Posterior alpha power is higher during idle and off-task states than during on-task states in cooperative learning¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associationalr2·q2·i2medium
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q2 i2 Alpha power showed a significant main effect of state (F(2, 184) = 7.36, p < 0.001, η²partial = 0.07); idle vs. on-task d = 0.56 and off-task vs. on-task d = 0.55, with no idle–off-task difference (d < 0.01). → Ido Davidesco 2026
Evidence¶
Ido Davidesco 2026¶
Ido Davidesco, Yushuang Liu, Kim Chaloner, Emma Laurent, Gabriella A. Ali, Sarah C. Creider, Sean Hughes, Laura Noejovich, Henry Valk, Dana Bevilacqua, David Poeppel & Suzanne Dikker. (2026). The dynamics of student engagement in cooperative science learning: a multimodal approach. npj Science of Learning. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-026-00457-z
q2 · i2 · associational · r2
EEG analysis of 24 students with adequate data, comparing relative alpha power (8–12 Hz) across video-coded engagement states with states and ROI as fixed effects. An omnibus main effect of ROI (η²partial = 0.30) was also significant; the state × ROI interaction was not.
"Post hoc tests revealed that, across ROIs, when students were idle or off-task, they showed higher levels of alpha power than when they were on-task (Idle vs. on-task:t(184) = 3.35,p = 0.003,d = 0.56; off-task vs. on-task:t(184) = 3.30, p = 0.003,d = 0.55). No difference in alpha power was observed between idle and off-task states ( t(184) = 0.06, p = 0.99, d < 0.01)."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Theta power is higher during on-task than idle or off-task states, but is a less robust engagement indicator than alpha power — related
- During cooperative learning, high-school students alternate between on-task, off-task, and idle states every 10–30 seconds on average — related
- High-school students in cooperative learning appear on-task about 60% of the time, off-task 11%, and idle 13% — related
- Students were less attentive during video watching than during lecture, with video showing the greatest alpha power of the four activities — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
alpha-higher-idle-offtask-than-ontask |
title |
Posterior alpha power is higher during idle and off-task states than during on-task states in cooperative learning |
description |
Posterior alpha power is higher during idle and off-task states than during on-task states in cooperative learning |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2026 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-26 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — ido-davidesco-2026 |
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