Adult humans searched for a hidden goal in images depicting 3-dimensional rooms. Images contained either featural cues, geometric cues, or both, which could be used to determine the correct location of the goal. In Experiment 1, participants learned to use featural and geometric information equally well. However, men and women showed significant…

Mutations in the neuronal-specific microtubule-binding protein TAU are associated with several dementias and neurodegenerative diseases. However, the effects of elevated TAU accumulation on behavioral plasticity are unknown. We report that directed expression of wild-type vertebrate and "Drosophila" TAU in adult mushroom body neurons, centers for…

If learning took the form of a vehicle, skills should be considered the gears that allow it to operate. Essential skills like keen observation and active listening are, according to this author, the first and second gears in the learning process. Yet in the age of information, where the name and likeness of a product is typically repeated five to…

Potential benefits for learning that the outdoors may hold have been brought into increased focus in the UK by the recent introduction of a manifesto for learning outside the classroom (DfES, "Learning outside the classroom: manifesto"; Nottingham, Department for Education and Skills, 2006). This article draws on two recent studies of…

Individuals with autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs) often experience, describe and exhibit unusual patterns of sensation and attention. These anomalies have been hypothesized to result from overarousal and consequent overfocused attention. Parents of individuals with ASD rated items in three domains, "sensory overreactivity",…

Because it is sometimes difficult for teachers to arrange field trips to state parks, and difficult for naturalists to come to schools for presentations, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources has developed Portapark, an activity packet that teachers can use to bring an outdoor learning experience into their classrooms. most of the ideas and…

Discusses the use of natural materials to enrich the learning of hospitalized, emotionally disturbed children. (SDH)

Pure-tone sound at 15,750 Herz generated by flyback transformers in many computer and video display terminal (VDT) monitors has stress-related productivity effects in some operators, especially women. College-age women in a controlled experiment simulating half a normal work day showed responses within the first half hour of exposure to a tone…

This ERIC Digest discusses children's play and its relationship to developmental growth from infancy to middle childhood. Discussion focuses on: (1) sensorimotor play in which infants and toddlers experiment with bodily sensation, motor movements, objects, and people; (2) pretend play in which children carry out action plans, take on roles, and…

The paper addresses the secondary learning problems that accompany various types of cerebral palsy. Three major types of cerebral palsy are reviewed: spastic, athetoid, and ataxic. Among associated disabilities noted are disorders with the primitive reflexes (such as the moro and asymmetric tonic neck reflexes). Sensory impairments associated with…

The booklet presents an art therapist's thoughts on contributions of art therapy to the development of severely and profoundly impaired students. She emphasizes the importance of sensory exploration as an introduction to the child's environment. Also stressed is the importance of positive and accepting attitudes on the part of teachers or…

Presented is one individual's opinion that teachers should stress outdoor education as the interrelationships of the environment rather than as traditional conservation and nature study programs. (PEB)

Describes a Science Open House for adults and children given by the Vassar College Laboratory Nursery School, emphasizing the importance of parent-teacher cooperative planning and the influence of Rachel Carson's viewpoints. Learning experiences were designed to investigate nature and sensory exploration, physical science, and mathematics. (SDH)