Prior research has demonstrated beneficial outcomes for learning new skills in older adulthood, including increased cognitive and functional abilities, which help prevent age-related declines and foster healthy aging. However, these studies largely have included participants not typically considered at risk for cognitive and functional decline…

In recent years, the intersection of cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, and neuroscience with regard to deaf individuals has received increasing attention from a variety of academic and educational audiences. Both research and pedagogy have addressed questions about whether deaf children learn in the same ways that hearing children…

This brief summarizes the working paper, "The Science of Neglect: The Persistent Absence of Responsive Care Disrupts the Developing Brain," and explains why neglect, or the absence of responsive, supportive care, can affect the formation of the developing brain, impairing later learning, behavior, and health. The brief also includes…

Much of the research on orphan and vulnerable children in sub-Saharan Africa has focused on their risks and vulnerabilities. This article describes the "funds of knowledge" (Moll and Greenberg, 1990) and means of acquiring new knowledge of children living in child-headed households in Uganda's Rakai District. Using ethnographic methods,…

Compared cognitive functioning of infants--at 8 and 18 months--with varying levels of prenatal cocaine exposure. Found that, with risk and polydrug exposure controlled, exposure groups did not differ at 8 months on Bayley Scales or recovery to a novel stimulus. Infants with heavy exposure or high environmental risk declined in mental development…

This study examined the effect of an innovative teaching activity to improve concrete operational thinking skills with preschoolers in Head Start programs. A "learning set" of classification games and seriation games was used to teach the oddity principle and insertion into a series. These games were played with the children using toy ponies and…

Used observations and home visits to examine sex differences in language ability of 54 disadvantaged children at risk for poor language outcomes. Found that language difficulties increased over time, boys were at a constant disadvantage to girls in language development, and sex difference in language ability appeared even when families had similar…

This report describes the background, program implementation, student development evaluation, and recommendations for the SuperStart program of New York City. SuperStart, a comprehensive integrated prekindergarten program, is designed to provide a developmentally appropriate learning environment to enhance the cognitive, social, physical,…