Cognitive psychology research has suggested an important role for executive functions, the set of skills that monitor and control thought and action, in learning mathematics. However, there is currently little evidence about whether teachers are aware of the importance of these skills and, if so, how they come by this information. We conducted an…

Science education studies have revealed that students often have misconceptions about how nature works, but what happens to misconceptions after a conceptual change remains poorly understood. Are misconceptions rejected and replaced by scientific conceptions, or are they still present in students' minds, coexisting with newly acquired…

Instructors ("N"?=?204) of elementary mathematics methods courses completed a survey assessing the extent to which they value cognitive research and incorporate it into their courses. Instructors' responses indicated that they view cognitive research to be fairly important for mathematics education, particularly studies of domain-specific topics,…

There is a missing link between our understanding of teaching as high-level social phenomenon and teaching as a physiological phenomenon of brain activity. We suggest that the science of human interaction is the missing link. Using over one-million days of human-behavior data, we have discovered that "collective activenes" (CA), which indicates…

Reinforcement learning involves a tight coupling of reward-associated behavior and a type of learning that is very different from that promoted by education. However, the emerging understanding of its underlying processes may help derive principles for effective learning games that have, until now, been elusive. This article first reviews findings…

Neuroaesthetics is a burgeoning new interdisciplinary research space in which cognitive science, psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy intersect in order to better inform our understanding of aesthetic experience. The purpose of this study is to analyze high-profile work in neuroaesthetics in the light of recent research into interdisciplinary…

Advocates of the arts agree that the K-12 curriculum should include dedicated time for arts instruction. Some have argued further that knowledge and skills acquired through the arts transfer to nonarts domains. Others claim that evidence of this kind of transfer is limited and instead argue that the arts cultivate valuable dispositions that help…

Neuroscience is a rapidly expanding scientific field, and its influence on our perceptions of fundamental aspects of human life is becoming widespread, particularly in the social and behavioral sciences. This influence has many philosophical implications, only one of which will be addressed in this article. For many centuries, philosophers have…

The primary goal of the emerging field of educational neuroscience and the broader movement called Mind, Brain, and Education is to join biology with cognitive science, development, and education so that education can be grounded more solidly in research on learning and teaching. To avoid misdirection, the growing worldwide movement needs to avoid…

The primary goal of the emerging field of Mind, Brain, and Education is to join biology, cognitive science, development, and education in order to create a sound grounding of education in research. The growing, worldwide movement needs to avoid the myths and distortions of popular conceptions of brain and genetics and build on the best integration…

The theme of Usable Knowledge in Mind, Brain, and Education will be a special section that will appear regularly in the journal. The section will focus on the synergistic connections between biology, cognitive science, and human development on the one hand and educational thought, policy, and practice on the other. Efforts to create usable…

How can current findings in neuroscience help educators identify particular cognitive strengths in students? In this commentary on Immordino-Yang's research regarding Nico and Brooke, I make 3 primary assertions: (a) the cognitive science community needs to develop an accessible language and mode of communicating applicable research to educators,…