Junsuk Rho, Jinn-Kong Sheu, Andrew Forbes, Din Ping Tsai, Andrea Alú, Wei Li, Mark L Brongersma, Joonhee Choi, F Javier Garcia de Abajo, Laura Na Liu, Alexander Szameit, Tracy Schloemer, Andreas Tittl, Mario Chemnitz, Cheng Wang, Jiejun Zhang, Yuri Kivshar, Tie Jun Cui, Ren-Min Ma, Cheng-Wei Qiu, Cuicui Lu, Yao-Wei Huang, Miguel Angel Solis Prosser, Ileana-Cristina Benea-Chelmus, Rachel Grange, Sungjin Kim, Anderson S L Gomes, Davide Ramaccia, Yating Wan, Apostolos Argyris, Antonio G Souza Filho, Tanmoy Chakraborty, Cristiano Matricardi
{"title":"Fostering cultural change in research through innovative knowledge sharing, evaluation, and community engagement strategies.","authors":"Junsuk Rho, Jinn-Kong Sheu, Andrew Forbes, Din Ping Tsai, Andrea Alú, Wei Li, Mark L Brongersma, Joonhee Choi, F Javier Garcia de Abajo, Laura Na Liu, Alexander Szameit, Tracy Schloemer, Andreas Tittl, Mario Chemnitz, Cheng Wang, Jiejun Zhang, Yuri Kivshar, Tie Jun Cui, Ren-Min Ma, Cheng-Wei Qiu, Cuicui Lu, Yao-Wei Huang, Miguel Angel Solis Prosser, Ileana-Cristina Benea-Chelmus, Rachel Grange, Sungjin Kim, Anderson S L Gomes, Davide Ramaccia, Yating Wan, Apostolos Argyris, Antonio G Souza Filho, Tanmoy Chakraborty, Cristiano Matricardi","doi":"10.1038/s41539-026-00449-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-026-00449-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Bringing together researchers, funders, industry partners, and publishers from 14 countries across five continents, we advance the debate around open-science, assessment and learning. We introduce an integrative \"open-knowledge system\" framework linking knowledge production, validation, assessment, and reuse into one ecosystem view, and translate it into actionable recommendations for each stakeholder. Shifting focus to modular, machine-readable knowledge objects, these recommendations are intended to help diagnose misaligned incentives and guide reforms that properly value all scientific contributions.</p>","PeriodicalId":48503,"journal":{"name":"npj Science of Learning","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148892412","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jessika Golle, Patrick Lösche, Hanna Beißert, Ann-Kathrin Wieland, Regina Rieber, Johannes Schult, Marcus Hasselhorn, Benjamin Nagengast, Ulrich Trautwein
{"title":"COVID-19-related school closures and students' achievement and motivation: Did teacher support make a difference.","authors":"Jessika Golle, Patrick Lösche, Hanna Beißert, Ann-Kathrin Wieland, Regina Rieber, Johannes Schult, Marcus Hasselhorn, Benjamin Nagengast, Ulrich Trautwein","doi":"10.1038/s41539-026-00439-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-026-00439-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Most effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on student outcomes were negative, though school systems varied in their ability to mitigate learning losses. In this study, we examined teacher-student contact as a key factor for buffering pandemic-related risks to achievement and motivation. We analyzed multicohort data collected at the beginning and end of the school year from 2740 first-grade students in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Against expectations, no overall decline in achievement emerged under pandemic schooling; however, high teacher-student contact was associated with higher math achievement compared with regular schooling. Motivational outcomes showed negative average effects for interest and self-concept in language domains, particularly under low teacher-student contact and low family socioeconomic status. Owing to its timing at the start of formal schooling during the first wave of the pandemic, this study provides unique evidence of the role of teacher-student contact in students' achievement and motivation during crisis conditions.</p>","PeriodicalId":48503,"journal":{"name":"npj Science of Learning","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13490548/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148799761","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yunhee Kim, Doyeon Chae, Jaehwan Jang, Kyeong Taek Oh, Byeong-Sun Park, Min-Gu Kim
{"title":"Does tapping in sync reflect cognitive control? Links between sensorimotor synchronization, social context, and executive function in early childhood.","authors":"Yunhee Kim, Doyeon Chae, Jaehwan Jang, Kyeong Taek Oh, Byeong-Sun Park, Min-Gu Kim","doi":"10.1038/s41539-026-00443-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-026-00443-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Varying rhythmic contexts impose distinct cognitive and sensorimotor demands. This study investigated the effects of social scaffolding on children's sensorimotor synchronization (SMS) across different contexts and examined the association between SMS and executive function (EF). A total of 140 children aged 4-5 years participated in tapping tasks using a developmentally appropriate sensor-embedded drum platform. The results indicated that tapping synchronization at 150 bpm, children's typical spontaneous motor tempo (SMT), improved significantly in the presence of a tapping partner, whereas other conditions showed no such effect. Notably, beat synchronization at 50 bpm, a slow tempo outside their SMT, showed a tentative but specific association with EF, particularly inhibitory control and overall executive function, but only in the solo condition. Findings suggest that social scaffolding benefits are most evident in tasks aligned with children's SMT, whereas tasks with different temporal structures and cognitive demands appear to selectively engage top-down processing during early childhood.</p>","PeriodicalId":48503,"journal":{"name":"npj Science of Learning","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148537264","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Astrid E Z Hallman, Charlotte Willfors, Matilda A Frick, Ann Nordgren, Johan Lundin Kleberg
{"title":"Comparing feedback learning and arousal responses in Down, Fragile X, and Williams syndromes.","authors":"Astrid E Z Hallman, Charlotte Willfors, Matilda A Frick, Ann Nordgren, Johan Lundin Kleberg","doi":"10.1038/s41539-026-00438-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41539-026-00438-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mechanisms underlying feedback learning in intellectual disability (ID) remain poorly understood. Down syndrome (DS), Fragile X syndrome (FXS), and Williams syndrome (WS) are genetic syndromes associated with ID, with distinct attention and arousal regulation profiles. Pupil dilation is a well-established index of feedback processing in typical development; little is known about these processes in non-social learning in these syndromes. Participants with DS (n = 13), FXS (n = 13), WS (n = 27), and typically developing (TD) individuals (n = 56) aged 6-60 years completed a reward contingency reversal task while eye-tracking recorded pupil dilation and gaze allocation. Data were analyzed using Bayesian mixed-effects models. All groups effectively learned from feedback, staying with rewarded options and switching after losses. WS participants performed similarly to TD participants. DS and FXS individuals showed more variable behavioral performance, indicating potential individual differences in feedback processing that warrant further investigation. Physiologically, TD individuals showed greater pupil dilation following losses than wins, whereas WS individuals showed no difference, suggesting attenuated physiological sensitivity to feedback valence. All groups tended to fixate on the previously rewarded options. This research highlights the value of combining behavioral and physiological approaches in ID research.</p>","PeriodicalId":48503,"journal":{"name":"npj Science of Learning","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13377110/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148473546","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Learning: One definition to rule them all?","authors":"Martin Lövdén, Isabelle Hansson, Toms Voits","doi":"10.1038/s41539-026-00441-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41539-026-00441-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Learning is central across many disciplines, yet its definition remains fragmented, hindering theoretical progress and cross-disciplinary communication. We review debates on the definition of learning and propose a unifying, umbrella, definition: learning is a system's processing of information from its environment, resulting in a change of system properties that alter its behavioral potential and reactions to this information. This formulation supports interdisciplinary dialogue while allowing discipline-specific operationalizations.</p>","PeriodicalId":48503,"journal":{"name":"npj Science of Learning","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13369919/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148449923","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yueyuan Zheng, Tracy Ws Lo, Esther Yuet Ying Lau, Gail Eskes, Lai Ling Hui, Janet H Hsiao
{"title":"The Role of Eye Movement Consistency in Aging-Related Decline in Face Recognition.","authors":"Yueyuan Zheng, Tracy Ws Lo, Esther Yuet Ying Lau, Gail Eskes, Lai Ling Hui, Janet H Hsiao","doi":"10.1038/s41539-026-00437-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-026-00437-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Face recognition involves a prolonged developmental process where individuals gradually develop a more consistent yet idiosyncratic visual routine with increasing age. In contrast to this early developmental trend, among 301 middle and older participants, we observed that age was associated with lower eye movement consistency, suggesting an inverted-U shape across the lifespan, and consistency could partially account for the association between age and declined face recognition performance. Also, a less eyes-focused eye movement pattern predicted poorer recognition performance together with lower consistency, suggesting that the idiosyncratic eye movement patterns acquired during early adulthood continue to contribute significantly. Additionally, lower eye movement consistency was associated with poorer selective attention and inhibitory control, indicating that the decline in consistency may reflect difficulties in executing learned visual routines. These findings have important implications for understanding cognitive aging and potential interventions to delay its process through training in face recognition and related visual strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":48503,"journal":{"name":"npj Science of Learning","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148425404","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chloë Marshall, Louise Livingston, Jo Van Herwegen
{"title":"Mapping the Montessori mathematics curriculum to Dehaene's four pillars of learning.","authors":"Chloë Marshall, Louise Livingston, Jo Van Herwegen","doi":"10.1038/s41539-026-00436-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-026-00436-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Abstraction is a crucial characteristic of human learning, and a fundamental question for education concerns how teachers can support learners to acquire abstract knowledge. We tackle this question through one particular case: the mathematics curriculum devised for 3 to 6-year-olds by Maria Montessori. We map this curriculum to Dehaene's Four Pillars of Learning (attention, active engagement, error feedback, consolidation), and we argue that the Montessori mathematics curriculum is aligned with well-established cognitive principles known to support learning.</p>","PeriodicalId":48503,"journal":{"name":"npj Science of Learning","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148425431","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Foil type modulates developmental changes in statistical learning across childhood to adulthood.","authors":"Fei Liang, Yimeng Zhu, Ruihua Li, Qiufang Fu","doi":"10.1038/s41539-026-00434-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-026-00434-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Statistical learning (SL) plays a fundamental role in language acquisition, higher-order cognition, and adaptive behavior. While extensive research has demonstrated the importance of SL across different developmental stages, the precise trajectory of SL from childhood to adulthood remains poorly understood. To address this gap, we recruited school-aged children and young adults to complete an auditory SL task. During exposure phase, participants listened to a continuous speech stream composed of trisyllabic nonsense words across three blocks. They then completed a two-alternative forced-choice recognition test and reported their judgment basis. Results revealed children and adults rapidly extracted statistical regularities and segmented words after 4.5 min of exposure. Crucially, within childhood, Grade 5 children outperformed Grades 1 and 3 for nonword foils, whereas performance for partword foils remained relatively stable. From late childhood to adulthood, nonword foils performance became comparable, but adults selectively outperformed children for partword foils. Confidence analyses further revealed an adult advantage in metacognitive sensitivity for nonword foils, suggesting a dissociation in the developmental trajectories of cognitive and metacognitive processes in SL. These findings highlight the critical role of foil type in detecting developmental changes in SL and illustrate the differential maturation of cognitive and metacognitive mechanisms across development.</p>","PeriodicalId":48503,"journal":{"name":"npj Science of Learning","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148382931","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Shiying Wang, Joan Bosson-Heenan, Andrew Grotzinger, Jan C Frijters, Jeffrey R Gruen
{"title":"Shared genetic architecture of reading and attention disorders using genomic structural equation modeling.","authors":"Shiying Wang, Joan Bosson-Heenan, Andrew Grotzinger, Jan C Frijters, Jeffrey R Gruen","doi":"10.1038/s41539-026-00433-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-026-00433-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Reading disorder (RD), characterized by difficulties in reading, is the most common learning disability and frequently co-occurs with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), suggesting shared genetic underpinnings. To investigate their genetic overlap, we leveraged summary statistics from large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of reading assessment scores and ADHD diagnosis using genomic structural equation modeling. We modeled a common genetic factor capturing shared genetic influences between reading-related traits and ADHD. GWAS of this common factor revealed a pleiotropic locus on chromosome 12 (rs7969091, <math><mi>β</mi></math> = -0.035, <math><mi>p</mi></math> = 3.86 × 10<sup>-8</sup>). Transcriptome-wide structural equation modeling analysis identified associations with tissue-specific expression of RHEBL1 and LMBR1L within the same locus as GWAS hit. Genetic correlation analyses showed significant correlations of the common factor with six psychiatric disorders (r<sub>g</sub> = -0.47 to 0.24) and six behavioral traits (r<sub>g</sub> = 0.31 to 0.74). Our findings provide novel insights into the shared genetic underpinnings of RD and ADHD.</p>","PeriodicalId":48503,"journal":{"name":"npj Science of Learning","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148377578","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Azilawati Jamaludin, Sampathraman Samyuktha, Aik Lim Tan
{"title":"Regulation competencies and social well-being in at-risk adolescents: a systematic review of behavioral and neurophysiological research.","authors":"Azilawati Jamaludin, Sampathraman Samyuktha, Aik Lim Tan","doi":"10.1038/s41539-026-00435-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-026-00435-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This systematic review synthesized evidence on emotional, metacognitive, and social regulation competencies in at-risk adolescents and their associations with social well-being. Across 45 empirical studies, regulation consistently emerged as a key mechanism linking contextual adversity to empathy, belonging, resilience, and psychosocial outcomes. Neurophysiological measures provided emerging mechanistic insights into affective and stress-related processes but were rarely integrated with behavioral and social outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":48503,"journal":{"name":"npj Science of Learning","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148370402","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}