Current debate surrounds the promise of neuroscience for education, including whether learning-related neural changes can predict learning transfer better than traditional performance-based learning assessments. Longstanding debate in philosophy and psychology concerns the proposition that spatial processes underlie seemingly nonspatial/verbal reasoning (mental model theory). If so, education that fosters spatial cognition might improve verbal reasoning. Here, in a quasi-experimental design in real-world STEM classrooms, a curriculum devised to foster spatial cognition yielded transfer to improved verbal reasoning. Further indicating a spatial basis for verbal transfer, students’ spatial cognition gains predicted and mediated their reasoning improvement. Longitudinal fMRI detected learning-related changes in neural activity, connectivity, and representational similarity in spatial cognition–implicated regions. Neural changes predicted and mediated learning transfer. Ensemble modeling demonstrated better prediction of transfer from neural change than from traditional measures (tests and grades). Results support in-school “spatial education” and suggest that neural change can inform future development of transferable curricula.

中文翻译：

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从空间教育到语言推理的迁移和学习相关神经变化的迁移预测

当前的争论围绕着神经科学对教育的前景，包括与学习相关的神经变化是否能比传统的基于绩效的学习评估更好地预测学习迁移。哲学和心理学中长期存在的争论涉及空间过程是看似非空间/语言推理的基础（心理模型理论）的命题。如果是这样，培养空间认知的教育可能会改善语言推理。在这里，在现实世界 STEM 教室的准实验设计中，旨在培养空间认知的课程将转化为改进的语言推理。进一步表明了语言迁移的空间基础，学生的空间认知增益预测并调节了他们的推理改进。纵向 fMRI 检测到与学习相关的神经活动、连通性、和空间认知相关区域的表征相似性。预测和介导学习迁移的神经变化。与传统测量（测试和等级）相比，集成建模显示了更好地预测神经变化的迁移。结果支持校内“空间教育”，并表明神经变化可以为可转移课程的未来发展提供信息。