Nature-based learning environments for early childhood are expanding, as is research into their affordances and pedagogies. Engineering in these environments is not well studied. Previous work considered engineering experiences through the lens of 'designerly play', finding that natural materials, the space for larger creations and constructions,…

This research study explored the systematic thinking modes underlying test anxiety in 706 engineering students through an experiment centred on the cognitive algebra paradigm. The participants had to read 36 experimental scenarios that narrated an imaginary academic assessment situation one by one and then judge the level of anxiety they…

The incongruity-resolution model plays a key role in the cognitive mechanisms of perceived humour. This study employed the incongruity-resolution model to discuss humorous design techniques to help design novices and students understand the influence of various humorous design techniques on perceived humour. First, 260 humorous products currently…

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have grown in popularity since 2008 but suffer from low completion rates, as low as 2%. This study examines how designing MOOCs with consideration of cognitive load can improve retention and learning outcomes, particularly for adult learners such as educators. Employing a design-based research methodology, five…

Inhibitory control has been identified as a prominent factor in shoot/don't-shoot errors. Although emerging evidence continues to support this relationship, there is critical nuance and depth that can significantly alter this connection between a cognitive capability and a critical real-world application. For example, presenting shoot/don't-shoot…

Cognitive load occurs when the demands of a task surpass the available processing capacity, straining mental resources and potentially impairing performance efficiency, such as increasing the number of errors in a task. Owing to its ubiquity in real-world scenarios, the existence of offloading strategies to reduce cognitive load is not new to…

Any science teacher must first acquire analytical thinking skills in order to give their students the ability to think analytically. Therefore, the candidacy period is important for teachers to develop and transform this skill into professional knowledge. Based on this idea, the current research aims to determine the ability of third-grade…

Theory-of-mind (ToM) is an integral part of social cognition, but how it develops remains a critical question. There is evidence that children can gain insight into ToM through experience, including language training and explanatory interactions. But this still leaves open the question of "how" children gain these insights--what…

The paper brings Froebel's philosophy into conversation with that of Deleuze. We focus on "the fold" and "on self-activity" as key concepts that hold a special place in the monist philosophies of both thinkers. One point at which their (very different) ontologies coincide is their conceptualization of a cosmos in which…

Avalanche studies have undergone a transition in recent years. Early research focused mainly on environmental factors. More recently, attention has turned to human factors in decision making, such as behavioural and cognitive biases. This article adds a "social" component to this human turn in avalanche studies. It identifies lessons for…

One of the most challenging tasks for teachers in projects is to develop creative ideas. Due to the linear system perspective of education, fostering students' creativity is restricted. However, engineering design and scientific process skills that comprise creativity have an iterative structure. An iterative process-oriented education enables…

Based on the continuum model of impression formation (Fiske & Neuberg, 1990), information processing can be more or less automated or controlled and thus relies more or less on stereotype-based or individual-based characteristics. Also, teachers' impression formation can be influenced by social categories like students' ethnic background or…

When comparing social science phenomena through a time perspective, absolute and relative difference (RD) are the two typical presentation formats used to communicate interpretations to the audience, while time distance (TD) is the least frequently used of such formats. This article argues that the chosen presentation format is extremely important…

This article studies the cognitive dynamics of stancetaking in the discourse situations associated with risky behaviour and perilous decisions. The objective of this work is to find out what linguistic and cognitive mechanisms are used by speech participants to conceptualise a discourse situation as a situation of risk, and analyse the ways the…

Essentialism is the intuition that category membership relies on an invisible essence. Essentialist thinking about social categories is most evident in young children, while comparable methods do not reveal essentialist thinking about social groups in adult participants. However, previous work has found that essentialist thinking about gender was…