The investigations described in the ten fascinating research studies contained in the current volume of "ZDM Mathematics Education" evoke some perspectives in response. I consider the articles thematically in relation to a suggested set of important or pressing questions about creativity and giftedness in mathematics education, grouped…

In this commentary on Van Leeuwen (2015, this issue), I explore the relation between theory and practice in learning analytics. Specifically, I caution against adhering to one specific theoretical doctrine while ignoring others, suggest deeper applications of cognitive load theory to understanding teaching with analytics tools, and comment on…

Evaluative conditioning (EC) is generally considered to be one of the routes via which likes and dislikes are acquired. We identify recent trends in EC research and speculate about the topics that will dominate future research on EC. Many of the recent developments in EC research were shaped by functional definitions of EC that refer only to…

In large measure the authors agree with Tobias and Fletcher's (2012) comments stating that clearer operational definitions of game features are needed to enable research on games and learning. The authors cannot accept that games are a subset of simulations, preferring to identify instances when games and simulations overlap and when they do not.…

The author briefly responds to a number of terminological, theoretical, and empirical issues raised in some postscripts. The goal is not to respond to each outstanding point but rather to address some comments that in his view confuse rather than clarify matters. He responds to Plaut and McClelland and Quian Quiroga and Kreiman in turn.

Plaut and McClelland (2010) and Quian Quiroga and Kreiman both challenged my characterization of localist and distributed representations. They also challenged the biological plausibility of grandmother cells on conceptual and empirical grounds. This reply addresses these issues in turn. The premise of my argument is that grandmother cells in…

The paper by Rupp and Templin (2008) is an excellent work on the characteristics and features of cognitive diagnostic models (CDM). In this article, the authors comment on some substantial and methodological aspects of this focus paper. They organize their comments by going through issues associated with the terms "cognitive,"…

Discusses various views of domain-specificity. Argues that it is time to move beyond an acknowledgment that constraints on the way knowledge is represented influence the way in which new learning proceeds. Directions for future research are pointed out. (RH)

The lack of a common understanding of the construct of creative thinking is noted, and the cognitive spiral model is presented, which conceptualizes creative thinking as an integral component of all cognitive processing. This article details the synthesis of a definition and the structure of a model of cognitive processing. (Author/DB)

Even a superficial review of the literature on cognition would suggest that philosophers of the past and psychologists of the present frequently were concerned with the same problems. For the past three centuries, psychologists and philosophers have relied upon the concept of cognition to describe complex human functions such as memory, thinking,…

The article suggests ways in which common aspects of theories of creativity can be understood within a framework of Piagetian constructivism. It argues that creativity has been too narrowly defined. Creative constructive abilities are available to all people interacting with their social environments and stem from natural intellectual processes.…

Argues that the primary aim of education should be the development of critical thinking. Reviews feminist arguments that the concept of critical thinking presupposes a male-biased conception of rationality, and there is a need for a more inclusive concept of rationality. Proposes a definition of critical thinking with components of reason…

Reasserts view that there can be emotional or affective arousal without prior cognitive appraisal. Criticizes Lazarus's rejection of this view on the grounds that it presents no empirical evidence, is based on an arbitrary definition of emotion, and obliterates all distinctions between cognition, sensation, and perception. (CMG)

Responds to Zajonc's criticism of author's own belief in primacy of cognition by defining what he means by "emotion" and discussing whether sensory preferences can be regarded as emotions. Says that the evidence Zajonc presents to supporting his claim for the primacy of emotion and its independence from cognition is specious. (CMG)

Responds to Susan McLeod's "The Affective Domain and the Writing Process: Working Definitions." Suggests and defends an alternate way to define affect, based on the interweaving of affect and cognition. Discusses the "cognitive-affective dance." (PRA)