As post-secondary students navigate their first year of university, they are introduced to many new experiences, opportunities and challenges. For some, that includes adapting to a new learning environment.
Addie Mercuri, MA ’24, had long been interested in exploring how the human body works, but after receiving her undergraduate degree in Health and Exercise Sciences, she became increasingly fascinated by how the brain works — and learns.
“The brain is just incredible and almost miraculous, especially when you look at its adaptability,” she says. “What really interests me is how education and neuroscience come together. When we learn new things and practice, different neuronal pathways develop, and the brain changes as a result. We can’t see these changes as clearly as we can see muscles growing or running faster, so it’s really interesting to figure out how we learn better and what adaptations happen in our brain.”
Addie Mercuri
For her thesis, she decided to explore first-year university students’ self-reported executive functioning skills (EFS) and investigated the differences and correlations between variables such as age and academic performance.
“EFS play a really important role in students’ wellbeing and academic achievements,” says Mercuri. “These skills are essentially your brain’s ability to coordinate different areas to execute purposeful behaviour, for example, staying on task, or remembering a series of numbers.”
Her study used a Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function questionnaire comprised of 75 questions that measured nine different EFS. Her research found that there were high levels of shortfalls in the Task Monitor scale and Working Memory scale, and significant differences in the Emotional Control scale scores between assigned at birth males and females. No scales measured by the questionnaire resulted in a correlation with overall GPA measures.
“As my data was self-reported, it was interesting to see what students felt they were good, or not good at,” she says. “However, what I found to be the most thought-provoking though, was the differences in emotional control between assigned at birth males and females in that males reported self-perceived better emotional control than females.
When I was reviewing the literature, I found different psychological, sociological and biological theories as to why there might be those differences. One area I discuss in my thesis is language socialization and intraception.”
Intraception is our ability to determine if something changes within our body physiologically, she explains, for example, your heart rate raises and you’re able to detect and label the change. With language socialization, studies have shown that when a young girl cries, a parent is more likely to ask “what’s wrong?”, while with a young boy, they are more likely to ask “what hurts?”. These early encounters can later influence how attuned a student is with their emotional and physiological connections.
As a learning strategist for UBC, Mercuri has been influenced by her findings as she seeks to support students with ADHD and other cognitive challenges, offering tailored strategies to enhance their learning experiences.
“I want people to recognize that learning is more than just studying from textbooks. It involves understanding and leveraging our cognitive strengths and addressing areas where we may need support,” she said.
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Addie Mercuri received the School’s Master of Arts Outstanding Thesis award on September 12, 2024. She completed her degree in April 2024, and her thesis can be found on UBC’s Library website. During her time with the School, Mercuri was a teaching assistant that that supported students in a variety of ways. She was also involved with the UBC Alumni Legacy Project, where she worked with other students across campus on the “Green Ribbon Crewneck Initiative,” a project that supported mental health awareness and raised funds for the B.A.R.K. program. She also received the Outstanding Graduate Student Award in 2022.