This commentary expands the notion that models and modelling can be used as a basis to foster an integrated and authentic STEM education and STEM literacy. The aim is to synthesize key publications that document relationships between authenticity, models and modelling, and STEM education. The implications of the synthesis are as follows:…

Bowers challenged the common view in favor of distributed representations in psychological modeling and the main arguments given against localist and grandmother cell coding schemes. He revisited the results of several single-cell studies, arguing that they do not support distributed representations. We praise the contribution of Bowers (2009) for…

This commentary reviews five articles that apply Bayesian ideas to psychological development, some with psychology experiments, some with computational modeling, and some with both experiments and modeling. The reviewed work extends the current Bayesian revolution into tasks often studied in children, such as causal learning and word learning, and…

In this rejoinder to Mazoue ("J Comput High Educ," 2012) article, "the deconstructed campus," we react to his arguments regarding the replacement of face-to-face teaching on college campuses with computer-supported approaches, including on-line learning, intelligent cognitive tutors, and open-ended learning environments where, rather than being…

A year after receiving his PhD in psychology from the University of Rochester, Tim Kasser accepted a position at Knox College, in Galesburg, Illinois, where he is currently professor of psychology. He regularly teaches psychology classes on personality, clinical and abnormal psychology, dreaming, and research methods, as well as an…

As the work of teacher education becomes increasingly focused on the challenges of helping mostly white, monolingual, middle-class prospective teachers become compassionate, successful teachers of racially, culturally, linguistically, economically, and academically diverse students, some teacher educators struggle to find compassion for the…

Models of experiential learning, organizational learning, and knowledge creation can assist in analyzing learning at work. Workplace learning can be conceptualized as intertwined processes of individual, group, and organizational learning. (Contains 21 references.) (SK)

Cognitive modeling works best when teaching overt, observable activities. The basic structure of a good cognitive program includes modeling, case study exercises, social reinforcement, and transfer of training. (JB)

Argues that in research on the effects of modeling, models must be analyzed as a random factor in order to avoid a positive bias in the results. The concept of a random factor is discussed, worked examples are provided, and a practical solution to the problem is proposed. (JMB)

In her advocacy of a model to train counseling psychologists as "evidence-based practitioners," Chwalisz (2003) (this issue) criticizes research based on positivism and advocates for methodological pluralism but ironically suggests the adoption of a medical model to influence the discourse on practice. In this comment, the author examines (a)…

"Listening for differences" describes one simple method by which we might reach out to each other. No two people, after all, experience the world in exactly the same way, and we need to hear everyone's story in order to weave the entire tapestry of humanness. To cut someone short or to exclude someone is to leave a hole in the fabric of our…

Schools must be places where powerful adults step into children's lives. Adolescence is the most difficult time in the course of building an individual's identity and sense of worth. In this article, the author emphasizes that all students should walk paths that enable them to make essential connections with the adults in their lives, and that it…

The authors argue that imitation is a flexible and adaptive learning mechanism in that children do not always reproduce all of the details they can from a demonstration. Instead, they vary their replications depending on their interpretation of the situation. Specifically, the authors propose that when children do not understand the overall reason…

Jonathan Kozol's visit to Portland, Oregon, in April 2005 included a dialogue with 55 urban middle and high school students about inequities in American schools. Students left this conversation with a stronger sense of the systemic impediments to equal education. They also felt that their voice had been heard on a topic of national import. This…

The purpose of this article is to exemplify and enhance the place of modelling as a qualitative process in educational research. Modelling is widely used in quantitative research as a tool for analysis, theory building and prediction. Statistical data lend themselves to graphical representation of values, interrelationships and operational…