Activity of Prefrontal Cortex in Teachers and Students during Teaching of an Insight Problem

Metacognitive functions are important for both teachers and students to facilitate teaching and learning. The prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays a proven role in metacognition. As a pilot study, we evaluated the PFC activity of teachers and students using near‐infrared spectroscopy devices to explore the neural mechanism of PFC underlying metacognitive function during teaching and problem‐solving processes. In 14 student‐teacher pairs, participants in the teacher role gave hints via a tablet screen to facilitate solving of a tangram puzzle task by participants in the student role. The PFC activity of teachers increased after giving hints but not while planning hints. The PFC activity of students increased upon task solving after receiving hints. The PFC of teachers might play a metacognitive role in monitoring their own teaching results. The PFC activity of students might be related to the creativity process after gaining insights, as well as metacognitive process for monitoring their own behavior.     

Next Steps for Mind,Brain, and Education: Strengthening Early‐Career Development

An increasing number of scholars are being trained in the field of mind, brain, and education (MBE), yet discussions of trainees' needs and how to meet them are rare. We, the inaugural International Mind, Brain, and Education Society (IMBES) Trainee Board, identify three broad needs of MBE trainees: guidance and support, greater access to and connections among the MBE community, and professional development. We report a first step to address these needs: a daylong trainee conference, which included sessions to foster connections among trainees, provide mentorship from MBE leaders, and provide knowledge and skill building for careers. Attendees' survey results suggest the conference successfully supported trainees' development. As substantial trainee needs remain, we offer specific ways that principal investigators, institutions, funding agencies, future IMBES trainee boards, and the MBE community can further address trainees' needs to support early‐career development and strengthen the MBE field generally.     

Success in Consulting

Do you regularly reflect on the value you bring to your client? The act of reflection is something experienced consultants, both internal and external, consistently do in their practice. This article examines the ways in which Certified Performance Technologists (CPTs) define and recognize the success of their efforts, but most importantly, how they learn from engagements that do not always end with the desired outcome. You will hear from CPTs across several industries in their own words about what strategies they have employed to continue to improve their skill sets.     

Instructional Design Students’ Design Judgment in Action

This case study examines the design practices of instructional design (ID) students while working on a realistic design project (Joel, 1987) to explore whether ID students make design judgments; how, when, and where they are making them; and what kinds of judgments they make during a realistic instructional design process. The perspective taken in this study is that design judgments comprise multiple, complex types and are not confined to moments of overt decision making (Nelson & Stolterman, 2012). In this small‐scale case study, a group of students was observed in the process of designing instruction within a semester. The findings of the study suggest that these ID students continuously made design judgments of many kinds throughout the design process.     

创新大数据、创新治理效能和数字化转型

愈加庞杂的国家创新体系的有效治理迫切需要借助现代科学的方法和手段来支撑，国家创新治理的数字化转型是实现国家创新治理能力现代化、推动创新型国家建设的有效选择。本文从创新治理数字化转型的实践背景与研究背景出发，从多元主体参与、科学性与透明性、精准性、效率、应对与风险防控能力5个维度深入剖析了大数据如何影响国家创新治理，同时从科技发展监测、预见和战略制定、项目与计划管理、活动行为刻画、政策演化和效果跟踪5个方面描述了大数据在国家创新治理体系中的应用情景。最后，就充分发挥利用大数据在创新治理中的作用、实现创新治理的数字化转型提出了相应建议：转变政府创新治理的理念和治理模式、建立多层次创新监测数据整合平台、打通部门间的多层级创新信息孤岛、推行和实施科技创新信息的公开化、建立完善的创新数据管理法规体系、加快推进新型数字基础设施建设。本文为进一步认识大数据在创新引领发展与国家治理体系现代化中的重要支撑作用提供依据。