This paper provides a historical review of the interview research that has been used by science educators to investigate children's basic astronomy knowledge. A wide range of strategies have been developed over the last 120 years or so as successive teams of researchers have endeavoured to overcome the methodological difficulties that have arisen.…

Adults modify the way they speak to children to support children's learning across several domains. However, no previous research has studied whether adults change their language when explaining science to children. The current study examined if and how adults change the manner in which they talk about science when providing explanations to…

We used opposing figural aftereffects to investigate whether there are at least partially separable representations of upright and inverted faces in patients who missed early visual experience because of bilateral congenital cataracts (mean age at test 19.5 years). Visually normal adults and 10-year-olds were tested for comparison. Adults showed…

Previous research indicates children reason in different ways about horizontal motion and motion in fall. At the same time, their understanding of motion down inclines appears to result from an interaction between horizontal and vertical motion understanding. However, this interaction is still poorly understood. Understanding of speed change may…

This longitudinal study examined the concurrent and predictive relations between executive function (EF) and theory of mind (ToM) in 82 preschoolers who were assessed when they were 2, 3, and 4 years old. The results showed that the concurrent relation between EF and ToM, after controlling for age, verbal ability, and sex, was significant at 3 and…

Objective: The few studies applying single-voxel [superscript 1]H spectroscopy in children and adolescents with bipolar disorder (BD) have reported low "N"-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) levels in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and high myo-inositol/phosphocreatine plus creatine (PCr+Cr) ratios in the anterior cingulate. The aim of this study…

Speakers convey meaning not only through words, but also through gestures. Although children are exposed to co-speech gestures from birth, we do not know how the developing brain comes to connect meaning conveyed in gesture with speech. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to address this question and scanned 8- to 11-year-old…

During childhood and adolescence, ongoing white matter maturation in the fronto-parietal cortices and connecting fiber tracts is measurable with diffusion-weighted imaging. Important questions remain, however, about the links between these changes and developing cognitive functions. Spatial working memory (SWM) performance improves significantly…

The ability to extract visual word forms quickly and efficiently is essential for using reading as a tool for learning. We describe the first longitudinal fMRI study to chart individual changes in cortical sensitivity to written words as reading develops. We conducted four annual measurements of brain function and reading skills in a heterogeneous…

The instructional use of animals is a popular strategy to engage students with science, enhance their motivation, and promote values such as respect, tolerance, and empathy for all living beings. Although these beneficial outcomes are widely acknowledged, research has not provided reliable indicators of their efficiency. Therefore, it is essential…

This article introduces a promising new methodology called optical imaging. Optical imaging is used for measuring changes in cortical blood flow due to functional activation. The article outlines the pros and cons of using optical imaging for studying the brain correlates of perceptual, cognitive, and language development in infants and young…

Evidence is presented for the qualitative similarity hypothesis (QSH) with respect to children and adolescents who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing. The primary focus is on the development of English language and literacy skills, and some information is provided on the acquisition of English as a second language. The QSH is briefly discussed within…

Objective: This review considers the impact of chromosomal studies on the understanding of childhood neuropsychiatric syndromes, highlighting key discoveries, advances in technology, and new challenges faced by clinicians trying to interpret recent findings. Method: We review the literature on the genetics of child psychiatric disorders, including…

This document, published in India by the Regional College of Education, deals with 13 subjects: the tough context (thinking), definitions of concept, functions of concept, the process of concept formation, discriminant learning, mediation process, second signalling system, factors affecting concept formation, studies in concept formation, the…

The complex relationship between cognitive developmental research and children's science curricula is explored, focusing on the tendency to attribute shortcomings in performance to the child's age, the confounding of weak knowledge with developmentally based deficiency, and emphasis of stage-based constraints on children's thinking. (SLD)