Actions do not have inherent meaning but rather can be interpreted in many ways. The interpretation a person adopts has important effects on a range of higher order cognitive processes. One dimension on which interpretations can vary is the extent to which actions are identified abstractly--in relation to broader goals, personal characteristics,…

Goal-directed behavior requires cognitive control to effect online adjustments in response to ongoing processing demands. How signaling for these adjustments occurs has been a question of much interest. A basic question regarding the architecture of the cognitive control system is whether such signaling for control is specific to task context or…

The increasing availability of massive volumes of scientific data requires new synthetic analysis techniques to explore and identify interesting patterns that are otherwise not apparent. For biodiversity studies, a "data-driven" approach is necessary because of the complexity of ecological systems, particularly when viewed at large spatial and…

Business students need to develop skills in the intelligent use of information, especially spatial information, for decision-making. Geographic Information System (GIS) is a viable tool for that purpose. Yet the few GIS courses in the Information Systems curriculum offered in various business schools tend to focus on different concepts and skills.…

This paper reports the findings from an experimental study based on the pretest posttest research design that studied mental rotation (MR) and spatial visualization (SV) training outcomes and their impact on orthographic drawing performance. The sample of the study comprised 98 secondary school students (36 girls, 62 boys, Mage = 15.5 years, age…

Reading comprehension is often a forgotten skill in secondary classrooms. Teachers of older students assign readings of different styles and levels, but don't teach the skills necessary to process different kinds of texts. This study examined which strategies are effective in giving students the skills necessary to read for understanding by…

The concept of definite integral is almost always introduced as the Riemann integral, which is defined in terms of the Riemann sum, and its geometric interpretation. This definition is hard to understand for high school students. With the aid of mathematical software for visualisation and computation of approximate integrals, the notion of…

The influence of prior knowledge and cognitive development on the effectiveness of iconic representations in science visualizations was examined. Middle and high school students (N = 186) were given narrated visualizations of two chemistry topics: Kinetic Molecular Theory (Day 1) and Ideal Gas Laws (Day 2). For half of the visualizations, iconic…

External representations (ERs), such as diagrams, animations, and dynamic models are vital tools for communicating and constructing knowledge in biochemistry. To build a meaningful understanding of structure, function, and process, it is essential that students become visually literate by mastering key cognitive skills that are essential for…

Comprehension strategy instruction has been widely studied in the past 10 years. We now know that students who actively engage and interact with text using particular cognitive strategies are more likely to understand and remember more of what they have read. Students who use these strategies are able to access knowledge that is outside the realm…

An innovative reading comprehension curriculum that recruits social cognition in the teaching of visualizing, making inferences, and literature concepts was created, thereby achieving the first aim of the research. The Reading Rangers (RR) program was based on three research-based learning principles that were relied on in converting reading…

Concepts in mathematics are often universally applicable to other fields. A critical aspect for success in high school or college is the ability to transfer content knowledge from one discipline to another. This is especially true for material learned in the sciences and mathematics. Several studies have suggested that strong mathematical skills…

As biochemists, one of our most captivating teaching tools is the use of molecular visualization. It is a compelling medium that can be used to communicate structural information much more effectively with interactive animations than with static figures. We have conducted a survey to begin a systematic evaluation of the current classroom usage of…

Creating effective computer-based learning exercises requires an understanding of optimal user interface designs for improving higher order cognitive skills. Using an online volcanic crisis simulation previously shown to improve decision making skill, we find that a user interface using a graphical presentation of the volcano monitoring data…

The developing field of academic analytics seeks to turn data from educational systems into actionable intelligence for the improvement of teaching and learning. This paper reports on the implementation of analytics in a new medical school with an integrated curriculum and clinical focus. Analytics addressed two challenges in the curriculum:…