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.
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
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 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
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
With concussion awareness at an all-time high, school personnel are increasingly responsible for supporting students’ recovery.
Scott Napolitano, assistant professor of practice in educational psychology, has been awarded a $1.1 million grant to develop evidence-based training that will help schools diagnose and manage cases of concussion and mild traumatic brain injury in students.Full Article
Robots are inspiring the middle school students who may one day engineer them, while also benefitting those who pursue other career paths, according to a new University of Nebraska-Lincoln study.
Led by CYFS faculty affiliate Brad Barker and Gwen Nugent, CYFS research professor, the study examined findings from a student robotics project developed at UNL and implemented across the country—including one site in Cuba. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the project delivered robotics and geospatial mapping curriculum to after-school clubs and summer camps. The curriculum also supported youth robotics competitions.Full Article
Paul Springer, Judy Burnfield and Natalie Williams at the Alexis Verzal Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln, Neb., where they are researching the impact of massage therapy for parents whose children are in rehabilitation.
When Alexis Verzal first arrived at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln, Neb., her future held many more questions than answers. While her parents Tiffany and Brandon Verzal grappled with these unknowns, this much they knew: Their world had been turned upside down.Full Article