In the contemporary era of globalization, learning a second language has become a pivotal means to broaden individual perspectives and enhance competitiveness. English, as the lingua franca of international communication, assumes particular importance. This paper delves into the integrated application of situated learning (SL) and task-based…

Science learning requires visuospatial thinking. Accordingly, spatial ability is regarded as the key to learning science well, but its effects are sometimes not as significant as expected. To this end, this research aims to conceptualize spatial abilities and to clarify their relation to science learning based on an analysis of empirical studies.…

Compared with children, adults are widely assumed to possess more mature moral understanding thus justifying deference to their moral authority and testimony. This paper examines philosophical discussions regarding this child-adult moral relation and its implications for moral education, particularly accounts suggesting that the moral status of…

Although most early-childhood educators agree on the value of play in child development, they find it increasingly harder to advocate for play given today's pressure for academic achievement. Using the theoretical work of Lev Vygotsky, the authors discuss how make-believe play among children helps them develop skills critical for success in school…

Increasingly, children enter the school system with a home language that differs from the language of the majority. Consequently, classrooms have students with diverse language backgrounds and teachers must develop reading comprehension instruction that meets the needs of all their students. To successfully plan instruction, it is critical for…

This article reviews the history of thought on how intelligence and creativity, two individual differences important to teaching and learning, are connected. For decades, intelligence and creativity have been seen as essentially unrelated abilities. Recently, however, new theories, assessment methods, and statistical tools have caused a shift in…

Many kindergarten teachers have encountered children who enter school lacking the ability to control their behavior, but they may not understand the social and biological processes behind these children's disruptive behavior. The author reviews research into early childhood brain development to explain how trauma and chronic stress can make it…

This paper examines how an educator at a school for students with learning disabilities (LD) used various types of media to engage her students, to develop their academic and executive functioning skills, and to heighten their awareness of media literacy and the 2012 and 2106 Presidential elections. Teacher-created curriculum materials and…

This report considers the science of adult literacy acquisition, with the goal of identifying principles that may improve the effectiveness of adult literacy programs. We define literacy as a continuum, from emerging literacy, through improving literacy, to fluent literacy and we outline the factors that influence how far along that continuum an…

One important focus for science education researchers over many years has been the attempts to replace students' commonsense and non-scientific explanations of various phenomena by scientific explanations. The approach we adopted almost three decades ago was conceptual mediation, and this was shown to have a considerable level of success with…

Our aim in the present paper is to discuss a "cognitive view" of reading comprehension, with particular attention to research findings that have the potential to improve our understanding of difficulties in reading comprehension. We provide an overview of how specific sources of difficulties in inference making, executive functions, and…

The authors review recent research that reveals how today's video games instantiate naturally and effectively many principles psychologists, neuroscientists, and educators believe critical for learning. A large body of research exists showing that the effects of these games are much broader. In fact, some types of commercial games have been…

An expanding body of evidence based on cognitive neuroscience provides music teachers with information about the interaction of music instruction and brain development. This information is foundational for those interested in the biology of teaching in addition to the curriculum taught. Pedagogy can be grounded in research-based insights on how…

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders supposedly have an affinity with information and communication technology (ICT), making it an ideally suited media for this population. Virtual environments (VEs)--both two-dimensional and immersive--represent a particular kind of ICT that might be of special benefit. Specifically, this paper discusses…

Low-income preschool children face risks to their social-emotional development that can affect them later on. Although there are promising approaches to promoting preschoolers' social-emotional skills, the evidence base is limited, particularly on their effectiveness when implemented at scale. The Head Start CARES demonstration evaluated the…