This study aimed at designing instructional material named Biotechnology Instruction Module (BIM) which is enriched with active learning methods to enhance the 8th grade students' learning of the topic. The development of the teaching materials proceeded within the stages of the ADDIE instructional design model. The final form of the instructional…

The broader autism phenotype (BAP) is a term applied to individuals with personality and cognitive traits that are similar to but milder than those observed in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Subtle autistic traits in the core diagnostic domains of social communication and rigid behavior were described in family members of people with an ASD even…

The processes of mitosis and meiosis are oft-cited and long-standing examples of concepts that are difficult for students to learn and understand. While there are many examples in the literature of "how-to-do-it," innovative instructional approaches for teaching mitosis and meiosis, publications that include measurement of learning gains…

Purpose: The extant literature suggests that individual differences in speech perception can be linked to broad receptive language phenotype. For example, a recent study found that individuals with a smaller receptive vocabulary showed diminished lexically guided perceptual learning compared to individuals with a larger receptive vocabulary. Here,…

There is considerable variability in the extent to which young people with developmental language disorder (DLD) experience mental health difficulties. What drives these individual differences remains unclear. In the current article, data from the Twin Early Development Study were used to investigate the genetic and environmental influences on…

Preterm birth and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) stay are early adverse stressful experiences, which may result in an altered temperamental profile. The serotonin transporter gene ("SLC6A4"), which has been linked to infant temperament, is susceptible to epigenetic regulation associated with early stressful experience. This study…

Existing models of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) disagree as to whether the core features should be conceptualized as convergent (related) or divergent (unrelated), and the few previous studies addressing this question have found conflicting results. We examined standardized parent ratings of symptoms from three domains (social, communication,…

According to models of differential susceptibility, the same neurobiological and temperamental traits that determine increased sensitivity to stress and adversity also confer enhanced responsivity to the positive aspects of the environment. Differential susceptibility models have expanded to include complex developmental processes in which genetic…

Learning about heredity is important across the K-12 continuum. However, these ideas may be challenging for students. We examined third-grade students' ideas about heredity in the context of a new, six-week, model-based science unit that uses corn as a model organism to support students' ideas about heredity. We analyzed data collected during…

Across the globe, from the very wealthy continents of North America to Europe to Australia, the phenomenon of migrant and immigrant students outperforming native students are observed and documented. Some migrants and immigrants from China, the Philippines, India, Russia, Africa, and the Caribbean are reportedly achieving higher test scores than…

Model-based reasoning has been introduced as an authentic way of learning science, and many researchers have developed technological tools for learning with models. This paper describes how a model-based tool, "BioLogica"™, was used to facilitate genetics learning in secondary 3-level biology in Singapore. The research team co-designed…

National calls for improving science education (e.g., "Vision and Change") emphasize the need to learn disciplinary core ideas through scientific practices. To address this need, we engaged small groups of students in developing diagrammatic models within two (one large-enrollment and one medium-enrollment) undergraduate introductory…

Background: Changes in reward processing are thought to be involved in the etiology of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as well as other developmental disorders. In addition, different forms of therapy for ADHD rely on reinforcement principles. As such, improved understanding of reward processing in ADHD could eventually lead to…

The present study is the first long-term longitudinal examination of the etiology of individual differences in language from early childhood through to adolescence. We applied a multivariate latent factor genetic model to longitudinal data from the Twins Early Development Study in order to (a) compare the magnitude of genetic and environmental…

In the target article (Dar-Nimrod & Heine, 2011), we provided a social-cognitive framework which identified genetic essentialist biases and their implications. In their commentaries, Haslam (2011) and Turkheimer (2011) indicated their general agreement with this framework but highlighted some important points for consideration. Haslam…