Brain-to-Brain Synchrony and Learning Outcomes Vary by Student–Teacher Dynamics: Evidence from a Real-world Classroom Electroencephalography Study

How does the human brain support real-world learning? We used wireless electroencephalography to collect neurophysiological data from a group of 12 senior high school students and their teacher during regular biology lessons. Six scheduled classes over the course of the semester were organized such that class materials were presented using different teaching styles (videos and lectures), and students completed a multiple-choice quiz after each class to measure their retention of that lesson's content. Both students' brain-to-brain synchrony and their content retention were higher for videos than lectures across the six classes. Brain-to-brain synchrony between the teacher and students varied as a function of student engagement as well as teacher likeability: Students who reported greater social closeness to the teacher showed higher brain-to-brain synchrony with the teacher, but this was only the case for lectures—that is, when the teacher is an integral part of the content presentation. Furthermore, students' retention of the class content correlated with student–teacher closeness, but not with brain-to-brain synchrony. These findings expand on existing social neuroscience research by showing that social factors such as perceived closeness are reflected in brain-to-brain synchrony in real-world group settings and can predict cognitive outcomes such as students' academic performance.

[1]  R. Hari,et al.  Emotions promote social interaction by synchronizing brain activity across individuals , 2012, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[2]  F. Scholkmann,et al.  A new methodical approach in neuroscience: assessing inter-personal brain coupling using functional near-infrared imaging (fNIRI) hyperscanning , 2013, Front. Hum. Neurosci..

[3]  Michael J. Hove,et al.  It's all in the timing: Interpersonal synchrony increases affiliation , 2009 .

[4]  Judith D. Singer,et al.  Using SAS PROC MIXED to Fit Multilevel Models, Hierarchical Models, and Individual Growth Models , 1998 .

[5]  N. Mesgarani,et al.  Selective cortical representation of attended speaker in multi-talker speech perception , 2012, Nature.

[6]  H. Goldstein.  Multilevel Statistical Models , 2006 .

[7]  Line Garnero,et al.  Inter-Brain Synchronization during Social Interaction , 2010, PloS one.

[8]  Adam M. Kleinbaum,et al.  Spontaneous neural encoding of social network position , 2017 .

[9]  Arnaud Delorme,et al.  EEGLAB: an open source toolbox for analysis of single-trial EEG dynamics including independent component analysis , 2004, Journal of Neuroscience Methods.

[10]  Thalia Wheatley,et al.  Pupil Dilation Patterns Spontaneously Synchronize Across Individuals During Shared Attention , 2017, Journal of experimental psychology. General.

[11]  S. Shimojo,et al.  Interpersonal body and neural synchronization as a marker of implicit social interaction , 2012, Scientific Reports.

[12]  Frank J. Bernieri,et al.  Coordinated movement and rapport in teacher-student interactions , 1988 .

[13]  David Poeppel,et al.  Cortical oscillations and speech processing: emerging computational principles and operations , 2012, Nature Neuroscience.

[14]  U. Hasson,et al.  On the Same Wavelength: Predictable Language Enhances Speaker–Listener Brain-to-Brain Synchrony in Posterior Superior Temporal Gyrus , 2014, The Journal of Neuroscience.

[15]  Oi-Man Kwok,et al.  Indirect Effects of Child Reports of Teacher-Student Relationship on Achievement. , 2012, Journal of educational psychology.

[16]  Uri Hasson,et al.  Mirroring and beyond: coupled dynamics as a generalized framework for modelling social interactions , 2016, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

[17]  L. Astolfi,et al.  Social neuroscience and hyperscanning techniques: Past, present and future , 2014, Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.

[18]  James V Haxby,et al.  The Dorsal Medial Prefrontal Cortex Responds Preferentially to Social Interactions during Natural Viewing , 2016, The Journal of Neuroscience.

[19]  Risto J. Ilmoniemi,et al.  EEG oscillations and magnetically evoked motor potentials reflect motor system excitability in overlapping neuronal populations , 2010, Clinical Neurophysiology.

[20]  S. Garrod,et al.  Brain-to-brain coupling: a mechanism for creating and sharing a social world , 2012, Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

[21]  R. Malach,et al.  Intersubject Synchronization of Cortical Activity During Natural Vision , 2004, Science.

[22]  M. Sams,et al.  Inter-Subject Synchronization of Prefrontal Cortex Hemodynamic Activity During Natural Viewing , 2008, The open neuroimaging journal.

[23]  Chaozhe Zhu,et al.  Neural Synchronization during Face-to-Face Communication , 2012, The Journal of Neuroscience.

[24]  Lucas C. Parra,et al.  EEG in the classroom: Synchronised neural recordings during video presentation , 2016, Scientific Reports.

[25]  Marc A. Brackett,et al.  Classroom emotional climate, student engagement, and academic achievement , 2012 .

[26]  Guillaume Dumas,et al.  Towards a two-body neuroscience , 2011, Communicative & integrative biology.

[27]  John R. Smith,et al.  Steady-State VEP-Based Brain-Computer Interface Control in an Immersive 3D Gaming Environment , 2005, EURASIP J. Adv. Signal Process..

[28]  D. Poeppel,et al.  Mechanisms Underlying Selective Neuronal Tracking of Attended Speech at a “Cocktail Party” , 2013, Neuron.

[29]  G. Karmos,et al.  Entrainment of Neuronal Oscillations as a Mechanism of Attentional Selection , 2008, Science.

[30]  U. Hasson,et al.  Speaker–listener neural coupling underlies successful communication , 2010, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[31]  A. Burgess.  On the interpretation of synchronization in EEG hyperscanning studies: a cautionary note , 2013, Front. Hum. Neurosci..

[32]  Diego E. Shalom,et al.  The teaching and the learning brain: A cortical hemodynamic marker of teacher–student interactions in the Socratic dialog , 2013 .

[33]  Gregory M. Walton,et al.  A Brief Social-Belonging Intervention Improves Academic and Health Outcomes of Minority Students , 2011, Science.

[34]  Katsumi Watanabe.  Teaching as a Dynamic Phenomenon with Interpersonal Interactions , 2013 .

[35]  N. Sebanz,et al.  Psychological research on joint action: Theory and data , 2011 .

[36]  Y. Saalmann,et al.  Rhythmic Sampling within and between Objects despite Sustained Attention at a Cued Location , 2013, Current Biology.

[37]  Lisa Holper,et al.  The Cognitive Neuroscience of the Teacher-Student Interaction , 2013 .

[38]  Xu Cui,et al.  NIRS-based hyperscanning reveals increased interpersonal coherence in superior frontal cortex during cooperation , 2012, NeuroImage.

[39]  D. Poeppel,et al.  Brain-to-Brain Synchrony Tracks Real-World Dynamic Group Interactions in the Classroom , 2017, Current Biology.

[40]  Mingzhou Ding,et al.  Exploring resting-state functional connectivity with total interdependence , 2012, NeuroImage.

[41]  S. Debener,et al.  How about taking a low-cost, small, and wireless EEG for a walk? , 2012, Psychophysiology.

[42]  Iiro P. Jääskeläinen,et al.  Combined MEG and EEG show reliable patterns of electromagnetic brain activity during natural viewing , 2015, NeuroImage.

[43]  Jason J. Ki,et al.  Attention Strongly Modulates Reliability of Neural Responses to Naturalistic Narrative Stimuli , 2016, The Journal of Neuroscience.

[44]  K. Ochsner,et al.  Neuroscience: Social networks in the brain , 2017, Nature Human Behaviour.

[45]  Adam M. Kleinbaum,et al.  Similar neural responses predict friendship , 2018, Nature Communications.

[46]  G. Ding,et al.  Leader emergence through interpersonal neural synchronization , 2015, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[47]  B. Hamre,et al.  Early teacher-child relationships and the trajectory of children's school outcomes through eighth grade. , 2001, Child development.

[48]  Koji Shimada,et al.  Neural substrates of shared attention as social memory: A hyperscanning functional magnetic resonance imaging study , 2016, NeuroImage.

[49]  Y. Hu,et al.  Synchronous brain activity during cooperative exchange depends on gender of partner: A fNIRS‐based hyperscanning study , 2015, Human brain mapping.

[50]  Gérard Sensevy,et al.  On the Nature of the Semiotic Structure of the Didactic Action: The Joint Action Theory in Didactics Within a Comparative Approach , 2015 .

[51]  Steven L. Small,et al.  Interpretation-mediated changes in neural activity during language comprehension , 2011, NeuroImage.

[52]  L. Parra,et al.  Memorable Audiovisual Narratives Synchronize Sensory and Supramodal Neural Responses , 2016, eNeuro.

[53]  Marleen B. Schippers,et al.  Mapping the information flow from one brain to another during gestural communication , 2010, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[54]  J. Weber,et al.  Neural mechanisms tracking popularity in real-world social networks , 2015, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[55]  D. DeSteno,et al.  The rhythm of joint action: Synchrony promotes cooperative ability , 2010 .

[56]  L. Davachi,et al.  Enhanced Intersubject Correlations during Movie Viewing Correlate with Successful Episodic Encoding , 2008, Neuron.

[57]  Lauri Parkkonen,et al.  Synchrony of brains and bodies during implicit interpersonal interaction , 2013, Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

[58]  K. Vogeley,et al.  Toward a second-person neuroscience 1 , 2013, Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

[59]  Carolyn M. Evertson,et al.  Handbook of Classroom Management: Research, Practice, and Contemporary Issues , 2012 .