In light of the recent growing interest in conceptual learning and teaching of calculus, and especially with the focus on using technological environments, our study was designed to explore the learning processes and the role played by multiple-linked representations and by interactive technological environment in objectifying the accumulation…

The present two studies investigated whether semantic as well as evaluative stimulus aspects can be conditioned to neutral stimuli. In Study 1, pictures of large and small objects were paired with neutral stimuli (conditioned stimuli (CSs)). The subsequently assessed size and likeability ratings indicated that valence as well as size was…

These studies examined the role of ontological beliefs about category boundaries in early categorization. Study 1 found that preschool-age children (N = 48, aged 3-4 years old) have domain-specific beliefs about the meaning of category boundaries; children judged the boundaries of natural kind categories (animal species, human gender) as discrete…

According to cognitive load theory (CLT), the limitations of working memory (WM) in the learning of new tasks together with its ability to cooperate with an unlimited long-term memory (LTM) for familiar tasks enable human beings to deal effectively with complex problems and acquire highly complex knowledge and skills. With regard to WM, CLT has…

Recent accounts by cognitive scientists of factors affecting cognition imply the need to reconsider current dominant conceptual theories about science learning. These new accounts emphasize the role of context, embodied practices, and narrative-based representation rather than learners' cognitive constructs. In this paper we analyse data from a…

Two studies investigated the relationship between learning names and learning concepts in preschool children. More specifically, we focused on the relationship between learning the names and learning the intended functions of artifacts, given that the intended function of an artifact is generally thought to constitute core conceptual information…

This paper reports on a study that examined the cumulative effects on students' learning of science, and perceptions of the role of writing in learning, when the students engaged in multiple writing tasks with planning strategy support. The study was conducted with Year 10 biology students who completed two consecutive units on Cells and Molecular…

Part of a series exploring how language influences and is influenced by educational processes, this book describes difficulties boys and girls experience in learning to read and write due to gendered divisions of labor. The book draws on an ethnographic study that followed 13 children from kindergarten through second grade and found that, in…