This study explored the effects of prior knowledge (high vs. low; HPK and LPK) and concept-map structure (hierarchical vs. network; HS and NS) on disorientation, cognitive load, and learning from non-linear documents on "the infection process of a retrograde virus (HIV)". Participants in the study were 24 adults. Overall subjective ratings of…

In two studies, we investigated infants' preference for infant-directed (ID) action or "motionese" (Brand, Baldwin & Ashburn, 2002) relative to adult-directed (AD) action. In Study 1, full-featured videos were shown to 32 6- to 8-month-olds, who demonstrated a strong preference for ID action. In Study 2, infants at 6-8 months (n= 28) and 11-13…

Investigations on the brain processes using a technology such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have led to the creation of a new field of research that bridges the gap between cognitive psychology and neuroscience: "cognitive neuroscience." Within this new field, studies examining the processes of learning and developing are…

The article by Carota and Sirigu addresses a fundamental issue, namely the domain specificity of people's ability to learn and implement sequential structures of events. The authors review theoretical positions and empirical findings related to this issue, providing a useful summary of representative models of sequential event structures, and a…

Conscious of the interplay between nature and nurture in determining a child's individuality and success in life, the author embarked a group of teachers in an action research project towards nurturing a culture of thinking in young children. Considering the positive effects of routines in early learning experiences, the research consisted in…

This article presents a review of the "Process Assessment of the Learner-Second Edition" (PAL-II), an individual or group-administered instrument designed to assess the cognitive processes involved in academic tasks in kindergarten through sixth grade. The instrument allows the examiner to identify reasons for underachievement and…

The Teaching for Transformative Experiences in Science (TTES) model is designed to foster transformative experiences (e.g., experiences with science content involving the application of that content in ways that expand perception and value in everyday experience). This study presents a case study of a high school biology teacher learning to…

This article reports methodological aspects of a research study on the reasoning of teachers. The aim is to describe and evaluate the use of the stimulated recall method (STR) when information and communication technologies (ICTs) are involved in terms of educational settings and therefore in the research setting as well. First, we introduce the…

In this article, we suggest that self-reflection and self-control--studied under the rubric of "executive function" (EF)--have the potential to transform the way in which learning occurs, allowing for the relatively rapid emergence of new behaviors. We describe 2 lines of research that indicate that reflecting on a task and its affordances helps…

Human neural and behavioral activities have been reported to exhibit fractal dynamics known as "1/f noise," which is more aptly named "1/f scaling." Some argue that 1/f scaling is a general and pervasive property of the dynamical substrate from which cognitive functions are formed. Others argue that it is an idiosyncratic property of…

CB[subscript 1] receptor-compromised animals show profound deficits in extinguishing learned behavior from aversive conditioning tasks, but display normal extinction learning in appetitive operant tasks. However, it is difficult to discern whether the differential involvement of the endogenous cannabinoid system on extinction results from the…

In this reply, the author agrees with Eric Jensen on several important points, among them: that neuroscientific data are relevant to educational research, that these data have already proved useful, and that neuroscience alone should not be expected to generate classroom-ready prescriptions. He sharply disagrees with him, however, on the prospects…

Mathematics concepts are most often taught using auditory, sequential instructional methods. Not only are these methods ineffective when used with visual-spatial learners, they may be detrimental to both academic and emotional progress. Ways in which visual-spatial learners process information are explained. One child's story is presented,…

Working memory has been called the "door to learning" (think the library) and is strongly related to performance in reading comprehension and problem-solving. Persons with strong working memory have a wide open door for acquiring all types of new information. They are able to hang on to new information, work with it, integrate it with lots of…

Long-term memories are influenced by the emotion experienced during learning as well as by the emotion experienced during memory retrieval. The present article reviews the literature addressing the effects of emotion on retrieval, focusing on the cognitive and neurological mechanisms that have been revealed. The reviewed research suggests that the…