Events & Announcements | CYFS | Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools

Nebraska-Brazil early childhood research partnership continues progress

Marjorie Kostelnik, senior associate to University of Nebraska President Hank Bounds, speaks to researchers from Nebraska and Brazil May 8. — Marjorie Kostelnik, senior associate to University of Nebraska President Hank Bounds, speaks to researchers working on joint projects through the University of Nebraska-Lincoln/Brazil Early Childhood Partnership.

Faculty and students from two continents came together recently in Lincoln for a pair of research luncheons to update one another on various joint projects.

Researchers from the University Federal Rural of Pernambuco in Brazil visited Lincoln April 24 to meet with their CYFS faculty and student counterparts in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln/Brazil Early Childhood Partnership. A second group of Brazilian researchers, from University Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, were on campus May 8 to discuss their projects with their Nebraska partners. Full Article

Video available for Eric Youngstrom’s Emerging Scholars Series keynote address

Eric Youngstrom, University of North Carolina professor of psychology and neuroscience, and psychiatry, delivers his keynote address April 19 to begin the two-day Emerging Scholars Series.

Eric Youngstrom, University of North Carolina professor of psychology and neuroscience, and psychiatry, led the April 19-20 Emerging Scholars Series hosted by CYFS’ Nebraska Academy for Methodology, Analytics and Psychometrics.

The event’s keynote presentation, titled “Moving from Intuition to Machine Learning: How Can Quantitative Methods Improve Clinical Decision-Making?” is now available on video. Full Article

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

Video available for CYFS Signature Event presentation by Michael Pluess

Michael Pluess, psychologist and associate professor of developmental psychology at Queen Mary University of London, kicks off the inaugural CYFS Signature Event April 11. — Michael Pluess, psychologist and associate professor of developmental psychology at Queen Mary University of London, leads the inaugural CYFS Signature Event April 11.

Michael Pluess, psychologist and associate professor of developmental psychology at Queen Mary University of London, led the inaugural CYFS Signature Event April 11. Video is now available of his presentation, “Individual Differences in Environmental Sensitivity.” Full Article

Research building relationships between schools, Latino families

April Stortvedt, a Lincoln, Nebraska elementary school teacher, gives her fifth grade class directions for their upcoming book presentations. Stortvedt participated in the TAPP Latino study along with one of her students. — April Stortvedt teaches her fifth-grade class in Lincoln, Nebraska. Stortvedt participated in TAPP for Latino Families along with one of her students.

April Stortvedt addresses her fifth-grade students as they prepare for upcoming book presentations. Behind her, a laminated poster outlines her four classroom rules: Be respectful, be honest, be responsible and follow directions the first time.

According to Stortvedt, a CYFS research study has helped one of her students better abide by these classroom rules. Through the study, Teachers and Parents as Partners (TAPP) for Latino Families, Stortvedt collaborated with her student’s parent to improve behavior at home and school. Full Article

CYFS Signature Event series begins April 11

The Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools presents a new series designed to share research that advances learning and development at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln: the CYFS Signature Event series.

Each event will feature a research presentation aimed at cross-disciplinary audiences. Full Article

New database enhances early childhood research collaboration

A new faculty database has streamlined the process of identifying collaboration opportunities among University of Nebraska early childhood researchers.

The Nebraska Academy for Early Childhood Research has released the Find a Researcher database, an online directory of early childhood researchers. The database enables faculty to identify potential research partners from across the University of Nebraska system. Searches can be customized by researchers’ specific content areas, populations of interest, preferred research approach, research tools and methods. Full Article

CYFS releases 2016-17 Annual Report

CYFS has released its annual report for the 2016 fiscal year, which ran from July 2016 to June 2017.

This report features research using technology — including tablets, fMRI scanners and virtual reality — to explore questions related to children’s learning and development. It highlights international research in Brazil and Tanzania. And it includes projects taking place in Nebraska communities, from classrooms in Lincoln to after-school programs in rural school districts. Full Article