Six reasons why working in I-LABS research is like working in theater, provided by a special guest contributor. At first blush, you might think that all that young children and theatrical actors have in common is a tendency to be, shall we say, a touch dramatique? So when I-LABS recently had the pleasure of hosting a student with acting experience, we … Read More
Music Improves Baby Brain Responses to Music and Speech
New I-LABS findings reveal that a musical intervention helped babies learn to detect rhythmic patterns, a skill important for both music and speech. The study, published the week of April 25 by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that a series of play sessions with music improved 9-month-old babies’ brain processing of both music and new speech … Read More
National Fellowship Awarded to I-LABS Graduate Student
The National Science Foundation selected I-LABS’ Lindsey Kishline for its prestigious National Graduate Fellowship Program. The fellowship “recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students” and is considered one of the highest achievements bestowed on early career graduate students. Kishline, a second year graduate student in speech and hearing sciences working with I-LABS’ faculty researcher Adrian KC Lee, is interested in how people … Read More
Individual Differences in Dyslexia, a New Research Path at I-LABS
Reading begins as a visual process with the retina seeing letters and transferring that visual information to other areas of the brain for interpretation. But it’s unclear how the visual system contributes to reading disorders such as dyslexia. That’s the aim of a new line of I-LABS research led by faculty researcher Jason Yeatman. Standard treatments for dyslexia target how individuals … Read More
Bilingualism Gives Baby Brains Practice in Executive Function
The latest I-LABS discovery reveals that bilingual baby brains have increased activity in executive function regions, suggesting early cognitive benefits to learning multiple languages. The new findings, published online April 4 in Developmental Science, underscore the importance of early childhood as the optimum time for learning multiple languages. The study is the first to use magnetoencephalography to compare whole-brain responses … Read More
Babies: Better Safe Than Sorry
Adults often form fast opinions about each other’s personalities, especially when it comes to negative traits. If we see someone argue with another driver over a parking space, for instance, we may assume that person tends to be confrontational. The two new research studies with hundreds of 15-month-old infants demonstrate that babies form similar generalizations about others and make attempts … Read More
I-LABS at #SXSWedu: ‘Tots and TVs’
Screens are everywhere. And young children are spending more and more time using screen media. But how do children learn from them? I-LABS recently shared the science behind how children learn–and don’t learn!–from screen media at the “ed tech mecca” conference South By Southwest EDU, #SXSWedu.
Columns Magazine: ‘How Does Baby Learn?’
From how babies’ brains respond to speech and touch to the latest impacts early learning science has made in society, UW’s Columns magazine features I-LABS in its March 2016 issue. The story, “How Does Baby Learn?,” describes how I-LABS is “revolutionizing theories of human development.” The 4-page feature covers I-LABS’ most recent research and outreach accomplishments and gives sneak peeks … Read More
Ask I-LABS Outreach: What’s the Big Deal About Screen Media?
How do we make good choices about our children’s use of screen media? The I-LABS Outreach team gives an update on the science and practical strategies for parents. Oh, screen media. A favorite TV show, app, video game, or other digital entertainment can hold—and sometimes consume—a child’s attention. It’s a convenient tool for parents who need an uninterrupted moment to … Read More
Media Coverage: How to Talk to Kids About Race?
Adults often don’t know how to talk about race with children, and I-LABS’ Onnie Rogers is trying to help. Rogers, a research assistant professor at I-LABS and in the UW College of Education, uses in-depth interviews to reveal how race and gender stereotypes affect Black children and how they think about themselves. Kids will tell her that skin color “doesn’t … Read More