{"id":243,"date":"2019-07-02T21:01:09","date_gmt":"2019-07-03T02:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/littlelearnerslab\/?page_id=243"},"modified":"2026-06-15T09:07:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T14:07:51","slug":"current-projects","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/littlelearnerslab\/research\/current-projects\/","title":{"rendered":"Current Projects"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>updated 06\/15\/2026<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Exploring the Origins of Scientific Literacy and Interests<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-540 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-my\/my-prd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2518\/2024\/05\/NSF_Official_logo_High_Res_1200ppi-650x650.png\" alt=\"NSF_Official_logo_High_Res_1200ppi\" width=\"112\" height=\"112\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-my\/my-prd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2518\/2024\/05\/NSF_Official_logo_High_Res_1200ppi-650x650.png 650w, https:\/\/cdn.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-my\/my-prd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2518\/2024\/05\/NSF_Official_logo_High_Res_1200ppi-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/cdn.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-my\/my-prd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2518\/2024\/05\/NSF_Official_logo_High_Res_1200ppi-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/cdn.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-my\/my-prd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2518\/2024\/05\/NSF_Official_logo_High_Res_1200ppi-768x768.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 112px) 100vw, 112px\" \/>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\u2019s interest in, and ability to reason about,\u00a0causal information. We are particularly interested in identifying potential relationships\u00a0between early variability in these interests and skills and\u00a0the development of scientific literacy and STEM engagement. This project also explores the role of parents in shaping the foundations of\u00a0these long-term trajectories.\u00a0If predictive relationships are detected, our next step will be to develop interventions\u00a0to promote equitable access, engagement and success in\u00a0science.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Developing an Artificially Intelligent Dialogic Reading Aid<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-540 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-my\/my-prd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2518\/2024\/05\/NSF_Official_logo_High_Res_1200ppi-650x650.png\" alt=\"NSF_Official_logo_High_Res_1200ppi\" width=\"112\" height=\"112\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-my\/my-prd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2518\/2024\/05\/NSF_Official_logo_High_Res_1200ppi-650x650.png 650w, https:\/\/cdn.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-my\/my-prd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2518\/2024\/05\/NSF_Official_logo_High_Res_1200ppi-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/cdn.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-my\/my-prd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2518\/2024\/05\/NSF_Official_logo_High_Res_1200ppi-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/cdn.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-my\/my-prd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2518\/2024\/05\/NSF_Official_logo_High_Res_1200ppi-768x768.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 112px) 100vw, 112px\" \/>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 rich conversations that help children learn vocabulary and build a strong foundation for early literacy. Flexible adaptation to the age, interests and native language of users will ensure broad\u00a0 impact for diverse learners traditionally facing limited access to early literacy supports. This project is also supported by Vanderbilt University&#8217;s Center for Technological Transfer &amp; Communication&#8217;s Innovation Catalyst Fund, a LIVE Initiative&#8217;s Spark Grant,\u00a0 a Generative AI Seed Grant from the Office of Research Development &amp; Support, as well as the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Early Influences of Home on Science Motivation<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>This study examines how components of the Home Science Environment (HSE) are associated with preschool-aged children\u2019s scientific interest. By looking at science-related home resources, engagements, and the underlying attitudinal climate in which those are embedded, this study will help better identify the dimensions of the home science environment that better explain children\u2019s emerging scientific motivations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>updated 06\/15\/2026 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\u2019s interest in, and ability to reason about,\u00a0causal information. We are particularly interested in identifying potential relationships\u00a0between early variability in these&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7466,"featured_media":0,"parent":2,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-243","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/littlelearnerslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/littlelearnerslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/littlelearnerslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/littlelearnerslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7466"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/littlelearnerslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/littlelearnerslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/243\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":639,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/littlelearnerslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/243\/revisions\/639"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/littlelearnerslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/littlelearnerslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/littlelearnerslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}