Zeng Hang, Huang Xinmei, Liu Yelin, Gu Xiaojing
Center for Educational Science and Technology, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai 519087, China.
Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
Brain Sci. 2025 Aug 13;15(8):860. doi: 10.3390/brainsci15080860.
Classroom attention is a fundamental cognitive function that is crucial to effective learning and significantly influences academic performance. Recent advances in investigating neural correlates of attention in classroom environments provide insights into underlying neural mechanisms and potentially enhance educational outcomes. This paper presents a scoping review of empirical studies investigating neural activities associated with students' attention in classroom environments. Based on the 16 studies that we included after systematically searching, five main objectives were identified: (i) examination of neural markers of student attention in classroom environments, (ii) comparison of different learning environments, (iii) comparison of different classroom activities, (iv) data quality examination, and (v) student attention improvement. All selected studies used electroencephalogram (EEG) recording to measure neural activities, primarily using NeuroSky and Emotiv EPOC devices. Researchers measured classroom attention through brain-to-brain synchrony or frequency power. While differences in neural activity across classroom activities were noted, further investigation is needed for consistent results. Most studies focused on university students and had limited sample sizes, though they covered diverse study domains. Overall, while some preliminary results have been identified, there are several concerns regarding the neural measurements of attention used, contradictory findings, lack of verification, and limited sample sizes and techniques. Further studies are recommended to extend our understanding of neural evidence of attention in classroom environments.
课堂注意力是一项基本的认知功能，对有效学习至关重要，并显著影响学业成绩。近期在研究课堂环境中注意力的神经关联方面取得的进展，为深入了解潜在的神经机制并有可能提高教育成果提供了见解。本文对调查课堂环境中与学生注意力相关的神经活动的实证研究进行了范围综述。基于我们在系统检索后纳入的16项研究，确定了五个主要目标：（i）检查课堂环境中学生注意力的神经标志物，（ii）比较不同的学习环境，（iii）比较不同的课堂活动，（iv）检查数据质量，以及（v）提高学生注意力。所有选定的研究都使用脑电图（EEG）记录来测量神经活动，主要使用NeuroSky和Emotiv EPOC设备。研究人员通过脑对脑同步或频率功率来测量课堂注意力。虽然注意到课堂活动之间神经活动存在差异，但需要进一步研究以获得一致的结果。大多数研究关注大学生，样本量有限，尽管它们涵盖了不同的研究领域。总体而言，虽然已经确定了一些初步结果，但在所用注意力的神经测量、相互矛盾的发现、缺乏验证以及样本量和技术有限方面存在若干问题。建议进一步开展研究，以扩展我们对课堂环境中注意力神经证据的理解。
