Validation of new tablet-based problem-solving tasks in primary school students.

Problem-solving is an important skill that is associated with reasoning abilities, action control and academic success. Nevertheless, empirical evidence on cognitive correlates of problem-solving performance in childhood is limited. Appropriate assessment tools are scarce and existing analog tasks require extensive coding.

Executive functions and problem-solving-The contribution of inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility to science problem-solving performance in elementary school students.

Previous research has shown that executive functions can contribute to successful problem-solving in preschool and elementary school children. However, most studies did not simultaneously assess the role of different specific aspects of executive functions. Therefore, the aim of our study was to investigate the individual contribution of inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility to science problem-solving performance in elementary school children.

Domain-specific knowledge and domain-general abilities in children's science problem-solving.

Background: Problem-solving in early and middle childhood is of high relevance for cognitive developmental research and educational support. Previous research on science problem-solving has focussed on the process and strategies of children handling challenging tasks, but less on providing insights into the cognitive network that enables science problem-solving.

Aims: In this study, we aimed to investigate whether performance in science problem-solving is mainly determined by domain-specific rule knowledge, by domain-general cognitive abilities or both.

The Impact of a Construction Play on 5- to 6-Year-Old Children's Reasoning About Stability.

Theory: Young children have an understanding of basic science concepts such as stability, yet their theoretical assumptions are often not concerned with stability. The literature on theory theory and theory-evidence coordination suggests that children construct intuitive theories about their environment which can be adjusted in the face of counterevidence that cannot be assimilated into the prior theory. With increasing age, children acquire a Center theory when balancing objects and try to balance every object at their middle, succeeding with symmetrical objects.