Institute of Sport Science, University of Bern, Switzerland.
Department of Psychology, University of Bern, Switzerland.
Br J Educ Psychol. 2019 Jun;89(2):225-238. doi: 10.1111/bjep.12232. Epub 2018 Jun 26.
Given the strong relationship between executive functions and academic achievement, there has been great interest in improving executive functions. School-based group interventions targeting executive functions revealed encouraging results in preschoolers and young school children; however, there is a paucity of studies in older primary school children (age 10-12). This is surprising considering that deficits in executive function performance can often be observed in this age group.
Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine whether an innovative customized school-based group intervention could improve core executive functions (updating, inhibition, and shifting) in the age group concerned.
In total, 118 ten- to twelve-year-old school children were recruited from eight participating classes.
They were randomly assigned to one of two-six-week conditions of either a cognitive games group comprising of card and board games training executive functions (experimental group) or a wait-list control group (regular school lessons). In the cognitive games group, the class teachers held a 30-min training session twice a week. ANCOVAs (using pre-test values as covariate) were used to compare executive function performance between groups.
Results revealed that the cognitive games group improved specific executive functions (updating and shifting) compared to the control group. These findings indicate that a school-based group intervention can improve executive functions, even in 'older' primary school children.
This study provides empirical evidence for the effectiveness of a classroom-based cognitive training in older primary school children and is of practical relevance for educators.
鉴于执行功能与学业成绩之间存在很强的关系，因此人们非常关注如何改善执行功能。针对执行功能的基于学校的团体干预措施在学龄前儿童和小学生中显示出了令人鼓舞的效果；然而，在年龄较大的小学生（10-12 岁）中，相关研究却很少。考虑到在这个年龄段经常可以观察到执行功能表现的缺陷，这令人惊讶。
因此，本研究的目的是检验一种创新的基于学校的团体干预措施是否可以改善相关年龄组的核心执行功能（更新、抑制和转换）。
总共从八个参与班级中招募了 118 名 10-12 岁的在校儿童。
他们被随机分配到两个为期六周的条件之一：认知游戏组，包括卡片和棋盘游戏训练执行功能（实验组）或等待名单对照组（常规学校课程）。在认知游戏组中，班主任每周举行两次 30 分钟的培训课程。采用协方差分析（使用前测值作为协变量）比较组间执行功能表现。
结果表明，认知游戏组与对照组相比，特定的执行功能（更新和转换）有所改善。这些发现表明，基于学校的团体干预措施可以改善执行功能，即使是在“年龄较大”的小学生中。
本研究为基于课堂的认知训练在年龄较大的小学生中的有效性提供了实证证据，对教育工作者具有实际意义。
