Lessons from the UnLocke counterintuitive reasoning intervention in primary maths and science

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When faced with learning counterintuitive concepts in maths and science, the UnLocke intervention teaches primary school pupils to ‘Stop and Think’ before relying on intuitive but incorrect conclusions. 

Cognitive neuroscientific evidence suggests that taking on novel counterintuitive concepts requires the inhibition of pre-existing naive theories that may conflict with the new academic theories.

The UnLocke intervention involved a computerised learn activity training children to ‘Stop and Think’ during maths and science problem solving to allow more complex concepts to come to the forefront instead of relying on rapid intuitive but incorrect responses.

The trial involved 6700 Year 3 and Year 5 children allocated to the Stop and Think programme as well as an active control condition in the form of a social skills training computer activity and a teaching as usual passive control condition. Independent assessors identified a two month gain in science and a one month gain in maths for pupils involved in Stop and Think as compared to those in the control condition.

The UnLocke intervention was jointly funded by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and Wellcome Trust.

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Links

• Researchers create computer game that can help improve children’s maths and science achievement
• Stop and Think: learning counterintuitive concepts
• Centre for Educational Neuroscience
• Department of Learning and Leadership