Neural patterns reflect conceptual grasp of novice students following first class learning in physics

Abstract Students in STEM fields frequently learn new abstract concepts as they build knowledge for scientific innovation. Yet little work has investigated how patterns of neural activity reflect the emergence of this newly learned conceptual information. In a single lesson and lab activity, participants learned about physics concepts, then subsequently completed an fMRI session. We identified neural patterns tracking students’ newly acquired STEM concept knowledge, using a machine-learning classifier to assess the embedding of concept-relevant categories in students’ neural representations of the task stimuli. Patterns in several parietal and temporal regions reflected conceptual knowledge acquired during the lesson. Crucially, a regression analysis further demonstrated that greater concept-relevant organization of the stimuli in these brain regions was associated with better performance on behavioral concept knowledge assessments. Results suggest that after only brief exposure to new STEM topics, early evidence of comprehension can be identified in the individualized neural patterns of novice learners.