Background: Students living in rural areas of the United States exhibit lower levels of educational attainment than their suburban counterparts. Innovative interventions are needed to close this educational achievement gap. Aims: We investigated whether an online growth mindset intervention could be leveraged to promote academic outcomes. Sample:…

Background: Previous research found that pre-teenage ability to derive arbitrary "same," "opposite," "more," and "less" relations correlated with measured intelligence quotient (IQ) and that training this "derived relational responding" (DRR) skill produced substantial IQ rises. Aims: This study…

Background: Research is needed to explore conceptual change in relation to achievement goal orientations and depth of processing. Aims: To address this need, we examined relations between achievement goals, use of deep versus shallow processing strategies, and conceptual change learning using a think-aloud protocol. Sample and Method:…

Background: In the context of the British Government's policy directed on improving standards in schools, this paper presents research on the effects of a programme intended to promote the cognitive development of children in the first 2 years of primary school (Y1 & 2, aged 5-7 years). The programme is based on earlier work dealing with…

Background: Research in higher education on the effects of student-centred versus lecture-based learning environments generally does not take into account the psychological need support provided in these learning environments. From a self-determination theory perspective, need support is important to study because it has been associated with…

Background: Methods for teaching thinking may be described as out-of-context or infusion. Both approaches have potential to raise students' general cognitive processing ability and so raise academic achievement, but each has disadvantages. Aims: To describe and evaluate a theory-based learn to think (LTT) curriculum for primary school students,…

Background: Previous research on small-group learning has found that level of constructive activity (solving or explaining how to solve problems using ideas stated or implied in the explanation provided by a partner) was a better predictor of post-test achievement than either a student's prior achievement or the quality of help received (Webb,…

Reading achievement test performance of high and low ability sixth-graders in contrasting reading programs was examined. Lower academic ability pupils benefitted from the explicitly sequenced, behaviorally oriented Matteson program, while higher academic ability students benefitted from the Scott Foresman program, which emphasizes rich language…

Reports study which compared the value of Piagetian tasks--seriation, conservation and multiple classification--to that of traditional intelligence tests--Cattell and PMA 5 to 7 subtests--as predictors of number language, simple computation, and verbal arithmetic achievement in 312 children from kindergarten to grade 4. Fifty references are…

Background: Debates about the modifiability of cognitive ability have been largely resolved by reports of successful "thinking skills" interventions. However, such interventions are very diverse and generalization of effects relatively little explored. Aims: This study investigated whether a thinking skills intervention involving…

Discusses the design considerations, research methodology, nature of the samples, and details of the statistical analysis in a study of the effect of classroom environment on learning among junior high school students. Results indicate that achievement is greater in classroom environments which are similar to the student's preferred environment.…

Describes study of fifth and sixth grade Jewish Israeli students that tested the hypothesis that intrinsic motivation will be differentially affected by task-involving and ego-involving evaluation. Three feedback conditions involving grades and individual comments are explained, and results are discussed in terms of student interest and…