Early education in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) topics, as they’re known, is critical for boosting later success in school and attracting students to occupations in those fields. But little has been done to optimize STEM curriculum for preschoolers or help children seek out and enjoy STEM tasks. New research from I-LABS explores the social cues important for increasing … Read More
Ask I-LABS Outreach: What are the Benefits of Reading to Babies?
Story time is brain-building time, even for babies who aren’t speaking yet. When it comes to the importance of reading to kids, Dr. Seuss explains it well: “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go,” the beloved author wrote in The Cat in the Hat. And literacy … Read More
Predicting rate of second language learning
New research shows that brain ‘resting state’ is predictive of how easily adults can pick up a second language. Is there a way to predict the aptitude for second language learning by adults? Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences (I-LABS) graduate student Brianna Yamasaki explains a new study designed to answer this question. Yamasaki and colleagues measured brain activity from … Read More
Ask I-LABS Outreach: How Early Does Learning Begin?
It’s common to want to give babies the best possible start in life, and many parents wonder how early they can begin giving their child enriching, brain-building experiences. Photo: Flickr, Jlhopgood In this edition of Ask I-LABS Outreach we turn to a topic that fascinates most people: how early does learning begin? I’ve been studying very early learning for decades. I started … Read More
Regional Officials Visit I-LABS for Early Learning Showcase
Staff from the State of Washington and the City of Seattle learned about the innovative work at I-LABS during a visit held July 19. Patricia Kuhl and Andrew Meltzoff, co-directors of the Institute, described brain development and I-LABS discoveries on how young children learn. Visitors also toured the MEG brain imaging facility and heard from the I-LABS Outreach team about how the Institute translates … Read More
I-LABS Welcomes 2016 Summer Interns
Four undergraduate students started their summer internship this week at the Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences. Photo: Miriam Donner, Will Hodge, Riley MacAulay, Maria Venneri. With interests in psychology, neuroscience and education, the interns will spend the month of July working with I-LABS researchers and honing professional development skills. The I-LABS Outreach team organizes the internship each year with the goal … Read More
Ask I-LABS Outreach: Finding Surprising Moments to Read to Kids
How can busy parents fit enriching, brain-building moments that come from reading to children into an already packed schedule? One parent talks about how she made reading to her daughter part of her routine. My enthusiasm for reading goes back a long way. My father likes to tell the story of how I used to toddle up to him as a young … Read More
Andrew Meltzoff Receives Koffka Medal from Germany for ‘Extraordinary’ Work
Andrew Meltzoff, the Job and Gertrud Tamaki Endowed Chair and co-director of the Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, has been awarded the Kurt Koffka Medal. Bestowed each year by Giessen University in Germany, the award honors scientists who “advanced the fields of perception or developmental psychology to an extraordinary extent.” Meltzoff received the award during a ceremony at Giessen … Read More
I-LABS Outreach Joins Parent Blog Network
Parenting tips, ideas for free child-friendly outings, and even advice on how caregivers of small children can find time to take care of themselves—these are all recent topics of a new blog launched by Educare Seattle. As one of the blog’s contributors, the I-LABS Outreach team will provide monthly blog posts that give practical strategies for making I-LABS research useful … Read More
Success in Second Language Learning Linked to Genetic and Brain Measures
A new I-LABS study published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences demonstrates a relationship between genes, the brain and human learning. The study, published the week of June 13, 2016, shows that the final grades that college students received in a second-language class were predicted by a combination of genetic and brain factors. Variations in the gene … Read More