Kappan's editor talks with Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa, a leader in the international movement to translate findings from neuroscience into usable knowledge for educators. Topics include neuromyths (common, but erroneous, beliefs about how the brain works), the current scientific consensus about how people learn, and the contributions that the…

Recognizing the valuable role nature plays in human development as well as humans' responsibility toward the earth is critically important when considering how to transform education for the betterment of the individual and society. In this article, the author views nature as a force or phenomenon of the metaphysical world. As such, she suggests…

Ziegler and Phillipson provide a timely, thought-provoking critique of traditional approaches to gifted education. For a long time, the field has searched in vain for the Holy Grail of giftedness. Alas, the essentialist assumption fails because giftedness does not have a single essence that holds its identity, unity, and continuity. Reification of…

This paper stems from a dialogue on the subjects of learning and learners: one forged out of experiences in research and teaching, and the application of psychodynamic insights, developmental psychology and recent work in the neurosciences, to thinking about adult learning and subjectivity. We argue that some notion of the self needs to be…

English in schools is a productive curriculum space for young people to learn about sexuality, to develop a sense of their identity as sexual beings, and to understand the importance of equality and social justice. Drawing on John Dixon's theory of "personal growth," the author (a British educator) explains how teachers' attitudes about learning…

The vision statement of St. Saviour's Anglican Church in the Parish of Glen Osmon reads, "We aim to be a worshipping, caring, learning and serving Christian Community." These four aspects of Christian Community are essential and inter-related. The intention in the first part of this article is to explore the "learning" aspects…

We are pleased with the commentators' thoughtful reactions to our study, as they make it clear that the study met its major goal--identifying age differences that suggest developmental changes in the learning process and the strengthening of executive processes in the second decade of life.

This paper addresses many theories of learning and human development which are very similar with regards as to how they suggest learning occurs. The differences in most of the theories exist in how they treat the development of the learner compared to methods of teaching. Most of the major learning theories taught to educators today are based on…

The article discusses aspects of the definition of "learning disabilities". The process of learning is discussed including such themes as social interaction, personal reflection and response, integration, transformation/growth, and ecological wholeness, balance, and fit. Encouraged is a nonproblematic definition of learning disabilities. (DB)

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to argue that foundational terms in work-learning research, specifically "learning", "work", and "workplace", are inherently complex and contested as the same as their scope has expanded in different fields to elide various conceptual categories and theoretical positions. Yet…

With the mythological example of Theseus and the Minotaur, learning is described as a journey. Using this metaphor, educators should demonstrate passion for the subject matter, make it meaningful, call learners to adventure, help them deal with anxiety, foster collaboration and self-direction, and encourage them to contribute what they have…

Suggests that educators are called to define and describe truth more foundationally than before if they are to facilitate existence that is right, just, and correct. Describes the shift from the Newtonian model of what it means to be human to a more Einsteinian understanding and its requirement of more formative learning processes. (Author/JOW)

Explains the place of learning in human development from the perspective developmental contextualism, where development involves changing relations between the developing person and his or her changing context. Demonstrates that learning is no more nor less important than other focal functions at a given level; any impact is through being part of…

Notes contemporary models of human development have expanded to address a wider set of issues underlying personal change. Discusses the social cognitive model of self-regulatory development. Emphasizes the crucial development of self-regulatory competence: the point at which the processes of development become fully and reciprocally interactive…

Calls for a coalition of different research methods and strategies to better understand learning and development. Describes two such strategies: (1) testing-the-limits decomposing age-graded differences in upper limits of plasticity; and (2) experimental simulation of development, a coordinated sequence of theory-guided research steps. Both…