With increased technology use in classrooms, teachers must design lessons that integrate technology use and stimulate cognitive processing. This dissertation explored science teachers' perceptions of integrating technology-based instruction on cognitive processing in secondary school science. It is vital to understand the neuroscience behind…

Embodied cognition posits that physical interactions with the environment play a crucial role in learning, including complex, abstract concepts in STEM disciplines. This is relevant for deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) learners who often utilize sign language, which is a naturally embodied, visuospatial mode of communication. My dissertation…

Part 1 in this four-part series of articles discussed Piaget's theories of learning and development (Crossland, 2016). Part 2 explores how post-Piagetian researchers have addressed criticisms of Piaget's theories by linking recent evidence including that from neuroscience. The outcomes show that good teachers make a difference by implementing…

Parts 1 and 2 in this four-part series of articles (Crossland, 2016, 2017a) discussed the recent research from neuroscience linked to concepts from cognitive development that brought Piaget's theories into the 21st century and showed the most effective provision towards more optimal learning strategies. Part 2 reviewed Demetriou's latest thinking…

Parts 1 and 2 in this four-part series of articles (Crossland, 2016, 2017) discussed the recent research from neuroscience linked to concepts from cognitive development that brought Piaget's theories into the 21st century and showed the most effective provision towards more optimal learning strategies. Then the discussion moved onto Demetriou's…

The research questions a teacher would ask of neuroscience require answers researched within a typical classroom context. Unfortunately this research has rarely been available. The Education Endowment Foundation recently set up six projects applying evidence from neuroscience and educational studies to the classroom context. Most of the evaluation…

This article is the first of a two-part series that explores science teachers' and their pupils' experiences of using different pedagogical approaches based on understandings of how brains learn. For this case-study research, nine science teachers were interviewed and four teachers self-selected to trial a pedagogical approach, new to them, from…

This study examined the effects of teachers' biology-specific dimensions of professional knowledge--pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and content knowledge (CK)--and cognitively activating biology instruction, as a feature of instructional quality, on students' learning. The sample comprised 39 German secondary school teachers whose lessons on…

The impulse to investigate the natural world is deeply rooted in our earliest childhood experiences. This notion has long guided researchers to uncover the cognitive mechanisms underlying the development of scientific reasoning in children. Until recently, however, research in cognitive development and education followed largely independent…