Making Cognitive Neuroscience Educationally Relevant: Creating Bidirectional Collaborations Between Educational Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience

Not only should educational psychologists keep abreast of developments in the rapidly evolving field of brain science, but also they should contribute their knowledge of higher cognitive functioning and instructional interventions to this field. Linking imaging studies with instructional studies may shed light on causal mechanisms in brain function. The importance and challenges of studying the brain at different levels of analysis are discussed and illustrated with examples from the reading literature and the deafness literature.     

Neuroscience,Early Childhood Education and Play: We are Doing it Right!

This editorial examines neuroscience and its impact on the field of education. Starting with a narrative between two young children, the author intertwines research with basic principles of learning, using the interaction between two 4-year-olds to illustrate the precepts. The four principles are: (1) the brain is uniquely organized; (2) the brain is continually growing; (3) a “brain-compatible” classroom enables connection of learning to positive emotions; and (4) children’s brains need to be immersed in real-life, hands-on, and meaningful learning experiences. The editorial concludes with an illustration of how the brain works while two children are playing at the small animal center in their classroom.     

Curriculum Analysis of Food Safety Competences at Elementary and Upper‐Secondary Level of Formal Education Inside Food‐Related Programs in Slovenia

Since formal education is guided through food‐related curricula, there is a concern regarding to which extent food safety elements are supported in the current educational objectives presented in syllabi. The aim of this study was to analyze the existing food safety elements in the syllabi at the elementary (for students between 6 and 14 y of age) and upper‐secondary level (food‐related programs) of formal education (for students between 15 and 18 y of age). Analysis was done through predefined criteria, evaluating the educational objectives listed in available syllabi approved by the national government. The results revealed the elementary level as a good prestage for education at the next level concerning food safety elements. At the upper‐secondary level, the acquisition of knowledge and development of skills related to food safety elements of interest are well supported. However, based on frequent errors made by professional food handlers reported in the literature, the role of food handlers and their food safety awareness should receive more attention in the syllabi. To support this and to overcome a lack of educational objectives identified, several actions are suggested. Based on methodological recommendations for the teacher in the syllabi, the importance of qualified teachers was once again confirmed. Vocational schools are and will remain an indispensable pillar in the education of future professional food handlers; however, teachers with sufficient knowledge and a positive attitude toward food safety seems to be, besides quality curricula, one of the important factors in achieving the proper attitudes of people required to implement food safety.     

Integration of Study Abroad with Social Media Technologies and Decision‐Making Applications

This article describes the design and delivery of a program, “Global Business in a Digital World.” The program integrates the use of social media technologies and business applications in a series of courses that include short‐term study abroad components that focus on emerging markets. The objectives are to: (1) provide additional options for study abroad; (2) broaden the scope of the international business program to include more emphasis on emerging markets; (3) provide integration across business and liberal arts; and (4) integrate social media technologies into the study abroad experience. To achieve these objectives, students study business in the host country, interact with local company executives, and experiment with social media and related technologies. A conceptual framework describes the course structure and its relationship with the four categories of social media classified as 4Cs: Communication, Connection, Cooperation, and Collaboration ( Cook, 2008 ; Enterprise 2.0. Burlington, VT: Gower Publishing Limited). Conclusions reveal improved student learning outcomes after exposure to the study abroad, but also suggest the study abroad experience requires specific skill development. A research framework gives direction for future work.     

Making Connections: Linking Cognitive Psychology and Intervention Research to Improve Comprehension of Struggling Readers

Many studies have demonstrated the efficacy of reading comprehension interventions for struggling readers, including students with learning disabilities. Yet, some readers continue to struggle with comprehension despite receiving these interventions. In this article, we argue that an explicit link between cognitive psychology and intervention research contributes to knowledge regarding for whom and under what conditions reading comprehension interventions are most likely to be beneficial. First, we provide a brief overview of a cognitive perspective on reading comprehension. Next, we illustrate an application of this perspective by describing a collaborative project in which we examined interactions among reader characteristics, text properties, and instructional contexts. Last, we highlight directions for future research and implications for practice.     

生涯教育与职业教育及其相关概念内涵解析

生涯是个人终生发展必经的历程,职业是当代社会个人发展的根本凭借.生涯与职业、生涯教育与职业教育、生涯辅导与职业指导是既有区别又有紧密联系的三对概念,对之进行解析,不仅有助于深入认识和理解其内涵,而且有助于推动生涯教育与职业教育实践的发展.     

For Me or Not for Me? Fragility and Risk in Mature Students' Decision‐Making

Drawing on a research project which investigated the recent decline in mature student recruitment to higher education in the UK, this article explores the decision-making process among samples of potential and new mature entrants to nine case study higher education institutions. It compares the emphasis in public policy on higher education as a private investment with the understandings and interpretations of individuals in the act of applying for entry. It concludes that while at a generalised level mature learners believe that the private return on investment will be high, at a personal level the concepts of fragility and risk are more pertinent to understanding the complexity of their decision-making process, particularly for those over 25 years of age.     

Assessing and Validating Effects of a Data‐Based Decision‐Making Intervention on Student Growth for Mathematics and Spelling

Data‐based decision making (DBDM) is presumed to improve student performance in elementary schools in all subjects. The majority of studies in which DBDM effects have been evaluated have focused on mathematics. A hierarchical multiple single‐subject design was used to measure effects of a 2‐year training, in which entire school teams learned how to implement and sustain DBDM, in 39 elementary schools. In a multilevel modeling approach, student achievement in mathematics and spelling was analyzed to broaden our understanding of the effects of DBDM interventions. Student achievement data covering the period from August 2010 to July 2014 were retrieved from schools’ student monitoring systems. Student performance on standardized tests was scored on a vertical ability scale per subject for Grades 1 to 6. To investigate intervention effects, linear mixed effect analysis was conducted. Findings revealed a positive intervention effect for both mathematics and spelling. Furthermore, low‐SES students and low‐SES schools benefitted most from the intervention for mathematics.     

Dynamic Modeling for Development and Education: From Concepts to Numbers

The general aim of the article is to teach the reader how to transform conceptual models of change, development, and learning into mathematical expressions and how to use these equations to build dynamic models by means of the widely used spreadsheet program Excel. The explanation is supported by a number of Excel files, which the reader can download at www.paulvangeert.nl/articles_appendices.htm . The article begins with a discussion of how to define variables in the context of modeling and the difference with the context of measurement. It proceeds with a simple dynamic model to give the reader a general idea, and continues with an explanation of the extended logistic model, which can be conceived of as a building block of more complex growth models pertaining to learning and development. The final section discusses the building of a concrete developmental model, answering the question of why girls like pink.     

创新、创造及其与高等教育相关概念之探析

首先列举了一些专家、学者对创造与创新概念混乱使用的现象，然后从创造与创新的原始涵义出发探讨了它们之间的异同点。提出：创造只具有新颖性特征，而创新虽然也具有新颖性特征，但它同时又具有第二层次的经济价值性特征。因此，创新就是创造，但创造不完全都是创新，创新的理论基础是创造学。最后，探讨了由此而引伸出来的创造教育与创新教育之间的关系，建议人们在学术著作中应按其原义而慎重地使用创造、创新及其与之相关的概念。     

Intervention Selection: An Examination of Evidence and Changes in Belief During the Decision‐Making Process

This study examines what sources of evidence are used in intervention selection and what changes in belief occur when performance improvement professionals make these decisions. Sixty‐one certified performance technologists completed a dynamic, web‐delivered questionnaire in which they provided a general assessment of intervention success (Pr₁), then responded to 12 performance improvement scenarios by selecting an intervention, providing a prior probability, receiving additional evidence, giving a posterior probability (Pr₃), indicating whether the initial intervention was still preferred, and making a subsequent choice if not. Findings bolster the long‐standing concern about the technical nature of performance improvement, and practitioners are strongly encouraged to approach intervention selection as a decision, where their intervention preferences and beliefs of likely success are carefully adjudicated on the basis of the evidence they obtain. Future research with other types of performance improvement practitioners, replication studies, longitudinal, structural equation modeling, externally verifiable probabilities, and natural environments are recommended.     

Education(al) Research,Educational Policy‐Making and Practice

Professor Whitty has endorsed the consensus that research into education is empirical social science, distinguishing ‘educational research’ which seeks directly to influence practice, and ‘education research’ that has substantive value but no necessary practical application. The status of the science here is problematic. The positivist approach is incoherent and so supports neither option. Critical educational science is virtually policy‐inert. The interpretive approach is empirically sound but, because of the value component in education, does not support education research either, or account for this component. A solution to the latter problem is sought in the debate between Carr and Hirst on the relationship between philosophy and education. This shows Carr making claims that rely on a conception of philosophy that he rejects, while Hirst insists on this conception, uses it to justify practical claims, but denies that this is possible. To achieve a practically relevant analysis of educational research, both need to include second‐order, normative, conceptual enquiry into the philosophies that drive educational policy‐making and partly regulate teaching methodology. Deweyan, first‐order, ‘reflective practice’ needs, then, to be supplemented with second‐order reflection. Educational research is philosophy‐ not science‐driven, and is value‐led. Consequently, it has the status not of scientific discovery but of practical recommendation.     

Towards Greater Collaboration in Educational Neuroscience: Perspectives From the 2018 Earli‐SIG22 Conference

The special issue resulting from the 2018 Earli‐SIG22 conference reflects the current state of the field, the diversity of methods, the persevering limitations and promising directions towards solutions. About half of the empirical papers in this special issue that consist of three parts, uses behavioral, self‐report or qualitative measures to understand the “mind” level of Mind, Brain, and Education. The other half investigates the “brain” level, using neuroimaging but also genetics or eye‐tracking to gain access to the wider range of biological substrates of learning and cognition. These biological studies mostly have added value by refining psychological theories, such that these inspire new hypotheses to test in the field, to ultimately better inform teaching. Importantly, the special issue presents several approaches to more intensive, bi‐directional and systematic practice‐research collaborations to better connect the “mind” and “brain” levels to education, and to equip researchers to realize such collaborations successfully in the future.     

从国家公民到世界公民:联合国教科文组织关于公民教育的新主张

长期以来,公民教育的目标都是培养国民的爱国意识和民族认同感,即培养国家公民.2014年联合国教科文组织在文件《世界公民教育:培养学习型人才以应对21世纪的挑战》中提出培养世界公民的新主张.在全球化趋势迅速增强的今天,世界各国的命运紧紧相连,联合国教科文组织期望通过世界公民教育培养人民的全球意识.根据联合国教科文组织的主张,世界公民教育应尊重多样性与差异性,消除种族和国别歧视,以建立一个多元而又平等的世界.     

Why Right‐Brain Teaching is Half‐Witted: A Critique of the Misapplication of Neuroscience to Education

Educational tools claiming to use “right‐brain techniques” are increasingly shaping school curricula. By implying a strong scientific basis, such approaches appeal to educators who rightly believe that knowledge of the brain should guide curriculum development. However, the notion of hemisphericity (idea that people are “left‐brained” or “right‐brained”) is a neuromyth that was debunked in the scientific literature 25 years ago. This article challenges the validity of “right‐brain” teaching, highlighting the fact that neuroscientific research does not support its claims. Providing teachers with a basic understanding of neuroscience research as part of teacher training would enable more effective evaluation of brain‐based claims and facilitate the adoption of tools validated by rigorous independent research rather than programs based on pseudoscience.     

Neuroscience, Play and Early Childhood Education: Connections, Implications and Assessment

Paralleling the works of Cambourne’s Conditions of Literacy Learning (The Reading Teacher, 54(4), 414–429, 2001), Copple and Bredekamp’s (Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth though age. National Association for the Education of Young Children, Washington, 2009) Developmentally Appropriate Practices and the findings from the field of Neuroscience this article explores the important components of creating an active, stimulating learning environment; one purposely designed to actively engage the minds of young children in order to help strengthen their neurological networks. The article concludes its exploration with the role of “mirror neurons” in the learning environment and how they affect the young child's mood, emotions, and empathy.     

文化、脑与教育——人类学启迪中的教育神经科学

文化塑造着人脑,人脑也建构着文化。人类学的理论与方法为教育神经科学研究文化、脑与教育的关系拓展了新的领域。对"文化中的脑"与"脑中的文化"的关注已经推动了人类学的新分支——"神经人类学"的诞生。在人类学的启迪下,中国教育神经科学研究将有助于加深对不同文化族群中儿童学习的内在机制的理解,为尊重文化多样性的教育实践和推动教育公平的政策制定提供科学依据。