In recent years, virtual reality (VR) technology has been widely available for psychological research in spatial cognition. Studies focusing on the training and testing of navigational and wayfinding skills are increasingly using virtual environment (VE) paradigms, which offer significant benefits in experimental control, ecological validity, and…

Recent decades have witnessed a growing interest in intervention-based assessment to promote and enhance children's learning. In this study, we explored the potential effect of an experimental visual-spatial intervention procedure and possible training benefits of two prompting modalities: one group received training with verbal and visual…

The current study was primarily aimed at verifying the effect of a combined computer-assisted and pencil-and-paper training that was developed to empower visuo-spatial abilities in primary school pupils. One hundred and twenty third grade (mean average: eight years old) and fourth grade (mean age: nine years old) students attending several Italian…

The impact of touch-screen technology on spatial cognitive skills as related to molecular geometries was assessed through 102 one-on-one interviews with undergraduate students. Participants were provided with either printed 2D ball-and-stick images of molecules or manipulable projections of 3D molecular structures on an iPad. Following a brief…

The authors investigated whether the amount of instructional guidance affects science learning and self-efficacy. Sixty 9- and 10-year-old children were randomly assigned to one of the following three instructional conditions: (a) guided instruction consisting of examples and student-generated explanations, (b) direct instruction consisting of a…

Stereochemistry is an important topic in organic chemistry. It is also a difficult topic for students to learn. This study investigated the relative effectiveness on students' understanding of three kinds of molecular representations of stereochemistry concepts. Instructional activities compared the use of either: (i) computer-based molecular…

Within large scale educational assessment agencies in the UK, there has been a shift towards assessors marking digitally scanned copies rather than the original paper scripts that were traditionally used. This project uses extended essay examination scripts to consider whether the mode in which an essay is read potentially influences the…

This study investigated place location learning from a simulated environmental exploration experience in terms of two variables: gender (both cognitive and affective effects) and presence and/or type of accompanying map. Subjects were 120 fourth and fifth grade students, who were randomly selected and assigned after stratification on gender. The…

The relative effectiveness of verbal and visual augmentation of rate-modified speech in the presentation of technical material was investigated. Subjects were 40 graduate students who used instructional materials consisting of normal and compressed audiotape versions of the Dwyer heart script, printed copies of the script, and black and white…

The research and the study focus on the problem of dissociated learning. Why do students fail to connect with knowledge? The purposes of the study are: to summarize research pertaining to brain growth; to describe educational approaches and tactics consistent with this research; to test a brain research-based program designed to connect children…