world is flat as the ground beneath us
appears flat and when a child kicks a ball it behaves as if on a flat surface)
or misleading perceptual cues (e.g. a belief that the angles in a large
triangle are greater than those in a small triangle, because the overall
shape is larger). These ‘misconceptions’ can interfere with learning new
concepts, even into adulthood [2].
Evidence from cognitive neuroscience suggests that learning
counterintuitive concepts requires inhibitory control [3,4]. Inhibitory
control is the ability to withhold an intuitive, pre-potent response, in
favour of a more considered response – it is one of a set of cognitive
control processes or ‘executive functions’ [5]. Therefore, we were
interested in finding out whether training children to use their inhibitory
control could improve learning of counterintuitive concepts. However,
traditional executive function training has shown limited success in terms
of participants transferring their skills beyond the trained task [6]. Taking
a novel approach, we developed and evaluated a computerised
classroom-based intervention, Stop & Think, which embeds inhibitory
control training within the specific domain in which we would like children
to use it, i.e. content from the maths and science school curricula.
What are your key findings?
Cross-sectional analyses of data from 627 children in Years 3 and 5 (7- to
10-year-olds) demonstrated that inhibitory control (measured on a Stroop-
like task) was associated with counterintuitive reasoning and maths and
science achievement.
In addition, a subsample of 456 children had teaching as usual or
participated in Stop & Think (12 minutes, 3 times per week) for 10 weeks.
There were no significant intervention effects for Year 5 children. However,
for Year 3 children, Stop & Think led to significantly better maths and
science counterintuitive reasoning performance and significantly better
standardised science achievement scores (but not maths achievement
scores) compared to teaching as usual.
Why is it important for educators?
These findings support the idea that inhibitory control contributes to
counterintuitive reasoning and mathematics and science achievement.
Therefore, ensuring children can effectively use their inhibitory control in
the classroom is important for educators.
From an educational neuroscience perspective, these findings provide
preliminary evidence that a neurobiologically-informed intervention
delivered by teachers in the classroom, can improve ‘real-world’ academic
learning.
Furthermore, there have been few interventions that target primary school
science despite the subject’s economic importance [7]. Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) industries contribute
over £68 billion a year to the UK economy and account for over a third of
UK exports. Despite their importance, there has been little emphasis on
interventions that target mathematics and science skills, particularly when
compared to the wealth of literature on literacy skills intervention. The
promising findings here, in particular for Year 3 science, suggests that
there could be educational and economic gains from training such as Stop
& Think as an educational tool within primary school lessons.
Information for parents
The UnLocke team have designed an innovative maths and science
computer-based learning activity that teaches Year 3 and 5 children to
think carefully before answering questions. Our researchers want to find
out just how effective UnLocke is at improving children's achievements in
maths and science. If your child is participating in our project, their
involvement will be crucial in helping evaluate UnLocke and contributing
to educational neuroscience research to improve children's learning.
If your child’s class is participating in our project, your child may use the
UnLocke activity for 15 minutes, 3 times per week, for 10 weeks during
maths and science classes. Your child will also complete some short
assessments with their class before and after the 10 week programme.
The UnLocke tasks are presented in a game show format led by a friendly
character, Andy, who poses questions. Andy and three other contestents
guide children through the tasks demonstrating different kinds of
reasoning. So far, children who have tried UnLocke activities have found
them to be engaging and enjoyable! The tasks they complete as part of
UnLocke have been carefully developed by a team of experts in Education
and Psychology, to meet the content of the maths and science national
curricula for each age group.
As part of out project, your child may instead be involved in the use of a
similar learning activity that addresses social skills for learning. This will
form part of your child's PSHE lesson.
You will receive an information sheet about our project, and a consent
letter allowing you to opt-out if you do not want your child to participate.
Our study has full ethical approval, following the guidelines of the British
Psychological Society. All researchers who will be working with children are
fully DBS checked, and have years of experience conducting research with
children.
We will ensure confidentiality and anonymity when publishing the results
of our study and will never name any individual school or pupil.
We are very grateful for your support – without participation we
would not be able complete this project and make new discoveries in
educational neuroscience that may contribute to improving children's
learning.
Below are some frequently asked questions related to UnLocke. If you
have any further questions, feel free to send an email to
unlocke@[Link], or get in touch via our contact form.
What is UnLocke?
Why should my school take part in this research?
How will the impact of this project be evaluated?
Who can take part?
How is the safety of my pupils ensured?
How will we find out about the results?
What is a randomised controlled trial?
How do I get involved?
What is UnLocke?
UnLocke is an innovative computer-based learning activity designed
to help children in Years 3 and 5 stop and think before tackling problems
in science and maths. A friendly character, named Andy, poses tricky
questions to three virtual game-show contestants who demonstrate
correct and incorrect thinking. Children complete various tasks as if they
are taking part in the game-show. The tasks have been carefully
developed to meet the content of the national curriculum for each age
group.
UnLocke is part of a research and development project funded by the
Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and Wellcome Trust (click here
to find out more). As part of the project, we will be following the
progress of schools who are using UnLocke at the start of their maths and
science lessons.
The project is split into three stages...
Stage 1
We have now completed Stage 1
Our experts are working to refine UnLocke, making sure that it meets the
learning needs of Year 3 and 5 pupils.
As part of Stage 1, 8 primary schools will receive a pilot version of
UnLocke with a training session from one of our team for free. Over a 10
week period, participating classes will use UnLocke at the start of maths
and science lessons, 3 times per week, for 15 minutes. This will take
place for 5 weeks during November and December, before the Christmas
break in 2016, and will continue for 5 weeks after Christmas.
We will follow the progress of these schools in order to find out what we
may need to improve. This is an important part of the project, as it will
help us to prepare UnLocke for the larger trial in Stage 2.
Schools involved in the pilot are welcome to recieve the final version of
UnLocke when it becomes available.
Stage 2
We have now completed Stage 2
Once we have finalised the UnLocke programme, children in 100 primary
schools across the UK will use UnLocke at the start of their maths and
science lessons. We will run half-day training workshops for teachers and
teaching assistants, to explain the background of the project and their
involvement in its implementation. Over a 10 week period, participating
classes will use UnLocke at the start of maths and science lessons, 3
times per week, for 15 minutes.
While most classes will be given this computerised learning activity in
maths and science lessons, other classes will be given a similar
computerised activity to use in PSCHE lessons instead. The PSCHE version
focuses on the use of social skills in learning, rather than on
misconceptions in maths and science, and will function as a control
condition to allow us to evaluate the impact of the maths and science
programme on children's learning of counterintuitive concepts.
As part of Stage 2, a small number of randomly selected children
will be invited, on a purely voluntary basis, to take part in further
cognitive assessments, including some brain imaging.. This will
involve separate additional consent from parents and will help us to see
the effect the learning activity has on the brain.
In addition to our own research, NFER (see below) have been
commissioned by EEF to conduct an independent evaluation of the impact
of UnLocke. This will involve a short specifically designed task measuring
inhibitory control, and completing a pen-and-paper standardised math and
science assessment.
Stage 3
We are currently in Stage 3 of the Project
Now that the 10 week programme has been completed, we are currently
analysing the data and collecting feedback from the participating schools
on their experiences of using the learning activities and ways that it can
be improved. We will be ready to feedback our results once we have
analysed all our data and will be organising dissemination activities next
year in 2020!
For results of the evaluation report by the NFER click here.
Stage 4
We are about to begin Stage 4 of the project!
We have been further developing and improving UnLocke’s computer-
based activities to be adaptive and individualised. This means that when
children engage in the activities alone on a computer, the program will
adapt to their knowledge and skill level, to make sure that they get the
support that they need to succeed.
Stage 4 will involve two research studies (Study A and Study B) with Year
3 pupils.
Study A will take place in November 2019. Children will be invited to use
the unLOCKE software on a researcher’s computer for one 15-minute
session. Participating children will be randomly allocated to use one of
four visually different versions of the UnLocke science and maths concepts
software. We will use eye-tracking software to analyse where each child is
looking on the screen during their use of unLOCKE. We will use this
information to choose the best user-interface design for individualised use
of the software going into Study B.
Similar to Stage 2, participants who take part in Study B will use UnLocke
at the start of a maths or science lesson over 10 weeks (February to May
2020), 3 times per week, for 15 minutes. This will be preceded and
followed by a short series of cognitive tests. All classes will be given the
same individualised intervention. We will use the results from this study to
understand better how individualised, computer-based, inhibitory control
training activities can improve children’s counterintuitive reasoning skills
in science and maths, as well as to inform the design of future adaptive
educational interventions.
Why should my school take part in this research?
Neuroscience evidence suggests it will be effective. Click here for
further information
You will be part of an initiative to bridge the gap between
neuroscience research and education practice
You will have the opportunity to collaborate with neuroscientists with
the aim of finding out what does and does not work in the classroom
Teachers/Teaching Assistants will receive training to give them an
understanding of the neuroscience background and context of the
study
You will have access to the UnLocke learning activity for use after
the trial
You will be provided with the results of the standardised math and
science assessments run by NFER as part of the evaluation of the
UnLocke project
How will the impact of this project be evaluated?
Stage 4 of the project will be evaluated by UCL and Birkbeck research
staff, using similar methods to previous evaluations. Additionally, we will
investigate how interactions in the individualised software relate to
improvements in cognitive outcomes (e.g. counterintuitive reasoning).
Who can take part?
Year 3 and 5 classes from Primary schools in London and the surrounding
areas can volunteer to participate in Stage 1 of our project. For Stage 2,
we are looking for Year 3 and 5 classes from state primary schools across
England, but especially in the North-west, Midlands and South-west.
For Stage 4, we invite Year 3 classes from the greater London and West
Midlands areas to take part in our research. While any class can take part
in Stage 4 Study A, Study B requires that the class has access to
computers for 15 minutes, 3 days a week, for the 10 week duration of the
study.
We are currently recruiting classes for Stage 4 of UnLocke! Click [here
(link)] to sign up now. If you wish to be kept up to date with the results of
the UnLocke Project and any further activities, please email
unlocke@[Link].
How is the safety of my pupils ensured?
The study has received full ethical approval from our ethics committee,
following the guidelines of the British Psychological Society
All research assistants who will be working with the schools will have full
enhanced DBS checks.
How will we find out about the results?
In 2020, we will hold workshops for all participating schools where we will
feedback the results from Stages 1-3 of the project. NFER will also publish
its report on the impact of the UnLocke project. This will be available
through the EEF website shortly afterwards.
The results of Stage 4 will be written up in a report by researchers at UCL
and Birkbeck and distributed to participating classes and schools in 2021.
For results of the evaluation report by the NFER click here.
What is a randomised controlled trial?
In order to test the impact of UnLocke, the classes taking part will be
randomly selected to either (1) use the UnLocke activity, (2) the
alternative social skills based activity, or (3) continue with their usual
teaching activities. This design is known as a randomised control trial. It
aims to demonstrate the effect of each activity, both science/maths and
social, by comparing their effects, and also comparing these to the effect
of usual lessons. Each of the groups is essential for evaluating the impact
of the UnLocke activities, so it is very important that all classes stick to
their group and complete the activities as instructed throughout the whole
trial period.
How do I get involved?
We are currently recruiting classes for Stage 4 of UnLocke! Click [here
(link)] to sign up now. If you wish to be kept up to date with the results of
the UnLocke Project and any further activities, please email
unlocke@[Link]
2018/19 Efficiency Trial Results
The trial took place across the autumn and winter terms of 2018/19 and
was independently evaluated by NFER, the National Foundation for
Educational Research.
2022/23 Effectiveness Trial Results can be found here.
You can click here to watch one of our top scientists describe the results of
the trial.
A total of 6672 children in Years 3 and 5 coming from 89 schools in
England took part in this project. There was a mix of single form and
multiform entry schools reflecting both rural and urban settings.
This study consisted of a Randomised Control Trial designed to test the
effectiveness of the Stop and Think computerised learning activity at
boosting maths and science achievement in primary school. Half of the
participating children were randomly allocated by the independent
evaluator to the “Stop and Think” maths and science condition, one
quarter were randomly allocated to the SEE+ computerised social training
condition, and one quarter were randomly allocated to a business as usual
condition. The inclusion of an “active” control group of children, who
engages in a different computerised learning activity, allows us to test
whether any improvements in performance observed in the Stop and
Think children are due to the specific content of Stop and Think, or,
whether just the fact that children and teachers were taking part in a fun
computerised activity at the beginning of the lesson is enough to cause
any change in achievement. Indeed, just knowing that you are in a study
and starting lessons with a novel engaging activity could be sufficient to
raise performance in class.
The overall results were mixed. When looking at all children combined, the
prediction that performance in both maths and science would improve
was not found to be statistically reliable. However, when considering
maths and science separately, Stop and Think led to an equivalent of 2
additional months’ progress in science, which was statistically reliable
and, although not statistically reliable, Stop and Think led to an equivalent
of 1 additional month’s progress in maths. The observed impact of Stop
and Think was greater in Year 5 than in Year 3, in both maths and science.
Finally, although the study was underpowered to test this statistically (that
is, not enough children were tested to be fully confident of the
conclusions), Year 3 children with free school meal status benefitted more
from Stop and Think in maths than the group of children as a whole.
We find these results extremely promising, especially when considering
that this was a relatively short intervention, over 10 weeks, and the low
cost of the intervention (calculated as around £5 per pupil over 3 years).
The Education Endowment Foundation give this trial a 4/5 rating (one of
their highest scores) in terms of reliability of the trial and take the view
that the results provide evidence of promise for ‘Stop and Think’ as a
programme.
During follow-up interviews with the teachers, it became clear that some
teachers had experienced difficulties related to the running of the
computerised activities in their classroom and were unsure about how to
embed them more clearly into their lessons. We are confident that these
issues can be addressed with improvements to the existing Stop and
Think computerised learning activity, particularly to give teachers more
control over delivery of the content. This is the aim of ongoing research
and development.
Despite these limitations, a majority of teachers reported they thought
Stop and Think had had a positive impact on the maths and science ability
of their pupils, but also on them as a teacher. For example, they said:
"Stop and Think helped pupils to further develop social skills such as
listening and considering other pupils’ points of view."
"Some pupils took the Stop and Think idea into other lessons, that is to
say, pupils were taking time to consider questions before answering."
"The Stop and Think game show contestants and animations in the
programme, encouraged pupils to reason more which enhanced their
learning."
"It allowed me to develop my understanding of how the children in my
class learn and to analyse what they know, how clearly they understand
concepts and to identify misconceptions that some/most or all children in
my class have."
"It gave me an insight into how children’s ideas can change when given
thinking time and how they are able to reason as to why something is
right or wrong."
To read the full report, please visit the EEF website:
[Link]
projects/learning-counterintuitive-concepts/
Finally, … we wish to say a gigantic THANK YOU to all the schools,
teachers and pupils who took part in this study. We can have the best
ideas in the world, but without your participation, research into children’s
learning and better educational practice cannot progress!
The UnLocke project found that classes who used the computer game
performed better on both math and science tests than classes who had
not used the computer programme. Click here to see a video of the full
findings
What do cows drink?
Ermmm....
Uhhh.....
Milk?
No, wait....
Water of course!
Did you think of milk too? Many people’s first answer to this question is
milk, even though deep-down they know that this is wrong. This is
because many facts and ideas come to mind at the same time when we
are trying to answer questions about the real world. Milk comes to mind
because we often see pictures of milk and cows together, or hear the
words milk and cows mentioned together, so we find it easier to say milk
rather than any other word when we hear the word cow. This is called
priming.
Priming is very helpful because it allows us to speak quickly and not have
to search a long time for every word in our sentences. It is used by smart
phones and internet search engines to speed up your typing too. However,
it can go wrong, as in the example above. This is particularly true when
we are learning something new.
To learn something new, we first have to stop the automatic, primed ideas
coming to mind, and then take on the new ideas. For example, it took a
long time for people to discover and believe that the earth was round
because they had to stop thinking that it looked flat and therefore was
flat. This problem is particularly important in science and math lessons at
school.
Scientists are now beginning to understand how the priming of ideas and
also the inhibition (just ignoring) of ideas happens in our brains. On the
basis of these discoveries, we have developed a learning activity in the
form of a computer game which helps primary school children to stop,
think, and wait before responding.
This computer game can help children learn new ideas in science and
maths by helping them to recognise when they need to be careful
because they may be primed to give the wrong answer. Children will learn
to ignore the primed answer and to stop and think before responding. So,
for example, the computer game might help you not say “milk” when
asked what cows drink, but instead correctly say “water” because you
have taken the time to think this through properly.
In the UnLocke Project, we are testing how easily this computerised
learning activity could be done in classrooms across the country. How well
can it be combined with your normal maths and science lessons? How
effectively does it work in all kinds of different schools? We are very
excited about this because we hope that it will help everyone’s learning
and also make children more interested in maths and science.
Maybe your school would like to take part in this study too? We
hope so!
