Heavy content, high volume courses commonly create challenges for undergraduate students. Two such courses at our university are the introductory semesters of anatomy and physiology for first-year nursing students, taught by biology instructors. Despite the vast literature indicating the efficacy of using concept maps as a tool for learning, it is…

Cognitive neuroscience will provide theoretical foundations for areas of educational policy and practice. Educators will benefit from knowledge in the basic sciences related to brain development and function. Brain development begins at birth and the brain remains capable of complex changes throughout the lifespan. Educators will want to be aware…

According to Piaget's theory, maturation of the nervous system is sufficient for the development of formal thought. If this were the case, the job of the educational system would be small indeed. Rather, maturation determines only the totality of possibilities and impossibilities at a given stage. This study investigates whether instructional…

This research compared two methods used to investigate the knowledge of internal body parts by children ages 4 to 9 years. Subjects were 50 Italian children: 18 preschoolers, 21 first graders, and 11 second or third graders. Children performed two tasks, a Drawing Task in which they drew on the outline of a human figure all the body parts they…