Background: A Vygotskian framework links cognitive change to collaborative interaction with a more competent partner whereas a Piagetian perspective supports the view that cognitive conflict arising from peer interaction leads to cognitive change. Aims: The study investigated the effect of collaborative learning on children's problem-solving…

Adults and children (aged 5 years 1 month to 10 years 8 months) were tested in a masking-level difference (MLD) paradigm in which detection of brief signals was contrasted for signal placement in masker envelope maxima versus masker envelope minima. Maskers were 50-Hz-wide noise bands centered on 500 Hz, and the signals were So or S[pi] 30-ms,…

Four experiments were completed to characterize the utilization of visual imagery and motor imagery during the mental representation of human action. In Experiment 1, movement time functions for a motor imagery human locomotion task conformed to a speed-accuracy trade-off similar to Fitts' Law, whereas those for a visual imagery object motion task…

Mental time travel in human adults includes a sense of when past events occurred and future events are expected to occur. Studies with adults and children reveal that a number of distinct psychological processes contribute to a temporally differentiated sense of the past and future. Adults possess representations of multiple time patterns, and…

A theory of education requires a theory of the mind that is to be educated. Modules are the central feature of the mind of the infant. Innate learning devices, modules, prepare the infant with the following competences: language, number, theory of mind, spatial navigation, music, etc. We propose that the child be taught what evolution has prepared…

Causal reasoning is the core and basis of cognition about the objective world. This experiment studied the development of causal reasoning in 86 3.5-4.5-year-olds using a ramp apparatus with two input holes and two output holes [Frye, D., Zelazo, P. D., & Palfai, T. (1995). Theory of mind and rule-based reasoning. Cognitive Development 10,…

There seem to be two kinds of nonconservers-those who think their response might change on another occasion and those who think their response would always be the same. After training in conservation, the former (called nonconservers without necessity) show no detectable gains in conservation, while the latter (called nonconservers with…

Educational objectives, like educational quality, are contextual and evolving--they may exhibit both continuity and change. This paper capitalizes on the role of neo-institutionalism and on the contribution of Douglass North (one major representative of the neo-institutionalism trend) in identifying the institutional impact upon cognitive…

To succeed in college, career and life in the 21st century, students must be supported in mastering both content and skills. This Implementation Guide presents state leaders, policymakers and/or district and school leaders with assessment tactics and examples to assist in statewide 21st century skills initiatives. The Partnership for 21st Century…

This paper discusses findings of a mixed method approach to a study of the development of a community of inquiry in an online and a blended learning environment. A graduate course delivered online and in a blended format was the context of the study. Data were gathered from the Community of Inquiry Survey, transcript analysis of online…

There is much current interest in how adverse experiences early in life might affect certain elements of physiological, behavioral, and psychological functioning across the lifespan. Recent conceptual frameworks for studying the effects of early experience have involved constructs such as experience-expectant, experience-dependent, and…

The campaign for universal preschool education in the United States has gained great momentum. Precisely as strategists intended, many Americans have come to believe that pre-kindergarten is a good and necessary thing for government to provide, even that not providing it will cruelly deprive the youngest residents of their birthrights, blight…

Given the interest, research, and effort extended to help faculty in colleges of agriculture provide educational discourse at higher cognitive levels over the last few years, one would expect that students enrolled in colleges of agriculture would exhibit higher levels of critical thinking and need for cognition. This study thus aimed to discover…

The main purpose of this study was to explore the care-givers of preschool education institutions whose cognition on playing equipment functions, conditions of both setting and using, and the main factors which should beware of design. Besides, not only constructed the factors of design, but also provided suggestions about setting and designing of…

Adolescence is a time of significant physical, social, and emotional developments, accompanied by changes in cognitive and language skills. Underlying these are significant developments in brain structures and functions including changes in cortical and subcortical gray matter and white matter tracts. Among the brain regions that develop during…