Executive functions (EF) are a collection of cognitive domains governing task initiation, motor planning, attention, and goal-oriented action. Difficulties with EF have marked impacts on adaptive living skills, learning outcomes, and quality of life for people with cognitive and psychosocial disabilities, as well as the broader population. While there is considerable research interest in EF training intervention for disabled school-aged children and other disabled populations, very few studies explore metacognitive intervention for people with cognitive disabilities. Metacognition comprises conscious beliefs and strategies around task management and goal setting. Metacognitive awareness has been shown to mediate effects of executive function on self-regulated learning, and metacognitive interventions have shown promise in general education, military training, and medical practice.
Using principles of ability-based design, role-fluidity, and agent-based modeling, this dissertation work explores the features and conditions essential to metacognitive intervention for autistic people and people with ADHD. The researcher uses a Critical Disability Studies lens to evaluate testimonials of executive function experiences from autistic adults and children. These insights inform the design of a system that allows the researcher to investigate the efficacy and transferability of explicit metacognitive strategy instruction for undergraduate students of all neurotypes. The researcher developed a VR toolkit for real-time measurement of executive function and metacognitive strategy development that can be adapted for any context. This system’s output was found to be statistically comparable to traditional measures of executive function. The researcher found supporting evidence that explicit instructional material explaining executive function and metacognition in relation to problem-solving experiences influenced participant self-concept and awareness of personal traits and cognitive processes.
This dissertation work is grounded in critical understandings of the onto-epistemology of disabled embodiment and agency. The researcher demonstrates a critique of technological interventionism through the development of a technological intervention designed with applied theories of Crip Technoscience, Diffraction, Phenomenology, and Digital Embodiment.
Team Members
Rua
Associated Funding
Funded by Rua M. William’s Research Assistanceship in the HXRL at the University of Florida
Calls for Participation
inactive
Associated Publications
- Williams, A., Posadas, B., Prioleau, D., Laurenceau, I., & Gilbert, J. E. (2019). User Perceptions of Haptic Fidgets on Mobile Devices for Attention and Task Performance. In Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing (Vol. 776, pp. 15–22). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94622-1_2
- Fidgeting, while primarily recognized as a distinguishing characteristic of neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism or ADHD, has also recently been recognized as a potential focus and attention aid for learning in traditional classroom environments. Everyone fidgets to greater or lesser extents, perhaps everyone can benefit from fidgeting aids to refocus attention. The recent explosion in popularity of fidgeting aids, such as fidget spinners, fidget cubes, and other toys highlights the broad appeal of these objects. Human-Computer Interaction researchers have taken an interest in the contributions of fidgeting to productivity. While these works connect the concepts of visual and motor stimulus as meaningful fidgets, little investigation has been done as to the potential contributions of haptic stimulus in digital fidgets. We designed and tested haptic mobile fidgets and compared their effects on task performance and user preference against the traditional spinner and no fidget apparatus.
- Williams, R. M., Alikhademi, K., & Gilbert, J. E. (2022). Design of a toolkit for real-time executive function assessment in custom-made virtual experiences and interventions. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 158, 102734. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2021.102734
- Virtual Reality (VR) and other game-like experiences are popular intervention platforms in neurocognitive rehabilitation research. Executive Functions (EF), the cognitive processes that regulate attention and goal-oriented action, are recognized as a domain of concern in several congenital and acquired neurocognitive conditions (e.g.: ADHD, autism, addiction, cognitive decline, traumatic brain injury, and stroke). VR-based simulations of real-world tasks have shown potential for rehabilitation in independent functioning. The custom nature of such projects makes cross-intervention analysis difficult and complicates development of best-practices. We have designed a toolkit for building virtual interactions that can consistently replicate traditional cognitive tests (such as the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task and Multitasking Task) as well as extend to more complex tasks in any virtual context. Analysis of participant performance data between traditional tasks and these VR replications may indicate the toolkit can successfully replicate traditional measures while also extending into more complex contexts.
- Williams, R. M. (2020). Metacogs: VR Toolkit for Executive Function Assessment and Metacognitive Strategy Development via Agent-Based Modeling [Ph.D., University of Florida]. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2735191082/abstract/ACB7D44314BF4885PQ/1
- Executive functions (EF) are a collection of cognitive domains governing task initiation, motor planning, attention, and goal-oriented action. Difficulties with EF have marked impacts on adaptive living skills, learning outcomes, and quality of life for people with cognitive and psychosocial disabilities, as well as the broader population. While there is considerable research interest in EF training intervention for disabled school-aged children and other disabled populations, very few studies explore metacognitive intervention for people with cognitive disabilities. Metacognition comprises conscious beliefs and strategies around task management and goal setting. Metacognitive awareness has been shown to mediate effects of executive function on self-regulated learning, and metacognitive interventions have shown promise in general education, military training, and medical practice.
- Using principles of ability-based design, role-fluidity, and agent-based modeling, this dissertation work explores the features and conditions essential to metacognitive intervention for autistic people and people with ADHD. The researcher uses a Critical Disability Studies lens to evaluate testimonials of executive function experiences from autistic adults and children. These insights inform the design of a system that allows the researcher to investigate the efficacy and transferability of explicit metacognitive strategy instruction for undergraduate students of all neurotypes. The researcher developed a VR toolkit for real-time measurement of executive function and metacognitive strategy development that can be adapted for any context. This system’s output was found to be statistically comparable to traditional measures of executive function. The researcher found supporting evidence that explicit instructional material explaining executive function and metacognition in relation to problem-solving experiences influenced participant self-concept and awareness of personal traits and cognitive processes.
- This dissertation work is grounded in critical understandings of the onto-epistemology of disabled embodiment and agency. The researcher demonstrates a critique of technological interventionism through the development of a technological intervention designed with applied theories of Crip Technoscience, Diffraction, Phenomenology, and Digital Embodiment.
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