Current Projects
updated 05/14/2024
Exploring the Origins of Scientific Literacy and Interests
With the support of the National Science Foundation (Award #2300024), we are extending and replicating a previously funded investigation (NSF Award #1535102) of young children’s interest in, and ability to reason about, causal information. We are particularly interested in identifying potential relationships between early variability in these interests and skills and the development of scientific literacy and STEM engagement. This project also explores the role of parents in shaping the foundations of these long-term trajectories. If predictive relationships are detected, our next step will be to develop interventions to promote equitable access, engagement and success in science.
Measuring Early Interests in Science
Research on school-aged children has revealed interest as a significant motivational factor for engagement and success in science. However, studying these relationships in younger children has posed challenges due to measurement limitations. This study seeks to tackle this issue by evaluating the psychometrics of four distinct modalities of early scientific interest measures. This study will lead us a step closer to developing reliable measures for early scientific interests, thereby enabling the assessment of its influence on scientific engagement and achievement. Developing a robust measure will also supports the design and evaluation of interventions to optimize engagement and success in science.
updated 05/14/2024
I-Corps: Artificially Intelligent Dialogic Reading Aid
With the support of the National Science Foundation (Award #2349210) we are developing an application to enhance conversations between adults and young children as they read books together. The app capitalizes on recent advances in artificial intelligence to generate prompts at opportune times during shared reading sessions that encourage dialogic exchanges that help children learn vocabulary and practice elaboration and inferencing skills known to be foundational to language development and early literacy. Flexible adaptation to the age, interests and native language of users will ensure broad impact for diverse learners traditionally facing limited access to early literacy supports. This project is also supported by Vanderbilt University’s Center for Technological Transfer & Communication’s Innovation Catalyst Fund, LIVE Initiative’s Spark Grant, and Office of Research Development & Support’s Generative AI Seed Grant.