With the emergence of a wealth of research-based information in the field of educational neuroscience, educators are now able to make more evidence-based decisions in the important area of curriculum design and construction. By viewing from the perspective of educational neuroscience, we can give a more meaningful and lasting purpose of leading to…

Educational research and practice have proven that there are many benefits for applying learning theories' recommendations through teaching and learning of different subjects in all school levels. Based on interrelationships among learning theories of contextualism, connectivism, constructivism, and cognitivism, the researcher proposed an…

In an age of PowerPoint, much everyday public communication is semantically organized as an expository presentation. This contrasts with traditional approaches such as storytelling that are episodically organized and presented as narratives. The constructivist theory of narrative comprehension, along with other theoretical perspectives, suggests…

Two disparate research programs have addressed the challenge of instructional multimedia design. One, based on cognitive load theory, has focused on ways of reducing unnecessary cognitive load during instruction to free up resources for learning. The other, based on constructivism, has centered on interactive multimedia, allowing students to build…

A learner-centered approach is a central feature of instruction based on a constructivist learning model. However, there is some confusion regarding the requirement for behavioral activity as a prerequisite for a learner-centered environment. We offer evidence in this article that some types of behavioral activity can interfere with cognitive…

Memory-based and constructionist processes have both been proposed as essential components of the activation of concepts (e.g., propositions) and the establishment of meaningful connections between concepts during reading. In this article, we argue that a comprehensive theory of reading comprehension should include both sets of processes. In…

Explains three learning theories (i.e., behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism) and examines how each can be used for planning and conducting instructional design activities. Historical foundations are discussed, and comparisons are made concerning how learning occurs, the role of memory, how transfer occurs, and types of learning. (Contains…

Focuses on the familiar problem of students' understanding of elementary electrical circuits from a much neglected point of view. Suggests that the patterning commonly found in students' ideas might have its roots in the cognitive processing with which students operate their mental models of d.c. electrical circuits. Studies Japanese 10-11 year…

The interaction of emotion and cognition has received experimental attention, but the results have generally been weak and sometimes contradictory. Why this work on mood and memory has faltered is discussed, and a more holistic approach to the study of emotion and cognition is proposed. It is argued that a constructivist approach to memory may be…

Method is presented for displaying the sequential and multirelational ideation of scientific narrative elicited from respondents. The flow map provides a figural representation of the flow of information, the points in the flow where multirelational and recurrent linkages are made, and the time required to retrieve and express the information at…

Describes the Novice-Expert (Novex) Analysis, a nine-step approach to instructional design aimed at effecting the shift from novice to expert by creating a series of learning activities to enable novices to construct an expert knowledge base. The "Dimensions of Processing Model" diagram illustrates how learning processes influence…

Examined 8- and 10-year olds' understanding of the unique features of and potential relations among mental activities. Found a developing tendency to organize mental activities on the degree to which memory was a component of the activity. Results suggest that a constructivist theory of mind develops in later childhood. (AA)

Recent discoveries about brain function explain how best practices in adult learning may lead to adult learners' developmental growth.

Examined kindergartners' and third graders' recall to test the effects of four learning strategies applied to items involving three conceptual relations--taxonomic, contextual, and unrelated. Found that (using a constructivist framework for interpretation) learner activity and causal processing improved memory when memory was not supported by…