Current Studies

​Word Learning and Memory in Children with DLD

Why do kids sometimes demonstrate good learning during a lesson, but rapidly forget the information when the lesson is over? Current learning and memory research provides answers to this question. Some teaching strategies only support learning in the moment, while other ones support both learning and retention of that learning. Our lab is dedicated to identifying strategies that support retention of word learning in children with typical development and DLD. We conduct both experimental and intervention research to identify these strategies. The results from this research will help teachers support word learning across a variety of learners in their classrooms. Additionally, results from this research will help clinicians determine the best strategies to foster word learning and long-term retention of that learning in children with DLD.

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Learn More about Teaching Strategies that support Long-Term Retention

Word Learning in Noise

Children live, play, and learn in environments that are often noisy. To understand language development, it is essential to understand how children learn language in different types of noise. For example, in a classroom, there might be a fan running and kids talking in the background. Right now, the effects of these different types of noise and word learning is unknown. To gain this understanding Dr. Gordon, a language scientist, has partnered with Dr. Grieco-Calub, a hearing scientist in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Rush University Medical Center. Together, Drs. Gordon and Grieco-Calub are studying how noise affects children's ability to learn and remember words. This study's long-term goal is to determine factors that can be changed to support word learning in the typical classroom environment.

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