The authors describe principles of good teaching drawn from meta-analyses of research on teaching effectiveness. Recent developments in neurobiology are presented and aligned to provide biological support for these principles. To make it easier for college faculty to try out sample instructional strategies, the authors map principles of good…

P. M. Greenfield's new theory of social change and human development aims to show how changing sociodemographic ecologies alter cultural values and learning environments and thereby shift developmental pathways. Worldwide sociodemographic trends include movement from rural residence, informal education at home, subsistence economy, and…

This experimental study explores how 60 primary-age children's (9-11 years old) understanding of rocks was effected by instruction that used the conceptual structure of the rock cycle together with the analogy of aluminium can recycling. Using a combination of probes into children's understanding, including concept maps and semi-structured…

Concept maps are an instructional strategy that promotes meaningful learning. This chapter examines the use of concept maps in online environments through discussion of CmapTools software. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

By using visual tools corresponding to thinking processes, students can organize their ideas on paper or by computer and improve their reading, writing, and thinking skills. After the brainstorming process, eight types of thinking maps (circle, bubble, double-bubble, tree, flow, multiflow, brace, and bridge maps) are useful graphic organizers.…

Authoritarian teaching practices in ballet inhibit the use of private speech. This paper highlights the critical importance of private speech in the cognitive development of young ballet students, within what is largely a non-verbal art form. It draws upon research by Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky and contemporary socioculturalists, to…