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Cognition and Education: How to Create a Sustainable Bridge

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Psychology of Sustainability and Sustainable Development".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2023) | Viewed by 25689

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Demis Basso

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Guest Editor

Cognitive and Educational Sciences Lab., Faculty of Education, Free University of Bolzano, Bressanone-Brixen, BZ 39042, Italy
Interests: visuo-spatial planning, prospective memory, visuo-spatial working memory, attention and inhibition processes, with relevance on education

Dr. Milvia Cottini

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Guest Editor

Cognitive and Educational Sciences Lab., Faculty of Education, Free University of Bolzano, Bressanone-Brixen, BZ 39042, Italy
Interests: cognitive development in preschool and school-aged children with particular focus on: prospective memory, working memory, metacognition, executive functions, bilingualism

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

There is no doubt that cognition and education are two fertile research fields. In recent years, they have contributed to extend theories as well as to help and form practitioners. Cognition has contributed to increase our knowledge of human processes and skills, while education has promoted new and efficient instructional methods and educational programs.

However, in the last decade many scholars have questioned the interaction between these two disciplines. Conferences, papers, and journals addressed the matter, evaluating whether and how a common ground could exist. Moreover, they allowed experts to merge their perspectives around a common table and discuss their own findings.

Although some results obtained in the psychological domain are evaluated and included in the educational field, it often happens that findings are misinterpreted and lead to the creation of false beliefs. In addition, the two disciplines are not offered a concrete and sustainable opportunity to share their methods and results. On the one hand, practitioners are given several "to-do" and "not-to-do" lists; on the other hand, they push researchers to fulfil to their own “desires” lists. This vicious mechanism is detrimental to the development of both psychological and educational research fields. We strongly believe that there must be other ways for the two fields to communicate with each other.

Rather than positing criticism to what is lacking, the main intention of the Special Issue consists in collecting a series of papers which would constructively contribute to create a sustainable virtuous circle. Therefore, this Special Issue is expected to publish papers that provide examples to both researchers and practitioners in psychology and education about how to design learning methods and environments in a sustainable way. Consequently, a secondary aim will be the promotion of wellbeing and of more effective learners.

With contributions from leading researchers in educational psychology, we try to establish a useful and relevant frame of reference about how the two disciplines could converge to each other. Moreover, experts in both psychological and educational domains are asked to find a way to communicate relevant issues in their research to experts in the other reciprocal domain. Therefore, the Special Issue expects not only submissions from the conjunction of the two research fields, but solicits leading experts in their respective fields to submit papers about how their findings could produce relevant outcomes and stimulate research in the other field.

We look forward to receiving your contributions, which would move the discussion between cognition and education onto a more beneficial and fruitful level.

Prof. Dr. Demis Basso
Dr. Milvia Cottini
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

general psychology
education
developmental psychology
cognitive processes
methods and procedures

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Published Papers (9 papers)

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12 pages, 1417 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Flexible Learning Environments for a Sustainable Lifelong Learning Process for Teachers in the School Context

by Francesca Sangiuliano Intra, Carla Nasti, Rita Massaro, Armando Junior Perretta, Amalia Di Girolamo, Antonella Brighi and Pietro Biroli

Sustainability 2023, 15(14), 11237; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151411237 - 19 Jul 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2551

Abstract

The flexibility of digital learning environments allows for personalized content delivery tailored to individual teachers’ needs, fostering active and engaged learning. The opportunities offered by these digital technologies can help teachers adopt a lifelong learning attitude, which has become necessary to maintaining high educational standards in line with international guidelines and policy. However, teachers often struggle to leverage these digital technologies and integrate them in their daily activities. To overcome this problem, we developed a custom-built webinar training course focused on enhancing distance learning teaching in a flexible environment. We tested this training course on a group of 197 primary school teachers and examine the relationship between learning goal orientation, motivation, and intention to transfer and how they related to teachers’ personality traits. We found that our webinar training course is easily implementable and valued by teachers, who highlight the importance of allowing the choice between different training levels. The data analysis indicates that intention to transfer is predicted by learning goal orientation and motivation. In conclusion, the study emphasizes the importance of flexible learning environments and tailored training programs that meet teachers’ needs and interests. From a sustainable perspective, such approaches foster teachers’ lifelong learning, enhance their professional development, nurture a growth mindset, and facilitate adaptability to change. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cognition and Education: How to Create a Sustainable Bridge)

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12 pages, 1034 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Employing Robotics in Education to Enhance Cognitive Development—A Pilot Study

by Csilla Kálózi-Szabó, Katalin Mohai and Milvia Cottini

Sustainability 2022, 14(23), 15951; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142315951 - 30 Nov 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2689

Abstract

(1) Background: Info-communication technology (ICT) offers opportunities for innovations in teaching and learning methods, bringing significant changes in the world of pedagogy. The field called educational robotics is both a motivational basis for teaching and learning coding and programming, and a tool for linking STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields. Moreover, it might contribute to the development of cognitive and social skills. The aim of the present paper is to report on a pilot study at the intersection of neurodiversity and educational robotics. (2) Methods: The pilot study was part of a larger project, namely Robotics for the Inclusive Development of Atypical and Typical Children (RIDE). A pre-test/post-test design was used to examine the development of different cognitive processes in sixth-grade students, such as computational thinking (CT), spatial relations, visuo-constructive ability, attention, and reading ability, in relation to a robotics development program employed in the classroom. (3) Results: The results suggest a general improvement on nearly all measures. Specifically, participants’ performance improved significantly from pre-test to post-test in the visuo-constructive abilities test, they made significantly fewer reading errors, and improved substantially in their reading comprehension. (4) Conclusions: The RIDE project’s curriculum development has resulted in a highly innovative, sustainable, and inclusive package of pedagogical methods, and the pilot research shows promising results regarding the implementation of robotics in education. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cognition and Education: How to Create a Sustainable Bridge)

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14 pages, 732 KiB

Open AccessArticle

How about the Attitudes towards Nature? Analysis of the Nature and Biology Primary School Education Curricula in Poland

by Zofia Chyleńska, Eliza Rybska, Sylwia Jaskulska, Maciej Błaszak and Barbara Jankowiak

Sustainability 2022, 14(18), 11173; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811173 - 6 Sep 2022

Viewed by 2577

Abstract

One of the most important goals in biology education is shaping positive attitudes towards nature, social and global problems, as well as health. Environmental education is an essential element because without pro-environmental attitudes, every environment-protecting action is less successful, and the results have much less impact on society. In the following article, we tried to combine this idea with the school curriculum, which is one of the most important documents used in education. The research question addressed in this paper is to what extent does biology/nature primary school’s education curriculum highlight shaping attitudes (at sensory, functional, and rational levels), and how did it change during the educational reform in Poland? The sample is the Polish core curricula for nature and biology for primary school. National curricula have been revised by the analysis of the content methods before and after the 2017 reform of the education system. The results showed that while sensory and functional levels are represented quite equally in the curricula, the rational level is neglected and has decreasing tendency (when comparing curricula before and after educational reform in 2017). It is presented an interdisciplinary method of analyzing the core curriculum, particularly what relates to attitudes. The presented analysis method is, by definition, interdisciplinary, combining the approach of cognitive sciences, psychology, and science education. On the basis of the research, new elements that should or might be taken into consideration in school practice are proposed. The proposed approach assumes that the combination of teaching ideas and values (that are deeply rooted in our nature) will be successful in shaping pro-environmental attitudes toward nature and health. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cognition and Education: How to Create a Sustainable Bridge)

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13 pages, 226 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Experience, Imagination and Integration: Creative Drama for Values Education

by Ruixiang Hong and Yun Hong

Sustainability 2022, 14(18), 11113; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811113 - 6 Sep 2022

Viewed by 2160

Abstract

Values education is one of the most significant ways to promote cognition of individuals and even the sustainable development of human beings. It helps people make appropriate valuative judgments and selections. With the advancement of society, values education should not merely point to the inheritance of tradition and the uniformity of collectivism, but also adaptability to the future and heterogeneity of individual well-being. Catherine Elgin believed that students should be taught to deliberate about how to choose with broad purviews, various angles, and tight relationship between individual and community. Based on her perspective, in this article creative drama is proposed as a potential approach for values education, which includes three key dimensions. Experiencing multiple situations broadens people’s horizons and gains more potential choices. Imagination promotes people’s competence to consider further and to develop adaptability for the future. Integration of the real and unreal helps them to continuously reflect on themselves and reconstruct their relationship between individual and community. This article provides a general theoretical framework to explore the relationship between creative drama and values education, as well as how it promotes values education; however, this still requires further study in practice. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cognition and Education: How to Create a Sustainable Bridge)

16 pages, 1139 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of Family Socioeconomic Status on Learning Conformity among Chinese University Students: Self-Efficacy as Mediating Factor

by Bin Xiao and Guandong Song

Sustainability 2022, 14(16), 9845; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14169845 - 9 Aug 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4097

Abstract

Background: At present, family socioeconomic status is a significant contributor to the differences in university students’ learning motivation, but few studies have examined the effects on different types of motivation to learn conformity. Thus, the present study investigates the effects of family socioeconomic status on different types of learning conformity and the mediating role of self-efficacy. Methods: 339 Chinese university students were surveyed using the general self-efficacy scale, the learning conformity scale, and the family socioeconomic status questionnaire. We analyzed the effect of family socioeconomic status on learning conformity and the mediating role of general self-efficacy through common bias tests, correlation analysis, structural equation modeling, and tests of mediating effects. Results: (1) There are three types of learning conformity, as follows: learning abidance, learning obedience, and learning compliance. (2) The mediation model concluded that family socioeconomic status had a positive and significant effect on learning abidance and learning obedience, and general self-efficacy played a partially mediating role, with an adequate ratio of 59.7% and 26.26%, respectively; family socioeconomic status had a negative and significant effect on learning compliance, and general self-efficacy played a partially mediating role, with an adequate ratio of 52.02%. Conclusions: This study provides first-hand empirical data to support studies of learning motivation, learning conformity behavior, and self-efficacy among Chinese university students. It also provides a theoretical basis for subsequent research on family socioeconomic status and learning conformity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cognition and Education: How to Create a Sustainable Bridge)

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14 pages, 237 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Definitional Skills as a Bridge towards School Achievement

by Caterina Artuso, Paola Palladino, Perla Valentini and Carmen Belacchi

Sustainability 2022, 14(1), 286; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010286 - 28 Dec 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1499

Abstract

The general aim of the current study was to investigate the role of definitional skills in promoting primary school achievement (third- to fifth graders) and how school learning may shape definitional skills. Marks from four school subjects, linguistic (Italian and English) and scientific (Math and Science) were collected as well as scores in a Definitional Task. These two domains were chosen as they clearly entail the two different definition types, that is, lexicographic and scientific. Results indicated that scientific school subject marks are more predictive of definitional skills than linguistic school marks are. The opposite direction (i.e., how definitional skills are predictive of school achievement) appears less clear. In sum, the results, although preliminary, suggest that definitional skills represent a bridge towards school achievement as they promote good marks in all disciplines. Moreover, definitional skills are predicted from levels of competence acquired especially in scientific school subjects that request a higher degree of formal/organized learning. It is then of primary importance to promote interaction–integration between these two kinds of concepts via formal schooling. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cognition and Education: How to Create a Sustainable Bridge)

26 pages, 1066 KiB

Open AccessArticle

What Influences Attitudes and Confidence in Teaching Physics and Technology Topics? An Investigation in Kindergarten and Primary-School Trainee Teachers

by Angelika Pahl and Reinhard Tschiesner

Sustainability 2022, 14(1), 87; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010087 - 22 Dec 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3696

Abstract

This study investigated the correlations of general knowledge, vocational interests, and personality with trainee teachers’ attitudes and perceived capabilities in teaching physics and technology topics in kindergarten and primary school. A quantitative survey was composed using the Nature–Human–Society questionnaire, the general knowledge test BOWIT, the general interest structure test AIST-R, and the 10-item Big Five Inventory. The sample consisted of 196 female trainee teachers for kindergarten and primary school, and the results showed that only a few trainee teachers favoured teaching physics and technology topics. The bivariate analyses indicated that investigative and realistic interests were highly correlated with their confidence in teaching physics and technology topics, followed by significant relationships with possessing general knowledge in science and technology. The relationships with personality, especially neuroticism and extraversion, were also evident, but they were not as strong. The results were further differentiated in various subgroups (i.e., a group who favoured teaching physics and technology topics versus a group who did not, as well as a group with the typical interest profile of kindergarten and primary-school teachers versus a group with a social and investigative interest profile), which provided additional insights. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cognition and Education: How to Create a Sustainable Bridge)

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13 pages, 1021 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Different Impact of Perceptual Fluency and Schema Congruency on Sustainable Learning

by Beat Meier and Michèle C. Muhmenthaler

Sustainability 2021, 13(13), 7040; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137040 - 23 Jun 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2079

Abstract

Perceptual fluency, that is, the ease with which people perceive information, has diverse effects on cognition and learning. For example, when judging the truth of plausible but incorrect information, easy-to-read statements are incorrectly judged as true while difficult to read statements are not. As we better remember information that is consistent with pre-existing schemata (i.e., schema congruency), statements judged as true should be remembered better, which would suggest that fluency boosts memory. Another line of research suggests that learning information from hard-to-read statements enhances subsequent memory compared to easy-to-read statements (i.e., desirable difficulties). In the present study, we tested these possibilities in two experiments with student participants. In the study phase, they read plausible statements that were either easy or difficult to read and judged their truth. To assess the sustainability of learning, the test phase in which we tested recognition memory for these statements was delayed for 24 h. In Experiment 1, we manipulated fluency by presenting the statements in colors that made them easy or difficult to read. In Experiment 2, we manipulated fluency by presenting the statements in font types that made them easy or difficult to read. Moreover, in Experiment 2, memory was tested either immediately or after a 24 h delay. In both experiments, the results showed a consistent effect of schema congruency, but perceptual fluency did not affect sustainable learning. However, in the immediate test of Experiment 2, perceptual fluency enhanced memory for schema-incongruent materials. Thus, perceptual fluency can boost initial memory for schema-incongruent memory most likely due to short-lived perceptual traces, which are cropped during consolidation, but does not boost sustainable learning. We discuss these results in relation to research on the role of desirable difficulties for student learning, to effects of cognitive conflict on subsequent memory, and more generally in how to design learning methods and environments in a sustainable way. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cognition and Education: How to Create a Sustainable Bridge)

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13 pages, 262 KiB

Open AccessEssay

Cognitive Neuroscience and Education: Not a Gap to Be Bridged but a Common Field to Be Cultivated

by Demis Basso and Milvia Cottini

Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 1628; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021628 - 13 Jan 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2370

Abstract

The research fields of cognitive neuroscience and education are often criticized because of the gap that separates them. In the past 20 years, many actions have been taken to bridge this gap; advantages and criticisms of these efforts have been observed. Only some changes could be documented, and they were not sufficiently commensurate with the efforts. To overcome these limitations, a different metaphor is outlined, consisting of a common field that should be cultivated by scholars operating from both perspectives. The new metaphor moves the perspective from “what is missing” (the bridge) to an existing field that requires concrete actions to be taken. The proposal details which topics from the two disciplines should be considered relevant when cultivating the common field. Then, based on the metaphor of the common field, real-life suggestions about how to develop these competencies are proposed, and recommendations for further actions are provided based on sustainability principles. The utilization of school psychologists (namely, their transition to educational scientists) and the introduction of optional stages and in-tandems involving cooperation between existing university courses in education and neuroscience are seen as feasible interventions. This change in vision is expected to drive further actions toward more effective cooperation between cognitive neuroscience and education. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cognition and Education: How to Create a Sustainable Bridge)

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