Proposes four main reasons that children are left behind in schools: unmet needs, lack of motivation, lack of foundation and prior knowledge, and lack of support for learning. Discusses Maslow's hierarch of needs; partnerships with parents; connecting to student interests; insisting on mastery; curriculum sequencing; brain-based research; and…

Three experiments obtained same-different judgments from children and adults to trace normal development of local and global processing of hierarchical visual forms. Findings indicated that reaction time was faster on global trials than local trials; bias was stronger in children and diminished to adult levels between ages 10 and 14. Reaction time…

A review of the role of prior knowledge, metacognition, and intentionality in learning culminates in an example of how knowledge building--the community construction of new knowledge through theory construction and revision--works in a Canadian elementary science class. Comparing theories on the "public forum" of networked software…

Presents recent research results from magnetic resonance imaging on the neurological characteristics of individuals with dyslexia. Describes how the brain is normally used in reading and how a neurological "glitch" prevents individuals with dyslexia from easily gaining access to parts of the brain responsible for analyzing and…

The Conners Rating Scale was used to identify psychoeducational, neuropsychological, and sociobehavioral variables in attempting to define subtypes within a population of 95 children (mean age 10.6 years) with learning disabilities (LD) or documented brain damage. Results supported the sociobehavioral component in LD subtyping and parallels…

Three studies examined how children of different ages and cultural backgrounds represent depth relations of near and far, and front and behind, on a two-dimensional surface. A lateral bias to place near objects on the left side appeared in English and Hebrew readers of all ages and in older Arabic readers. (MM)

Discusses the effects of child abuse and neglect on young children. Focuses on possible neurological effects; psychological effects, such as disregulation of affect and avoidance of intimacy; and cognitive consequences throughout childhood and adolescence. Describes interventions that can promote resiliency in children, such as providing alternate…

Four articles discuss recent findings on early brain development, describe classroom applications for specific findings, and include a brain compatibility evaluation: (1) "Primed for Learning: The Young Child's Mind" (Karen Stephens); (2) "Turning Knowledge into Practice" (Pam Schiller); (3) "Is Your Program Brain…

A Teacher/Advisor Program (TAP) based on the latest brain research puts affective education squarely into one international school's curriculum. School-related problems of anxiety, anger, depression, values, and conflicts can be addressed by teachers trained in listening and group-process skills. TAP's success at Beirut's International College is…

In this interview, psychologist Andrew Meltzoff dispels some popular myths and discusses insights from cognitive developmental psychology to enlighten educators. Studying infants and listening to young children has led experts to revise their ideas about the thought/language relationship. Play activities are profound learning experiences. (MLH)

Through a partnership with Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri, staff of a successful, improvement-oriented elementary school focused on brain-compatible practices. These included a safe, nonthreatening environment; active and meaningful learning; rich, stimulating, varied input; and accurate, timely, and helpful feedback. (MLH)

Presents research on the effects of music instruction on spatial-temporal reasoning in children. Summarizes past studies that tested whether music training transfers to spatial-temporal task performance. A work-in-progress focuses on whether music training can improve economically-disadvantaged preschoolers' abstract reasoning and why…

There are major differences in perspective between the traditional medical model of treatment for troubled children and more recent strength-based approaches. This is particularly evident when widespread use of psychoactive drugs becomes a substitute for interpersonal therapeutic interventions. Drugs and relationships both impact the brain, but in…

The present study employs event related potentials (ERPs) to verify the utility of using electrophysiological measures to study developmental questions within the field of language comprehension. Established ERP components (N400 and P600) that reflect semantic and syntactic processing were examined. Fifteen adults and 14 children (ages 8-13)…

Auditory pattern recognition skills in children with reading disorders were investigated using perceptual tests involving discrimination of frequency and duration tonal patterns. A behavioral test battery involving recognition of the pattern of presentation of tone triads was used in which individual components differed in either frequency or…