Unconscious biases can be thought of as the shortcuts the brain takes to make life easier. Psychologists Daniel Kahneman (2011) and Amos Tversky explain that unconscious biases arise because humans have two thinking systems: a fast, automatic (unconscious) system and a slower more deliberative (conscious) system. The first system can be thought of…

A constructivist philosophy underpinning science teaching and learning for over 100 years in United Kingdom (UK) classrooms places "conceptual change" at the heart of classroom work in which children's scientific ideas form, strengthen and change. In this article, the author explains how the simple, effective method of "eyes…

Since many people tend to use photographs as memory anchors, this author decided she wanted to know whether the process of capturing and manipulating an image taken during a learning activity would act as a memory anchor for children's visual, auditory and kinaesthetic memories linked to their cognitive learning at the time. In plain English,…

The purpose of this research was to discover whether the children (aged 9 to 11) were thinking while taking part in practical science activities. One method the author used was to video the activity and then watch the replay with each child in turn. She was then able to ask them what they had been thinking about at each stage. The majority of the…

Reviews the purposes, underlying assumptions, and curriculum development model for the United Kingdom's "Children's Learning in Science Project." Explains the general features and phases of the constructivist approach to learning that the program advocates. Identifies theoretical developments on children's ideas, the constructivist view…