Tracking the depictions of animals in children's literature through history reveals not only what authors think about animals, but also what they think about the human experience and of childhood itself. As the word "animal" can be used both to mark the similarities and the differences between beasts and men, it makes sense then that…

How do newborns learn to recognize objects? According to temporal learning models in computational neuroscience, the brain constructs object representations by extracting smoothly changing features from the environment. To date, however, it is unknown whether newborns depend on smoothly changing features to build invariant object representations.…

Children's early knowledge and skills set the stage for later reading development. The present studies examined children's conceptual knowledge of reading prior to formal literacy instruction. Young children's knowledge about who is able to read books and what readers are reading when they read books has been studied primarily through interviews.…

This study explored children's perceptions of a canine-assisted social-emotional learning program developed within the framework of a canine therapy program at a mid-sized Canadian university. Data collection made use of interviews, field notes, and observations. Children (N = 8, 5-11 years) from an after-school program participated in a six-week…

Animal dissection is practiced to varying degrees around the world and is particularly prevalent in North America throughout all levels of education. However, a growing number of studies suggest that nonanimal teaching methods (NAMs) (e.g., virtual anatomy tools and three-dimensional models) are better for achieving learning goals compared to…

The multiple crises of the 21st century once again highlight the significant role of sustainable education in all educational institutions. Particularly in higher education, the inclusion of nature and animals in the curricula is underrepresented. Using the method of Multispecies Ethnography, which recognizes the interconnectedness and…

Students often experience difficulty in connecting knowledge from different college courses to solve complex problems such as ocean acidification, a pressing concern within the ongoing climate crisis. Here, we introduce a multidisciplinary activity in which students use their chemistry knowledge of change and stability in chemical systems through…

Wellbeing and effective engagement in reading are critical to successful learning and achievement throughout school and beyond. Reading to Dogs in schools is an increasingly popular way of supporting both wellbeing and reading engagement yet limited educational research has been conducted. This small-scale study took place in a Scottish Primary 1…

Beta-adrenergic receptors ([beta]-ARs) prime hippocampal synapses to stabilize long-term potentiation (LTP). This "metaplasticity" can persist for 1-2 h after pharmacologic activation of [beta]-ARs. It requires activation of PKA (cAMP-dependent protein kinase) during [beta]-AR priming. A-kinase anchoring proteins (AKAPs) tether PKA to…

This paper outlines a qualitative investigation where wolf-focussed education was examined from the perspective of educators who work at programmes/centres around North America. Using a phenomenological methodology and a critical lens, methods involved semi-structured interviews with 17 educators from 15 different wolf centres, a brief content…

The Australian brushtail possum ("Trichosurus vulpecula") is one of many animal species classifed as alien under the biosecurity system in New Zealand. However, it is against the possums that a relentless campaign is perpetrated. This article attempts to explain some of the many reasons behind such intense negativity, and in doing so,…

Netrin-1 was initially characterized as an axon guidance molecule that is essential for normal embryonic neural development; however, many types of neurons continue to express netrin-1 in the postnatal and adult mammalian brain. Netrin-1 and the netrin receptor DCC are both enriched at synapses. In the adult hippocampus, activity-dependent…

Since 2011, Oregon State University has conducted integrated pest management (IPM) training specific to public schools. School personnel receive onsite training on key IPM practices as well as associated materials. To determine which practices and materials school employees are using as a result of the program, we administered a survey to 2016…

Trait anxiety is considered to be a risk factor for anxiety disorders. The aim of the present study was to investigate how trait anxiety affects associative learning during and after an aversive event in laboratory rats. For this, rats were first submitted to a light-dark box test, followed by relief, safety, and fear learning. Our data…

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition impacting individuals' social communication and interactions. Animal-assisted interventions (AAI) have been identified as practice modalities for children with ASD. A systematic review of the literature was completed identifying 13 articles addressing the impact AAI has on the social…