Child Study Lab marks 40 years of research, training in child development


December 3, 2012

To a casual observer, the children on a playground by the ASU Psychology building look like they are attending a typical well-run preschool, as they pull wagons, dig in the sand and climb on the jungle gym.

The youngsters are actually participating in an ongoing exercise in learning, one that began 40 years ago with the opening of the ASU Child Study Laboratory in the Department of Psychology. Download Full Image

With a reputation for the most up-to-date curriculum available, based on the latest research on child development, the CSL has a waiting list of parents eager for their children to attend. Most are eventually able to get a coveted spot.

The lab, which will celebrate its 40th anniversary with a sale of children’s art and a gift raffle from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Dec. 6, in the Memorial Union Gold 207 room, has many roles, says Anne Kupfer, director.

It is a training ground for about 60 psychology undergraduates each semester, many of them future teachers and child psychologists who are learning how to use assessment tools and write up case studies. Graduate students conduct work for their master’s theses.

The lab is a valuable resource for faculty in psychology and family studies who can carry out observations that are difficult to do in other preschools, studying how children interact with their peers or different types of play.

Most of all, it’s a place where children get a lot of personal attention and carefully designed learning experiences, and where parents can observe any time they want. Toddlers attend with their parents, and 3- to 5-year-olds are enrolled for three to six hours in groups of 15 or so.

“The most important thing we do is to help children be the best they can be, to provide a good foundation so they are the most prepared for kindergarten and first grade,” says Kupfer.

With a philosophy that children’s own natural curiosity will prompt learning, the curriculum is focused on play as the primary medium through which children learn. The emphasis is on exploration and discovery. Fun is rampant.

Children plant vegetables and learn to cook them, throw themselves into hands-on science activities, get messy during sand and water play and take field trips around campus and away from ASU.

Last spring they learned about the Middle Ages, about dragons, princesses and kings. They tried on chain-link armor and saw catapults at the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, and they built colorful castles in the classroom.

This fall is all about the “sounds of music” as the children learn about musical instruments and how to play them. They’ve been fascinated as ASU student musicians have brought in an accordion, guitar, keyboard, drums, cello and bagpipes. On Dec. 8 they’ll visit the Musical Instrument Museum.

The scholarly role of the lab takes place quietly. Student teaching assistants take notes on each interaction, observing children’s listening and negotiating skills, sometimes having gentle conversations with them to help them learn.

Other research and learning activities are more formal, as children are individually assessed and videotaped in activities while students or faculty members observe.

Psychology professor Arthur Glenberg, who received a grant from the National Science Foundation for his research on embodied cognition, is working with preschoolers in the CSL to expand his research. Earlier, he found that elementary school children who read and then act out the meaning of sentences have better understanding and comprehension. Now he is looking to see if young children who listen and then act out a story develop better listening skills.

“Listening is really important,” says Kupfer. “The ability to listen and recall is at the basis of ADD and many disorders. We’re hoping we can improve a child’s listening skills through embodied cognition.”

She says the work of Regents’ Professor Nancy Eisenberg on teaching children to regulate emotions and behavior and the research of associate professor William Fabricius on 'theory of mind’ also are used in the curriculum. The first involves teaching children to recognize their emotions and then to problem-solve, acting appropriately. The second deals with learning to recognize the desires and beliefs of others.

“The Child Study Lab has been an invaluable resource for me and my students,” says Eisenberg. “We have done many studies on children’s helping and sharing behaviors in the class and how children respond to such behavior, on empathy, on sex-typed play behavior, on self-regulation and its relations to social competence. Some of my students have conducted their MA thesis there, and work in the CSL was the origin of a six-year study I did on children’s regulation, emotion and adjustment.”  

As a model of high-quality education and care for young children, the lab also offers training opportunities and technical assistance for state and local early childhood professionals.

“We’re trying to bring all the many years of research at ASU on child development into our curriculum, so these children are the best prepared to learn,” says Kupfer. “I love watching children learn and grow, to become better listeners and learners, to see their self-esteem grow as they realize they are important and valued.

“These first five years are so important. They lay the foundation of a child’s character and personality.”

ASU faculty member lands book deal on intersectionality


December 3, 2012

“Intersectionality: A Foundations and Frontiers Reader” is the title of a book under development by Patrick Grzanka, honors faculty fellow at Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University.

Grzanka recently entered into an agreement with Westview Press, a division of Perseus Books, to develop the book, which will be an edited anthology of writings by experts and emerging scholars in the field of “intersectionality.” Intersectionality has become an important paradigm in the social sciences and humanities over the past 30 years because it offers insight into how systems of oppression – such as racism and sexism – are connected to one another in complex and intricate ways. Download Full Image

Grzanka will organize key writings encompassing the broad scope of intersectionality into thematic units, each of which will begin with an original, contextualizing introduction. Individual readings will be enhanced by an author biography, explanation of the work’s major contributions, and suggestions for further reading. Grzanka also will open the book with a critical essay introducing intersectionality and the guiding questions that informed the organization of the anthology.

Sociologist Bonnie Thornton Dill, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Maryland, professor of women’s studies, and founding intersectional theorist, will contribute the book's epilogue.

The approximately 320-page book, including more than 80 pages of original writing by Grzanka, is scheduled for publication in 2014. Grzanka said the book is unique in that it tells a story of the origins of intersectional theory and methods while looking ahead to the new frontlines of the field.

“Overall, this book will serve as an accessible, primary source-driven introduction to intersectionality in sociology and related disciplines, including women’s and gender studies, cultural studies, African American studies, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer studies, social work, education, and psychology, at both the advanced undergraduate and graduate levels,” Grzanka said.

Nicole Greason

Director of Marketing and Public Relations , Barrett, The Honors College

480-965-8415