When people interpret the outcome of a research study, do they consider other relevant information such as prior research? In the current study, 251 college graduates read a single brief fictitious news article. The article summarized the findings of a study that found positive results for a new drug. Three versions of the article varied the…

This article is the first in a series about teaching statistics. The authors discuss the role of statistics and the difference between mathematics and statistics.

Certain explanatory elements or documents can convey unambiguously inaccurate explanations, or they may simply suggest such explanations and encourage a critical passivity towards them. This chapter presents these "risk factors", in particular: the accuracy of the conclusion and the associated "confirmation bias" (two…

Well-structured knowledge allows us to quickly understand the world around us and make informed decisions to adequately control behavior. Knowledge structures, or schemas, are presumed to aid memory encoding and consolidation of new experiences so we cannot only remember the past, but also guide behavior in the present and predict the future.…

In three samples (Ns = 286, 304, and 273), we found that endorsement of conspiracy theories, paranormal beliefs, and psychological misconceptions were all positively intercorrelated, supporting an individual difference in the tendency to generally endorse unsubstantiated claims. Multiple regression analyses further supported generality, showing…

The research compares teachers' and their pupils' performance on plant nutrition. The misconceptions of 89 primary school children from one state school have been compared with those of their four teachers. A questionnaire and a drawing task were used for data collection. The results evidence that children and teachers have serious shortcomings…

This study examined pre-service primary teachers' (PPTs) initial NOSI conceptions and their evolution after the immersion in a specific teaching module focused on inquiry and NOSI. The participants were 40 PPTs attending a science education course during a semester. The study consisted of a pre-test/post-test design approach framed qualitative…

Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis's "Schooling in Capitalist America," a classic book in the field of education, has become more influential in the last twenty years than it was during the first several years following its publication. Interestingly, however, there are some widespread misconceptions about the book. In this paper, Jianguo…

The research-practice divide between social scientists and educators is a persistent problem for the accurate communication and translation of social scientific research into pedagogical practice. This paper uses mindset theory as a case study, arguing that the social scientific theories transcending the research-practice divide tend to be those…

The main purpose of this study is to identify alternative concepts that students possess on the colour of blood and determine the strength of those concepts as well as the reasons for why students constructed them. The sample of the study consisted of participants who were selected from three different cohorts of students (i.e. middle-school,…

Analogies can be powerful teaching tools because they can make new material intelligible to students by comparing it to material that is already familiar. In assisting students to understand chemistry concepts, teachers occasionally use analogies. These analogies are believed to help the students to structure the new knowledge and they are…

How might we shift language about executive functions and self-regulation for minoritized children and families to be more culturally sensitive? The objective of this essay is to offer a culturally responsive perspective on executive functions for minoritized children and their families, while also identifying myths and counterarguments to advance…

Giving feedback to peers can be a valuable learning experience for a feedback provider. However, different types of products require different types of feedback, which, in turn, may lead to different learning outcomes. The current study investigates the effect on the learning of feedback providers of reviewing different types of products.…

In this study, we implemented a visual illusions contest as an educational activity within the practical programme of the subject "Perception and Attention" (Bachelor's Degree in Psychology). The contest was evaluated by verifying its effectiveness as a teaching tool for achieving the competences assigned to the course. We designed…

The effects of collaborative learning and informing students about the dangers of overconfidence on metacognitive judgments and conceptual learning were examined in two classroom studies. In the first study, the conceptual knowledge of operant conditioning and the confidence judgments of 287 graduate students enrolled in a teacher education…