The television program UW|360 explores how online resources developed by I-LABS help parents and other caregivers put research into practice during everyday interactions with children. Photo caption: A screenshot of the UWTV program UW|360’s episode that profiles the I-LABS outreach team’s online training modules. “All the latest research is really telling us that kids are learning just so much in their … Read More
New Research: Babies and Birds
Who wins when smart crows and kids match wits? New Caledonian crows are tops in tool-making, but humans master innovation. I-LABS’ Anna Waismeyer and Andrew Meltzoff collaborated with an international team of scientists to study cognition and problem solving in babies and birds. Crows are famous for their use of tools to solve problems. The study, published by the journal Proceedings of … Read More
In National Geographic, Patricia Kuhl explains why a baby’s brain holds the key to understanding what it means to be human.
Photo caption: In Patricia Kuhl’s lab at the University of Washington, researchers study brain activity in babies less than a year old using a magnetoencephalography device, which measures the magnetic field around a baby’s scalp, to reveal the pattern of neurons firing. How nature and nurture combine to shape the brain is nowhere more evident than in the development of … Read More
Patricia Kuhl Speaks at White House Summit on Early Education
Patricia Kuhl, co-director of the Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, is among the invited participants at the Dec. 10 White House Summit on Early Education. The event is intended to bring together philanthropic, business, education, advocacy and political leaders to discuss expanded access to high-quality early childhood education. Kuhl, a world-renowned scientist in early language and brain development, has been asked … Read More
El País: Bilingualism the Best Workout for Brain
The Spanish newspaper El País features I-LABS’ Patricia Kuhl and Andrew Meltzoff in a story about how knowing a second language helps other aspects of cognitive function. The El País story, “Bilingualism: The best workout for your brain,” was published Nov. 24. Earlier this fall, Meltzoff and Kuhl traveled to Madrid to give invited lectures on their research. They also … Read More
Reading and the Brain: Rediscovery of a Major Pathway
I-LABS’ Jason Yeatman and his colleagues at Stanford University have published a new paper describing a nearly forgotten fiber path in the brain. It could have an important role in our ability to read. Yeatman, a research scientist at I-LABS, studies how the brain learns to read. While a graduate student in Brian Wandell’s lab in the Stanford University Department … Read More
Making Steps Toward Brain-to-Brain Communication
I-LABS’ Andrea Stocco and Chantel Prat have shown that information can be transferred from one adult brain to another. Imagine learning something new without studying, becoming alert without a jolt of caffeine, or recovering motor or speech functions after a brain injury without extensive rehabilitation training. Stocco and Prat, of the University of Washington’s Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, … Read More
New Paper: Students Do Best in Well-Designed Classrooms
The design and aesthetics of school buildings and classrooms have surprising power to impact student learning and success, according to a new analysis by Sapna Cheryan and I-LABS’ Andrew Meltzoff. With so much attention to curriculum and teaching skills to improve student achievement, it may come as a surprise that something as simple as how a classroom looks could actually make … Read More
‘Magical’ Early Learning in Spain
Early childhood education and universal pre-K are hot topics in the United States, but what about other countries? During a recent trip to Spain, the co-directors of I-LABS saw quality early learning in action. A typical preschooler in Madrid experiences lessons in art, languages, life skills and even an occasional sleepover at school, known as “magical night.” What may seem even more … Read More
Quality of Words, Not Quantity, Is Crucial to Language Skills
A New York Times story describes research from I-LABS and others showing how it will take more than greater exposure to language to narrow the educational gap faced by children from low-income families. The White House held a summit Oct. 16 to talk about how to close the “word gap,” a disparity in which young children from low-income families hear … Read More