Learning and Development in Infants and Young Children
During the first years of life, children develop critical building blocks needed to support future achievements and outcomes. We know that this development is malleable, and that, when needed, intervention in these early years can have lasting effects throughout the life span. Our research in this area focuses on developing evidence-based interventions and assessments used by practitioners, parents, and other primary caregivers to optimize children's development in key areas, such as language, social-emotional, problem solving, and early literacy.
Research Highlights
Featured Researcher: Kathy Bigelow
Dr. Bigelow is an Associate Research Professor at the Juniper Gardens Children’s Project (JGCP) in the Life Span Institute, and Courtesy Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Behavioral Science at the University of Kansas. Dr. Bigelow received her Ph.D. in Developmental and Child Psychology (currently Applied Behavioral Science) at the University of Kansas, and was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the JGCP. Her research focuses early childhood language and social-emotional development and the translation of evidence-based interventions for parents, care providers, home visitors, and early intervention providers within both center-based and home-based early childhood education programs. Her work also focuses on how technology can promote engagement and enhance the implementation of evidence-based intervention.
Featured Project: PC TALK
The goal of the Promoting Communication Tools for Advancing Language in Kids (PC TALK) Professional Development project is to develop and test the professional development approach to supporting implementation of the PC TALK intervention within home visiting and early intervention programs. The PC TALK Intervention is a toolkit of 8 language-promoting strategies, and an array of resources that families and caregivers can use to support language growth for young children at home and in early education settings. This project aims to develop the approach and the tools that home visitors and early intervention providers need to successfully incorporate the PC TALK intervention into their work with families. Our goal is to learn how best to provide professional development that home visitors and providers can readily use to build parents’ and caregivers’ capacity to support their children’s language and communication development. (talk.ku.edu)
Featured Investigator: Dale Walker
Dr. Walker is an Associate Research Professor and Scientist in the Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies, Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas, Courtesy faculty in the Department Applied Behavioral Science, and a research advisor to the Department of Special Education, Early Intervention. Her research has focused on identifying the effects of early experience and caregiver-child interaction on language development and school performance. She has worked to develop and test interventions to build the capacity of teachers, interventionists and parents to support children’s development and assessment and observation measures to inform and guide intervention with infants and young children with and without disabilities experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage. Dr. Walker is Associate Editor of the Journal of Early Intervention, consulting editor for Early Childhood Research Quarterly and Topics in Early Childhood Special Education and Child Development. Recently, she was guest editor for Early Childhood Research Quarterly Special Issue addressing word gap research. She is active in state-level advocacy, and serves as an advisory board member and vice-chair of advocacy for Kansas Action for Children (KAC). She was also the recipient of the 2019 Steven F. Warren Research Achievement Award.