Idea generation is an integral component of jazz improvising. This article merges theoretical origins and practical experiences through the examination of two seminal works from Pressing and Sudnow. A comparative analysis yields three common sources with distinct characteristics. The greater body of jazz literature supports this potential link…

Previous studies suggest that whereas the left hemisphere (LH) is involved in fine semantic processing, the right hemisphere (RH) is uniquely engaged in coarse semantic coding including the comprehension of distinct types of language such as figurative language, lexical ambiguity and verbal humor (e.g., and ). The present study examined the…

The general goal of the present paper is to demonstrate how cross-linguistic (contrastive) data can broaden the perspective in cognitive linguistic research on metonymy, which may raise a host of questions calling for a revision of some widely accepted views. A more specific, methodological goal is to show how the introspection-driven research and…

Multi-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA), or "decoding", of fMRI activity has gained popularity in the neuroimaging community in recent years. MVPA differs from standard fMRI analyses by focusing on whether information relating to specific stimuli is encoded in patterns of activity across multiple voxels. If a stimulus can be predicted, or decoded,…

The neural mechanisms that underlie familiarity memory have been extensively investigated, but a consensus understanding remains elusive. Behavioral evidence suggests that familiarity sometimes shares sources with instances of implicit memory known as priming, in that the same increases in processing fluency that give rise to priming can engender…

Adults are experts at recognizing faces but there is controversy about how this ability develops with age. We assessed 6- to 12-year-olds and adults using a digitized version of the Benton Face Recognition Test, a sensitive tool for assessing face perception abilities. Children's response times for correct responses did not decrease between ages 6…

This study explores younger and older adults learning of MS Publisher functionalities from a multimedia tutorial. Twenty younger and twenty three older adults assigned to a redundant (experimental) or non-redundant (control) condition were taught how to create a greeting card, while the results of their learning were assessed with immediate and…

Songbirds and humans share many parallels in vocal learning and auditory sequence processing. However, the two groups differ notably in their abilities to recognize acoustic sequences shifted in absolute pitch (pitch height). Whereas humans maintain accurate recognition of words or melodies over large pitch height changes, songbirds are…

We investigated examinees' cognitive processes while they solved selected items from the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), a high-stakes professional certification examination. We focused on ascertaining those mental processes most frequently used by examinees, and the most common types of errors in their thinking. We compared the relationships between…

Technology-rich learning environments (TREs) provide opportunities for learners to engage in complex interactions involving a multitude of cognitive, metacognitive, and affective states. Understanding learners' distinct learning progressions in TREs demand inquiry approaches that employ well-conceived theoretical accounts of these multiple facets.…

This article investigates how teacher educators and teachers collaborate via dialogic interactions to support the development of elementary students' reading strategies. By implementing comprehension-centered reading tools such as the Burke reading interview and strategy rulers in partnership with in-service teachers, we are able to sustain…

The purpose of this study was to explore effective ways to design guided practices within a web-based mathematics problem solving tutorial. Specifically, this study examined student learning outcome differences between two support designs (e.g. adaptively faded and fixed). In the adaptively faded design, students were presented with problems in…

Concept inventories hold tremendous promise for promoting the rigorous evaluation of teaching methods that might remedy common student misconceptions and promote deep learning. The measurements from concept inventories can be trusted only if the concept inventories are evaluated both by expert feedback and statistical scrutiny (psychometric…

We compared learning cycle and expository formats for teaching about plant biodiversity in an inquiry-oriented university biology lab class (n = 465). Both formats had preparatory lab activities, a hands-on lab, and a postlab with reflection and argumentation. Learning was assessed with a lab report, a practical quiz in lab, and a multiple-choice…

Thoughtful implementation of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) (CCSSI 2010) presents an opportunity for increased emphasis on the development of mathematical understanding among students. Granted, ascertaining the mathematical understanding of an individual student is highly complex work and often exceedingly difficult.…