Virtual simulation training has gained in usage in various educational fields and offers the potential to support and reinforce learning goals when practical experience is not possible. Teaching practice experience in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom is critical, yet frequently unobtainable for students in Teaching English to…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a social communication intervention for improving the social skills and employability of four adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). A multiple baseline across participants design was used to investigate the effectiveness of social communication skill development on equitable exchange in social…

Background: Gross motor movement is a vital part of the growing process and ultimately plays a role in a person's ability to lead a physically active life. Researchers have analyzed the different ways in which individuals develop skills. At the heart of that discussion has been gender. Most recently, researchers have focused on the differences…

The emergence of signaling systems has been observed in numerous experimental and real-world contexts, but there is no consensus on which (if any) shared mechanisms underlie such phenomena. A number of explanatory mechanisms have been proposed within several disciplines, all of which have been instantiated as credible working models. However, they…

During the 2013-14 academic year, Harvard University piloted the use of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) as tools for blended learning in select undergraduate and graduate residential and online courses. One of these courses, The Ancient Greek Hero, combined for-credit (Harvard College and Harvard Extension School) and open online (HarvardX)…

Studies on collaborative memory have revealed an interesting phenomenon called collaborative inhibition (CI) (i.e., nominal groups recall more information than collaborative groups). However, the results of studies on false memories in collaborative memory tasks are controversial. This study aimed to understand the production of false memories in…

Tasks are viewed as a principled foundation for classroom teaching, social interaction, and language development. This special issue sheds new light on how task-based classroom practices are supported by a diverse range of principles. This introduction describes current trends in classroom practice and pedagogic research in relation to task-based…

This study examines the influence of trait anxiety on working memory (WM) in safety and threat. Interactions between experimentally induced anxiety and WM performance (on different cognitive loads) have been reported in healthy, nonanxious subjects. Differences in trait anxiety may moderate these interactions. Accordingly, these interactions may…

This study investigated the covariational reasoning abilities of prospective middle school mathematics teachers in a task about dynamic functional events involving two simultaneously changing quantities in an individual process and also in a peer interaction process. The focus was the ways in which prospective teachers' covariational reasoning…

The ability to act on behalf of one's future self is related to uniquely human abilities such as planning, delay of gratification, and goal attainment. Although prospection develops rapidly during early childhood, little is known about the mechanisms that support its development. Here we explored whether encouraging children to talk about their…

Globally, school systems are pressed to engage in large-scale school improvement. In the United States and other countries, school district central offices and other local governing agencies often engage with external organizations and individuals to support such educational change efforts. However, initiatives with external partners are not…

In order to best respond to an emergency situation, professionals need to have an understanding about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and techniques that will ensure proper care. The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge and confidence of EMS personnel on interacting and treating an individual with ASD. Emergency Medical Technicians…

Mediated learning experience (MLE) stresses that the quality of interaction between the child and the environment via a human mediator plays a pivotal role in the cognitive development of the individual. Feuerstein's theory of structural cognitive modifiability posited that humans have the propensity to change the structure of their cognitive…

This paper discusses possibilities of designing ethical research practice in relation to people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD). We will argue that in the case of this group of people, research ethics is about ethically justifiable research aims, design, methods, and practices that are based on the recognition of their…

Forming part of the new 'methodological frontier' the use of digital communication technologies has become increasingly commonplace in social research. Whilst audio-only online interviews and asynchronous means of communicating online has been discussed for over two decades, video capabilities; being able to see a participant face-to-face online…