Teacher-Student Neural Coupling During Teaching and Learning

Human communication is remarkably versatile, enabling teachers to share highly abstracted and novel information with their students. What neural processes enable such transfer of information across brains during naturalistic teaching and learning? Here, a teacher was scanned in fMRI giving an oral lecture with slides on a scientific topic followed by a review lecture. Students were then scanned watching either the intact lecture and review (N = 20) or a temporally scrambled version of the lecture (N = 20). Using intersubject correlation (ISC), we observed widespread teacher-student neural coupling spanning sensory cortex and language regions along the superior temporal sulcus as well as higher-level regions including posterior medial cortex (PMC), superior parietal lobule (SPL), and dorsolateral and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. Teacher-student alignment in higher-level areas was not observed when learning was disrupted by temporally scrambling the lecture. Moreover, teacher-student coupling in PMC was significantly correlated with learning: the more closely the student’s brain mirrored the teacher’s brain, the more the student improved their learning score. Together, these results suggest that the alignment of neural responses between teacher and students may reflect effective communication of complex information across brains in classroom settings.

Teacher-student neural coupling during teaching and learning

Human communication is remarkably versatile, enabling teachers to share highly abstracted and novel information with their students. What neural processes enable such transfer of information across brains during naturalistic teaching and learning? Here, we show that during lectures, wherein information transmission is unidirectional and flows from the teacher to the student, the student’s brain mirrors the teacher’s brain and that this neural coupling is correlated with learning outcomes. A teacher was scanned in fMRI giving an oral lecture with slides on a scientific topic followed by a review lecture. Students were then scanned watching either the intact lecture and review (N = 20) or a temporally scrambled version of the lecture (N = 20). Using intersubject correlation (ISC), we observed widespread teacher-student neural coupling spanning sensory cortex and language regions along the superior temporal sulcus as well as higher-level regions including posterior medial cortex (PMC), superior parietal lobule (SPL), and dorsolateral and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. Teacher-student alignment in higher-level areas was not observed when learning was disrupted by temporally scrambling the lecture. Moreover, teacher-student coupling in PMC was significantly correlated with learning outcomes: the more closely the student’s brain mirrored the teacher’s brain, the more the student improved between behavioral pre-learning and post-learning assessments. Together, these results suggest that the alignment of neural responses between teacher and students may underlie effective communication of complex information across brains in classroom settings.Significance statementHow is technical, non-narrative information communicated from one brain to another during teaching and learning? In this fMRI study, we show that the DMN activity of teachers and students are coupled during naturalistic teaching. This teacher-student neural coupling emerges only during intact learning and is correlated with learning outcomes. Together, these findings suggest that teacher-student neural alignment underlies effective communication during teaching.

Using Masked Raters to Evaluate Social Validity of a Parent-Implemented Communication Intervention

Interventions designed for children with disabilities and their families should be socially valid. Parent-implemented Communication Strategies-Storybook (PiCSS) is an intervention package designed to coach parents on shared storybook reading and naturalistic teaching strategies. In PiCSS program, the participating parents used the communication teaching strategies with high fidelity, and children responded more to their parents’ communication. To evaluate the social validity of PiCSS, we designed video-based rating surveys and collected data from masked raters (college students and practitioners). In total, 120 raters evaluated 12 1-min video clips. Quantitative analyses revealed that all raters scored coaching videos significantly higher than baseline videos for parent and child outcomes, indicating the PiCSS program had positive outcomes in parent–child interactions.

Parent-Implemented Communication Strategies During Storybook Reading

Children with developmental disabilities (DD) may experience delays in their ability to speak and communicate with their parents, peers, and others. These children often benefit from evidence-based, parent-implemented communication interventions. In the current study, two mothers were trained and coached to use storybook reading techniques and evidence-based naturalistic communication teaching strategies (i.e., modeling, mand-model, and time delay) while reading books with their children with DD. Using a multiple-baseline design across naturalistic teaching strategies, the following three components were examined: (a) mothers’ use of book reading techniques, (b) mothers’ rate and fidelity in using the three naturalistic teaching strategies, and (c) children’s communication outcomes. After training and coaching, the mothers used the modeling, mand-model, and time delay strategies with higher rates and higher fidelity. The children initiated more communicative acts upon their mothers’ use of time delay. The mothers reported that the training and coaching helped them implement the strategies and led to improvements in their children’s communication skills.

Caregiver-Implemented Intervention for Communication and Motor Outcomes for Infants and Toddlers

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of coaching caregivers to embed both communication and motor outcomes concurrently within daily routines of their infants or toddlers with significant disabilities using Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT) strategies. The coaching and embedding practices were part of a multicomponent intervention known as Embedded Practices and Intervention with Caregivers (EPIC). Three children, aged 15 to 23 months with significant disabilities, their caregivers, and an early intervention provider participated in this single case multiple probe design study. Primary dependent variables were caregivers’ number of naturalistic teaching strategies used and rates of correctly embedded instruction for each learning target in each routine. Child motor and communication outcomes were also examined. Results provide initial support for the positive effects of the EPIC approach using EMT strategies to embed intervention on two developmental domains concurrently in caregiver’s daily routines.

Enhanced Milieu Teaching: Incorporating AAC Into Naturalistic Teaching With Young Children and Their Partners

Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT) is an evidence-based naturalistic intervention strategy that teaches functional communication and language skills in everyday interactions with partners. In this manuscript, we describe the key communication support strategies used in EMT and how individuals can use these strategies with augmentative and alternative communication systems. We also present strategies for teaching partners to use EMT with AAC in interactions with young children.