The present paper addresses following research questions:

RQ1: How does nature or nature-based activities help children’s cognitive development?

RQ2: How does nature or nature-based activities help children’s social and prosocial behavior development?

RQ3: How does nature or nature-based activities enhance children’s learning abilities?

To address these research questions, this paper will explore how nature helps young children’s cognitive, social, prosocial behavior development through primary and secondary existing literature sources (Fraenkel, Wallen, & Hyun, 2012). This paper will also touch on how teachers influence children’s learning objectives through guiding children’s learning activities during nature-based activities. The present paper tends to explore child development through peer-child and child-teacher interactions throughout nature-based activities through the lens of Vygotsky’s (1978) Socio-Cultural Theory.

Students exchange activities in the global world we are living in now will become more and more popular and searched for not only by students on their own but also by universities’ management as a part of joint degree programs and the opportunities they give for transferring innovations, increasing competitiveness and expanding markets. This paper presents the most important factors influencing the process of training students from abroad (particularly exchanges between countries with very differing cultures) concerning the significance of social integration and intercultural communication. An investigation into good practices being presented by Bulgarian Human Resources Development Center (as the coordinating body in Bulgaria of the European Lifelong Learning Programme) was accomplished and the main points of reserch were identified. Three types of questionnares were prepared - for teachers, for administrative staff and for students. The results were summurized and analyzed according to the research topic. Some curricula development principles are proposed and recommendations are given concerning development of both student-oriented and competence-based programs which is not fully in its essence adopted yet as an approach in many countries and sometimes misunderstood.

The purpose of this study was to investigate effect of Jigsaw-1 Cooperative Learning technique on students’ understanding and alternative conceptions concerning basic organic chemistry concepts. The study was conducted with a total of 52 9th grade students in a high school in Trabzon. The study used quasi-experimental design (an experimental group and a control group). While experimental group students performed activities based on Jigsaw 1 technique, control group students were taught with traditional approach. The treatment lasted for three lesson hours in both groups. An Organic Chemistry Achievement Test involving 5 open-ended questions was used to collect data. The data obtained from pre- and post-tests of both groups was compared with the independent t-test. The post-test results showed that there was a significant difference between groups in favor of the experimental group. In other words, the experimental group students taught with Jigsaw I technique performed better in the post-test than the control group.