Zhang, Y., Imada, T., Tanaka, K., Kuhl, P. K. (2007, November). Linguistic and paralinguistic processing in speech perception: A magnetoencephalography study. Abstract for Annual Convention of American Speech-Hearing Association. Boston, MA.
Zack, E., Barr, R., Shuck, L., Shroff, G., Dickerson, K., Miller, S., Gerhardstein, P., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2007, November). Cross-dimension transfer in 15-month-olds: Imitation from 3D to 2D & 2D to 3D. Presented at International Society for Developmental Psychobiology. San Diego, CA.
Meltzoff, A. N. (2007, November). The roots of social cognition. Invited Kendon Smith Lecture presented at University of North Carolina, Greensboro, NC.
In Fall 2007, the LIFE center finalized a strategic planning process. We built upon our three original disciplinary strands of research in relation to our updated purpose to understand the social foundations of learning and established seven research clusters called “implementation units” to frame the work of the center. LIFE’s implementation units are active, interdisciplinary working groups that address strategic research questions associated with our purpose. LIFE’s seven implementation units include:
Implementation Unit 3 approaches LIFE’s Purpose and Mission by examining how the social foundations of learning differ across domain and across age. The focus in IU3 is the development of language, an area in which domain specificity and age effects have played a prominent role in theory. Whether the mechanisms underlying language learning are domain-specific or reflect more general universal principles has been a topic of theoretical interest for some time. The answer is important both to theory and to practice. Similarly, language, exhibiting a “critical period” for learning, provides a platform for studying the effects of age on neuroplasticity.
IU3’s work focuses on the mechanisms underlying language learning from infancy to adulthood, and has the eventual goal of developing technologies with the goal of enhancing second language learning across the lifespan, goals consistent with both Missions of the LIFE Center. We employ multiple methodologies (neurobiological, cognitive, developmental, and socio-cultural). In 2009 these studies will be furthered by access to a new brain imaging technology (MEG) which will be installed at the University of Washington’s Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences (I-LABS). MEG technology can be used effectively and safely from infancy to adulthood. MEG is especially helpful for studies of language, but will also be available for use by all LIFE investigators.
A goal for LIFE research is to examine whether the hypothesized mechanisms underlying “the social” in language learning have traction across domains. Is the mechanism underlying the difference between live vs. televised language exposure in Kuhl’s IU3 infant language experiments similar, or different from, those at work in Schwartz’s IU2 “mere belief of social” experiments, or in Meltzoff’s IU5 work on stereotype learning and imitation from television? The work conducted in this Implementation Unit will provide information for the three Strategic Driving Questions (SDQs) that guide LIFE research and provides fodder for LIFE’s Theory Kitchen.
Similarly, work in IU3 will contribute to LIFE’s Design Studio. Our studies of language learning in daycare settings using a “social robot” (Virnes, Cardillo, Kuhl, & Movellan, 2008), and studies using computer programs to enhance second language learning in adults (Zhang et al., under revision) provide examples. In both, mechanistic principles stemming from laboratory studies will be used to design new technologies for use in the real world (e.g., adult learning environments, daycare settings). Findings in those test-beds will then lead to new laboratory studies - designs and practices will affect our understanding of mechanisms, and vice versa.
On November 10, 2007, John Bransford was the keynote speaker at the COSEE-OLC’s (Center for Ocean Science Education Excellence-Ocean Learning Communities) Creating Connections event. The event, spanning the evening of November 9 through November 10, brought together learning scientists from the LIFE center, ocean scientists from the University of Washington’s department of Oceanography, informal educators from the Seattle Aquarium, and volunteers from around the Puget Sound who monitor, restore, and interpret our local beaches. The purpose of the event was to share knowledge, practices, and resources in the creation of an Ocean Learning Community. The event began with an evening at the Seattle Aquarium in which the volunteers’ work was celebrated and Sylvia Earle gave the keynote speech. The next day was a full day of engaging with inquiry-based teaching and learning, technological tools for sharing best practices and keeping connected, and scientific findings from research occurring in Puget Sound. COSEE-OLC also sponsored field trips to the Cedar River watershed and on the Ocean Inquiry Project research vessel. Philip Bell and Carrie Tzou (LIFE, UW), along with informal educators from the Seattle Aquarium, organized the session on inquiry-based teaching and learning and Giovanna Scalone (LIFE, UW) helped organize the session on connecting with technology. Other LIFE researchers present were Suzanne Reeve (LIFE, UW), Leah Bricker (LIFE, UW), and Sameer Honwad (LIFE intern).
As part of the annual speaker series hosted by the LIFE Student Leadership Group, Dr. Nichole Pinkard visited the University of Washington’s College of Education on November 9, 2007. Dr. Pinkard is Chief Technology Officer of the Center for Urban School Improvement at the University of Chicago, and has been recognized for her work incorporating technology and students’ cultural backgrounds into education with urban populations. During her visit, Dr. Pinkard met with the research groups of Reed Stevens, John Bransford, and Philip Bell, as well as with ILABS researchers on the UW campus. She also met with graduate students and postdocs from the UW and Stanford (via videoconference), and presented her research in a meeting open to the UW campus and other local community groups.
