Affiliate Research

Summit on Research in Early Childhood helps connect research, practice, policy

Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, the Stanley and Debra Lefkowitz Faculty Fellow in the Department of Psychology at Temple University and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, delivers the summit’s keynote address. View Photo Gallery

Creating connections among early childhood research, practice and policy — and how each element can enhance the lives of young children and their families — provided the central theme of the 2018 CYFS Summit on Research in Early Childhood.

More than 200 attendees, including researchers from across the University of Nebraska system, practitioners, administrators, community partners and policymakers, gathered April 25 at Nebraska Innovation Campus for the daylong, fifth biennial summit, which highlighted the latest findings in early childhood research from NU-affiliated faculty, and those findings’ implications for practice and policy. Full Article

Tippens explores well-being among older refugees

Like many large cities, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, is a patchwork of coexisting prosperity and poverty. Nebraska researcher Julie Tippens is navigating this city’s urban divide in search of refugee families from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Tippens is investigating how Congolese refugees, particularly older refugees, are faring in Tanzania’s urban environments. Six of 10 refugees now live in cities — many lacking legal documentation — and the majority still live in countries of first asylum where they initially arrived after fleeing violence and unrest in their home countries. Full Article

Hong hosts Brazilian researchers for early childhood science collaboration

Visiting scholar Gisela Wajskop discusses literacy-based play with undergraduates in the Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies. Wajskop is researching early childhood science teaching with UNL's Soo-Young Hong. — Visiting scholar Gisela Wajskop discusses literacy-based play with undergraduates in the Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies. Wajskop visited Lincoln, Nebraska, as part of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln/Brazil Early Childhood Initiative. View photo gallery.

CYFS faculty affiliate Soo-Young Hong, associate professor of child, youth and family studies, recently hosted Brazilian researchers Gisela Wajskop and Patricia Pastorello for a weeklong visit in Lincoln, Nebraska, as part of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln/Brazil Early Childhood Initiative. Full Article

Faculty provide training, outreach to support international Zika study

Natalie Williams (right), assistant professor of child, youth and family studies, visits with mother in Recife, Brazil. Williams recently traveled to Recife as part of an international collaboration studying how families are affected by Congenital Zika Virus Syndrome. — Natalie Williams (right), assistant professor of child, youth and family studies, visits with a mother in Recife, Brazil. Williams is part of an international research collaboration studying how to help families affected by Congenital Zika Virus Syndrome. View photo gallery.

Recife is the capital city of Pernambuco, a northeastern state in Brazil — and one of the regions most affected by the Zika virus outbreak.

Natalie Williams, assistant professor of child, youth and family studies, and Christine Marvin, professor of special education and communication disorders, recently traveled to Recife, Brazil, as part of a joint study with Brazilian researchers at the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco. Full Article

Team develops virtual reality game to teach children healthy habits

A Nebraska team led by Changmin Yan, associate professor of advertising and public relations, has created a virtual reality game that teaches kindergarten children about nutrition and physical activity.

Trees line the horizon under a bright, cloudless sky. It’s a typical outdoor scene — except for the giant pineapple soaring overhead.

Kindergarteners playing the virtual reality game must make a decision: What is the name of the fruit they see?

Changmin Yan with Google Cardboard glasses — Changmin Yan holds Google Cardboard glasses.

With $15 Google Cardboard glasses and an interdisciplinary research team, Changmin Yan, associate professor of advertising and public relations, has created an immersive experience to encourage healthy habits for young children in rural communities — particularly those from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Full Article

Study examines strategies to enhance preschool science instruction

A preschooler sends a toy car whizzing across a track and down a ramp. With a teacher’s guidance, this four-year-old can also learn about force and motion: the science behind her play.

Soo-Young Hong, associate professor of child, youth and family studies, is exploring how a professional development program could help preschool teachers integrate science into their daily classroom activities. Full Article

Video available for Martin’s methodology presentation

Meredith Martin presents at the April 14 Methodology Applications Series. View presentation.

Meredith Martin, assistant professor of educational psychology, led the first presentation in the 2017 Methodology Applications Series on Friday, April 14. The series is sponsored by the Nebraska Academy for Methodology, Analytics and Psychometrics. Full Article