Methods to Demonstrate the Efficacy of Cognitive Training Interventions

Effective Years: 2016-2017

This award to the University of Wisconsin - Madison provides support for a conference on methodological issues surrounding claims about the efficacy of cognitive training interventions. The workshop is scheduled to be held in Boston, Massachusetts, in May, 2016. Much attention has been given to the potential benefits of computer-based learning interventions or games for fundamental aspects of cognition. Indeed, there is great public interest in the question and it has given rise to a growing industry with claims about positive effects on the learning of STEM content. That said, there is great disagreement as to whether the evidence supports the claims. This conference is an opportunity for researchers to reach agreement on the issues that must be resolved in order for one to claim that a learning intervention was successful. The project is funded by the EHR Core Research program, which supports fundamental research that advances the research literature on STEM learning.

Sessions at the conference will cover such topics as training schedules, size and composition of transfer batteries, evidence for real-world impact, lack of double-blinding and possible expectation effects and non-placebo effects, vulnerable or special populations, internet vs. lab training, basic research best practices vs. those used in commercial or translational work, relationships to other types of interventions, and specific concerns related to impact in educational settings. The conference format includes formal presentations and a series of small group sessions focused on specific issues in which participants discuss and then draft motions concerning them. Finally, a consensus document will be assembled, with amendments and dissenting opinions incorporated.