This book explores current research on young children’s beliefs and knowledge about the biological world – otherwise known as ‘folkbiology’. Contributors discuss factors that shape the development of folkbiological knowledge, as well as possible interventions designed to counteract cognitive biases that can interfere with the development of scientifically informed reasoning about natural phenomena. Taken together, the papers provide insights into the contributions of cognitive biases to the development of biological misunderstandings and into the life experiences and contexts that can contribute to or impede accurate learning of biological concepts. As part of a wider literature, the insights provided by the authors are relevant to the design of educational experiences that will foster children’s exploration and further their understanding of life science ideas. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Early Education and Development.

Presents research on the topic of young children's naive biology, examining such theoretical issues as processes, conditions and mechanisms in conceptual development using the development of biological understanding as the target case.

The Sixth Edition of the topically organized Children’s Thinking presents a current, comprehensive, and dynamic examination of cognitive development. The book covers individual children and their developmental journeys while also following the general paths of overall cognitive development in children. This unique and effective approach gives readers a holistic view of children’s cognitive development, acknowledging that while no two children are exactly alike, they tend to follow similar developmental patterns. Supported by the latest research studies and data, the Sixth Edition provides valuable insights for readers to better understand and work with children.

This book aims to present theoretical and practical innovations in the cognitive sciences and education fields focusing on studies and research conducted with non-WEIRD (i.e., western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic) populations, especially from Latin America. Cognitive sciences and neuroscience have increased exponentially their knowledge in the last three decades, and today there is a corpus of knowledge about our central nervous system and its functioning that (adequately understood) has promising contributions for the educational field. Most of this knowledge, however, comes from central countries (North America, Europe) and is based on studies conducted on what has been called WEIRD populations. Much less is known about how the integration of cognitive sciences and neuroscience could impact education in non-WEIRD populations, which represent the great majority of the world’s population and have quite diverse cultural and social characteristics. So, the main aim of this book is to present a non-WEIRD scientific approach to problems in the cognitive sciences, neuroscience and education fields. Research presented in this contributed volume takes advantage of the diverse populations that characterize developing countries to explore how underrepresented populations learn, what works and what does not for cognitive science and education not only for the developing world, but also for understanding diversity in the whole world. Departing from this focus on diversity, chapters in this book present studies on theories, beliefs and misconceptions about the relationship between cognitive sciences and education; child and adolescent cognitive development; mathematics and language academic performance; and cognitive interventions to improve educational practice. Cognitive Sciences and Education in Non-WEIRD Populations: A Latin American Perspective will be a useful resource for both cognitive scientists and educational researchers interested in developing a more culturally sensitive approach to basic and applied research on cognitive sciences of education.

Conceptual change research investigates the processes through which learners substantially revise prior knowledge and acquire new concepts. Tracing its heritage to paradigms and paradigm shifts made famous by Thomas Kuhn, conceptual change research focuses on understanding and explaining learning of the most the most difficult and counter-intuitive concepts. Now in its second edition, the International Handbook of Research on Conceptual Change provides a comprehensive review of the conceptual change movement and of the impressive research it has spawned on students’ difficulties in learning. In thirty-one new and updated chapters, organized thematically and introduced by Stella Vosniadou, this volume brings together detailed discussions of key theoretical and methodological issues, the roots of conceptual change research, and mechanisms of conceptual change and learner characteristics. Combined with chapters that describe conceptual change research in the fields of physics, astronomy, biology, medicine and health, and history, this handbook presents writings on interdisciplinary topics written for researchers and students across fields.

Developmental Psychology: From infancy to adulthood, 3rd edition, continues to bring together a balanced focus on Australian and international research contributions in developmental psychology. Students and lecturers alike will find this text addresses the issues of lifespan development in a rigorous and challenging way using a thematic rather than chronological approach. International and national research on graduate attributes consistently identifies critical thinking as one of the most important skills for psychology students. The inclusion of Critical Thinking for Group Discussion at the end of each chapter is designed to encourage students in the development of this key skill. These questions help students develop the ability to engage in discussions on truth and validity and evaluate the relative importance of ideas and data. Students learn by doing, and this is encouraged through interactive features such as Stop and Review, Research Focus Boxes, and Practical Exercises which engage them in group discussion and challenge them to delve into complex and cross-domain analysis of lifespan development. Concept maps at the start of each chapter provide students with a visual snapshot of the chapter content.

How are causal judgements such as 'The ice on the road caused the traffic accident' connected with counterfactual judgements such as 'If there had not been any ice on the road, the traffic accident would not have happened'? This volume throws new light on this question by uniting, for the first time, psychological and philosophical approaches to causation and counterfactuals. Traditionally, philosophers have primarily been interested in connections between causal and counterfactual claims on the level of meaning or truth-conditions. More recently, however, they have also increasingly turned their attention to psychological connections between causal and counterfactual understanding or reasoning. At the same time, there has been a surge in interest in empirical work on causal and counterfactual cognition amongst developmental, cognitive, and social psychologists—much of it inspired by work in philosophy. In this volume, twelve original contributions from leading philosophers and psychologists explore in detail what bearing empirical findings might have on philosophical concerns about counterfactuals and causation, and how, in turn, work in philosophy might help clarify the issues at stake in empirical work on the cognitive underpinnings of, and relationships between, causal and counterfactual thought.

This state-of-the-art review of research covers children's understanding of the school, economics, politics, the law and legal processes, gender roles, social class and occupational groupings, racial groups, ethnic groups and national groups.

This ground-breaking handbook provides a much-needed, contemporary and authoritative reference text on young children’s thinking. The different perspectives represented in the thirty-nine chapters contribute to a vibrant picture of young children, their ways of thinking and their efforts at understanding, constructing and navigating the world. The Routledge International Handbook of Young Children’s Thinking and Understanding brings together commissioned pieces by a range of hand-picked influential, international authors from a variety of disciplines who share a high public profile for their specific developments in the theories of children’s thinking, learning and understanding. The handbook is organised into four complementary parts: • How can we think about young children’s thinking?: Concepts and contexts • Knowing about the brain and knowing about the mind • Making sense of the world • Documenting and developing children’s thinking Supported throughout with relevant research and case studies, this handbook is an international insight into the many ways there are to understand children and childhood paired with the knowledge that young children have a strong, vital, and creative ability to think and to understand, and to create and contend with the world around them.