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Learning and Cognition
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Learning Science in Informal Environments: A Review of the Research Past, Present, and Future: This consensus study draws together the disparate informal science literatures, synthesize the state of knowledge, and articulate a common framework for the next generation of research on informal science learning. Some of the guiding questions asked of the expert committee include: What evidence is there that learners acquire concepts, ways of thinking, attitudes, and aesthetic appreciation in informal science settings? What kinds of informal learning environments best support learning of current scientific issues and concerns (e.g., global warming)? What is known about the cumulative effects of science learning across time and contexts? How do learners (young, middle-aged, adolescent, older adults) utilize informal science learning opportunities? Click here for more information on the study and its committee.
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Featured Report
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Taking Science to School: Learning and Teaching in Science in Grades K-8 (2007)
Drawing on a vast array of work from neuroscience to classroom observation, Taking Science to School provides a comprehensive picture of what we know about teaching and learning science from kindergarten through eighth grade. By looking at a broad range of questions, this book provides a basic foundation for guiding science teaching and supporting students in their learning. Taking Science to School answers such questions as: 1) When do children begin to learn about science? Are there critical stages in a child s development of such scientific concepts as mass or animate objects? 2) What role does non-school learning play in children s knowledge of science? 3) How can science education capitalize on children s natural curiosity? 4) What are the best tasks for books, lectures, and hands-on learning? and 5) How can teachers be taught to teach science?
The book also provides a detailed examination of how we know what we know about children’s learning of science about the role of research and evidence. This book is an essential resource for everyone involved in K-8 science education teachers, principals, boards of education, teacher education providers and accreditors, education researchers, federal education agencies, and state and federal policy makers.
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More NRC Publications
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Learning to Think Spatially: GIS as a Support System in the K-12 Curriculum (2006) examines how spatial thinking might be incorporated into existing standards-based instruction across the school curriculum. You may read and search the full text of the book online at http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11019.html
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Mathematical and Scientific Development in Early Childhood: A Workshop Summary (2005) describes the discussions that took place at a workshop examining research on the ways children’s cognitive capacities can serve as building blocks in the development of mathematical and scientific understanding. You may read and search the full text of this book online at http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11178.html
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How Students Learn: History, Mathematics, and Science in the Classroom (2005) is the successor volume to the NRC landmark publication How People Learn, providing specific examples of how core principles and findings on learning can be used to guide instruction in three subjects at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. You may read and search the full text of the book online at http://books.nap.edu/catalog/10126.html
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Learning and Understanding: Improving Advanced Study of Mathematics and Science in U.S. High Schools (2002) looks at programs for advanced studies for high school students in the United States, with a particular focus on the Advanced Placement and the International Baccalaureate programs, and asks how advanced studies can be significantly improved in general. You may read and search the full text of this book online at http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10129
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Community Programs to Promote Youth Development (2002) identifies characteristics of effective programs and recommends ways to encourage their expansion. Scout groups, after-school programs, and other community-based activities often play key roles in the lives of adolescents. How can researchers and program organizers ensure that such efforts are designed to successfully meet the social, emotional, and other needs of young people? You may read and search the full text of this book online at http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10022
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Helping Children Learn Mathematics (2002) explains the five strands of mathematical proficiency and discusses the major changes that need to be made in mathematics instruction, instructional materials, assessments, teacher education, and the broader educational system and answers some of the frequently asked questions when it comes to mathematics instruction. The book concludes by providing recommended actions for parents and caregivers, teachers, administrators, and policy makers. You may read and search the full text of this book online at http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10434.html
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Adding it Up: Helping Children Learn Mathematics (2001) discusses what is known from research about teaching for mathematics proficiency, focusing on the interactions between teachers and students around educational materials and how teachers develop proficiency in teaching mathematics. You may read and search the full text of this book online at http://www.nap.edu/catalog/9822.html
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Knowing What Students Know: The Science and Design of Educational Assessment (2001) examines the latest advances in measuring academic gains and understanding how people learn. It lays out strategies for developing new kinds of classroom and large-scale assessments that can more clearly measure students’ progress and help them succeed. You may read and search the full text of this book online at http://books.nap.edu/catalog/10019.html
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Early Childhood Development and Learning: New Knowledge for Policy (2001) includes executive summaries of five reports that provide policy makers, educators, and parents with important tools for progress. It is intended for federal administrators, members of Congress, leaders of nongovernmental organizations, and others who want to use the best available science to develop policies to promote child development and education. You may read and search the full text of this book online at http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10067
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How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School (Expanded Edition) (2000) examines new scientific evidence that has enriched researchers’ understanding of what it means “to know”—from the neural processes that occur as people learn to the influence of culture on what people see and absorb. It also examines the latest findings and their implications for what we teach, how we teach it, and how we assess what our children learn. The book uses exemplary teaching to illustrate how approaches based on what we now know result in in-depth learning. This new knowledge calls into question concepts and practices firmly entrenched in our current education system. You may read and search the full text of this book online at http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9853
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Eager to Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers (2000) synthesizes the newest research findings on how children between the ages of two and five begin the learning process. Valuable conclusions and recommendations are presented in the areas of the teacher-child relationship, the organization and content of curriculum, meeting the needs of those children most at risk of school failure, teacher preparation, assessment of teaching and learning, and more. You may read and search the full text of this book online at http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9745
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From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development (2000)
discusses how policy makers, parents, childcare providers, educators, and others can apply decades of research findings to child policy, as well as to everyday dealings with preschoolers. It offers key conclusions about the value of intervention programs to help at-risk kids, the quality of childcare, and whether important developmental periods end at age three or five. You may read and search the full text of this book online at http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9824
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Starting Out Right: A Guide to Promoting Children's Reading Success (1999) discusses how best to help children succeed in reading. The book includes 55 activities to do with children to help them become successful readers, a list of recommended children's books, and a guide to CD-ROMs and websites. You may read and search the full text of the book online at http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=6014
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Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children (1998) draws upon the expertise of psychologists, neurobiologists, and educators to establish clear recommendations on several prominent education controversies. This book explores how to prevent reading difficulties in the context of social, historical, cultural, and biological factors. You may read and search the full text of the book online at http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=6023
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Learning, Remembering, Believing: Enhancing Human Performance (1994) examines research in learning, memory and cognition, emotions, and social and team processes and their implications for application. This volume examines issues of learning and performance for individuals and teams, evaluates techniques for enhancing performance that are accompanied by strong claims of effectiveness and calls attention to some new directions for future research and application. This report offers an understanding of human learning that will be useful to training specialists, psychologists, educators, managers, and individuals interested in all dimensions of human performance. You may read and search the full text of the book online at http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=2303
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