Abacus-based mental calculation (AMC) is a widely used educational tool for enhancing math learning, offering an accessible and cost-effective method for classroom implementation. Despite its universal appeal, the neurocognitive mechanisms that drive the efficacy of AMC training remain poorly understood. Notably, although abacus training relies…

Motivation in students can have a strong effect on student engagement and overall student success. Due to the impact of COVID-19, students have been less motivated and have fallen farther behind which increases the need to better motivate and engage students within the classroom. This quasi-experimental study which incorporated a pre- and…

Background: Education outside the classroom (EOtC) is considered beneficial to children's physical and mental health. Especially, stress resilience has been linked to nature experience. Aims: This study experimentally explored the effects of pupils' autonomy support (AUT) and physical activity (PA) on their biological stress responses and brain…

Interest in the applications of mindfulness practice in education is growing in the scientific community. Recent research has shown that mindfulness practice in schools may be beneficial for executive functions (EFs) which are abilities crucial for healthy development. The study of the effects of mindfulness practices on children's neural…

It is under debate whether the neural representation of numbers and letters might rely on distinct neural correlates, or on a mostly shared neural network. In the present study, a total of 47 children in fifth grade (Experiment 1) and sixth grade (Experiment 2) simply copied numbers and letters on a touch screen while brain activation changes were…

Reading fluency involves a complex interaction of different cognitive skills and abilities that develop with instruction and practice and relies on the automaticity of many distinct reading skills (e.g., pacing, word recognition, expression, phonological awareness). Fluent reading frees cognitive resources, such as working memory, for more…

Previous studies measured flow states using students' self-reported experiences, resulting in issues regarding nonobjective and nonreal-time data. Thus, this study used an electroencephalogram (EEG) to measure the EEG-detected real-time flow states (EEG-Fs) of 30 students from the 4th and 5th grades. Their EEG measurements, self-reported…

Executive function (EF) contributes significantly to reading comprehension across the lifespan. Emerging research indicates domain-specific assessments of EF are better suited for assessment and intervention in academic contexts. For example, "graphophonological-semantic cognitive flexibility" (GSF), the ability to flexibly switch…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how teachers describe ways they use movement in the classroom in order to discover benefits and limitations of using movement breaks when working with SPED students in two charter schools on the East Coast of the United States. The brain-based learning theory was used to explore how…

Brain Gym is a movement-based program designed to address a diverse range of students academic and behavioral needs by promoting whole-brain learning. However, the scientific research-base supporting Brain Gym is limited and findings are inconclusive. This study's goal was to evaluate the effects of Brain Gym movements on fourth grade students…

Two studies were conducted of students with and without persisting Specific Learning Disabilities (SLDs-WL) in Grades 4 to 9 (M = 11 years, 11 months) that supported the hypotheses that CELF 4 parent ratings for listening (language by ear), speaking (language by mouth), reading (language by eye), and writing (language by hand) were correlated with…

Students' difficulties in mathematics and science may stem from interference of the task's salient irrelevant variables. Here, we focus on a comparison of perimeters task, in which the area is the irrelevant salient variable. In congruent trials (no interference), accuracy is higher and reaction time is shorter than in incongruent trials (area…

In a phenomenological case study, the author sought to gain an awareness of the lived experiences of 4th and 5th grade ESL students, their parents, and their teachers who participated in the MindUp mindfulness curriculum. The author was interested in the relationship between the mindfulness curriculum and SEL based on the perspective of all three…

A group of 50 good readers and a group of 50 poor readers of Grade 5 matched for age and intelligence and selected on the basis of their proficiency in reading comprehension were tested for their competence in word reading and the process of planning at three different levels, namely, perceptual, memory and conceptual in order to study the…

The reading development of children depends on various sensory stimuli, which help them construct reading contexts and facilitate active learning and exploration. This study uses sensory stimuli provided by picture books using various forms of media to improve children's concentration performance. We employ picture books using four forms of media:…