A small but growing cadre of schools and districts across the nation are turning to interventions rooted in brain science to complement or replace core curricula. Such programs target a related set of cognitive processes, known as executive function (EF), that are key to learning. Executive function skills are essential for planning, executing,…

In this article, we compare the Common Core State Standards in Writing to the Hayes cognitive model of writing, adapted to describe the performance of young and developing writers. Based on the comparison, we propose the inclusion of standards for motivation, goal setting, writing strategies, and attention by writers to the text they have just…

Background/Context: Which ideas should be included in the K-12 curriculum, how they are learned, and how they should be taught have been debated for decades in multiple subjects. In this article, we offer mathematics as a case in point of how new standards-related policies may offer an opportunity for reassessment and clarification of such…

This chapter is a companion to Chapter 2 in this text, "The Reading Side." As such, a brief overview of the contemporary findings pertaining to written expression will be presented. This will include a brief discussion of definitional issues, two key conceptual models for written expression, underlying cognitive functions, and related…

The authors discuss empirically determined competence areas to K-12 computer science education, emphasizing the cognitive level of competence. The results of a questionnaire with 120 professors of computer science serve as a database. By using multi-dimensional scaling and cluster analysis, four competence areas to computer science education…

Current educational standards call for students to engage in the skills of research and inquiry, with a focus on gathering evidence from multiple information sources, evaluating the credibility of those sources, and writing an integrated synthesis that cites evidence from those sources. Opportunities to build strong research skills are critical,…

Research design and methods in educational neuroscience involve using neuroscientific tools such as brain image technologies to investigate cognitive functions and inform educational practices. The ethical challenges raised by research in social neuroscience have become the focus of neuroethics, a sub-discipline of bioethics. More specifically…

Recent times have seen an increasing prevalence and incidence of children with ASD in school settings. Social, cognitive, and language process deficits directly impact the ability of children with ASD to effectively functioning within the complex social setting of schools. In particular, deficits are noted in the areas of social communication and…

This article, originally published in "Distances et Savoirs" (D & S--7/2009. "A la Croisee des Recherches," p571-584) reviews the key ideas related to increasing student learning and support described in selected chapters from the second edition of the "Handbook of Distance Education" (Moore 2007). These chapters described research findings…

Background: In order to design appropriate environments for performance and learning of movement skills, physical educators need a sound theoretical model of the learner and of processes of learning. In physical education, this type of modelling informs the organisation of learning environments and effective and efficient use of practice time. An…

As the ongoing national indicator of what American students know and can do, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in Reading regularly collects achievement information on representative samples of students in grades 4, 8, and 12. Through "The Nation's Report Card," the NAEP Reading Assessment reports how well students…

Social cognitive theory emphasizes a dynamic interactive process to explain human functioning. This theory ascribes a central role to cognitive processes in which the individual can observe others and the environment, reflect on that in combination with his or her own thoughts and behaviors, and alter his or her own self-regulatory functions…

The author reviews research on dyslexia, citing the public image and current thought on its nature, causes, and treatment. He then proposes viewing the condition from the perspective of cognitive psychology and outlines coherent curricula for reading and teaching based on the perspective. (CL)

Seeks to establish that contextual factors informed by certain postulated cultural experiences can influence cognitive performance of African-American children. Designs models to explain fundamental link between culture and cognition. Argues that much school failure exhibited by African-American children can be explained in terms of cultural…

The article reviews literature on the information processing model with learning disabled children. Assumptions concerning the role of automaticity, prior knowledge, and executive functioning are questioned. Also discussed are procedures for identifying common denominations, subgrouping, isolating mental components underlying academic change, and…