Cognitive load theory (CLT), a construct of instructional psychologist John Sweller, has long been a mainstay of educational psychology and university educational technology courses, regionally and internationally. Although aspects of this cognitivist theory have been severely criticised, including its insistence on direct instruction in…

A leading critic of the disruptive force of technology in education, Bernard Stiegler saw the counter-effects of artificial intelligence in undermining human agency, autonomy and individuality, rendering the role of education ever more critical. Stiegler believes that our goal is not to abandon technology but to focus our attention on its power…

With the increasing consensus that a single effect of bilingualism is unlikely, some scholars shift their focus to elements that may exert an influence on the bilingual brain. One such element that has been garnering attention lately concerns the role of L1-L2 typological distance. In this conceptual analysis, I make the case that the foundations…

Over the past twenty-five years, or so, considerable advances have been made in understanding how learning occurs in the brain, though much of this research is still to make its way into education. One contribution it should be making is to furnish the philosophical critique of past and current theory with supporting empirical evidence. For…

In her keynote article advocating the Linguistic Proximity Model for third language (L3) acquisition, Westergaard (2021) presents several arguments against 'copying and restructuring' in nonnative language acquisition, mechanisms central to Schwartz and Sprouse's (1996) Full Transfer/Full Access model of second language (L2) acquisition. In this…

In recent years, neuroscience and brain-based approaches to education have started to feature prominently in the rationale for radical educational reform, both in terms of policy and practice. Revelations about what way the brain works, it seems, is a common point of interest for neuroscience and education alike. Out of these common interests…

Introduction: Research suggests benefits for incorporating popular press books into courses to encourage critical thinking and student-instructor interactions about concepts. Objective: This article offers a summary and critique of "7 ½ Lessons about the Brain" by Lisa Feldman-Barrett along with pedagogical strategies for integrating the…

In a recent paper, Chiarello, Welcome, Halderman, and Leonard (2009) reported positive correlations between word-related visual field asymmetries and reading performance. They argued that strong word processing lateralization represents a more optimal brain organization for reading acquisition. Their empirical results contrasted sharply with those…

While Gottlieb recognized the significance of biological factors for behavioral development, the system of psychology he developed did not cast the discipline as a purely biological science. Rather, genes, brains, hormones were understood by him as participating, rather than causal factors in behavioral origins. He worked from two basic principles…