On Tuesday, the Office of External Affairs hosted an Early Learning Showcase. Attendees started the day at the UW Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, learning about brain development and language, plus cognition and social understanding. The visit also included a tour of the facility and a discussion about how research can be put into practice.
The second half of the day was spent in the Magnuson Health Sciences building, where the group heard about early learning research at UW from several leading faculty members and researchers. The first presentation was from Gail Joseph, Ph.D., and Janet Soderberg, Ph.D., providing an overview of the work of the Childcare Quality & Early Learning Center for Research and Professional Development. Drs. Joseph and Soderberg also presented the findings from a recent study of the state’s Early Achievers Standards.
Next on the agenda was Dimitri Christakis, MD, MPH, to discuss how early learning experiences affect brain development. Dr. Christakis also provided insight into how certain types of media exposure in young children might adversely affect them later in life.
The final speaker of the day was Liliana Lengua, Ph.D. Dr. Lengua’s presentation covered the bioecological model of economic disadvantage and children’s well-being, discussing how early experiences of adversity may have long-term and widespread impacts on developmental outcomes.
Materials from the Early Learning Showcase can be found here. View more photos from the event on UWGOV’s Facebook page.