Laura Justice | |
---|---|
Born | October 9, 1968 |
Occupation | EHE Distinguished Professor of Educational Psychology |
Awards | 2005 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers |
Academic background | |
Alma mater | Ohio University (AB, BSEd, PhD) |
Academic work | |
Institutions | Ohio State University |
Laura M. Justice (born October 9,1968) is a language scientist and expert on interventions to promote children's literacy. She is the EHE Distinguished Professor of Educational Psychology at Ohio State University, [1] where she also serves as the Executive Director of the A. Sophie Rogers School for Early Learning.
Justice received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from President George W. Bush in 2005. Justice received this award for her scientific research identifying techniques to raise the reading levels of pre-school children from low socioeconomic households and those identified as having language impairments. This award was the first Presidential Early Career Award to be given in the field of education research. [2] Justice's other awards include the Annie Glenn Leadership Award in Speech-Language Pathology and the Early Career Publication Award from the Division of Research,Council for Exceptional Children.
Justice has authored several books including Scaffolding with Storybooks:A Guide for Enhancing Young Children's Language and Literacy Achievement, [3] Communication Science and Disorders, [4] Clinical Approaches to Emergent Literacy Intervention, [5] The Syntax Handbook:Everything You Learned About Syntax ...(but Forgot) (with Helen K. Ezell), [6] and Engaging Children with Print:Building Early Literacy Skills through Quality Read-Alouds (with Amy Sofka). [7]
Justice has held the position of Editor in Chief of Early Childhood Research Quarterly, [8] Editor of the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology,and Editor of the Language,Speech,and Hearing Services in Schools. [9]
Justice received her Bachelor of Arts degree (1992) and BSEd (1996) from Ohio University. [10] She continued her education there receiving her PhD in Speech Hearing Sciences in 2000 under the advisement of Helen K. Ezell. Justice's early research with Ezell investigated ways parents of children diagnosed with speech delays engaged with their children during story time. Their research revealed that parents' questions to their children about the books tended to focus entirely on the pictures and not on the print. [11] Justice's doctoral dissertation,titled "An experimental evaluation of an intervention to stimulate written language awareness in preschool children from low-income households" initiated a program of research on literacy interventions. [12]
Justice joined the faculty of the School of Education and Human Development (formerly the Curry School of Education) at the University of Virginia where she developed a program of translational research on children's emergent literacy [13] and early interventions to promote reading. [14] [15] She subsequently moved to Ohio State University where serves as the Director of the Pre-School Language and Literacy Research Lab and as the CCEC Executive Director of The Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy.
Justice's research has been funded by numerous grants from agencies including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) [16] and the Institute of Education Sciences. [17] She has been a visiting scholar at the University of Canterbury (supported by an Erskine Fellowship),the University of Zagreb (supported by a Fulbright Scholar Award) and the University of Bologna. [18]
Justice's research has focused on early interventions to support emergent literacy,especially for children growing up in low-income families and for children with specific language impairment (also known as developmental language disorder). Her collaborative research highlights the role of parent involvement in literacy interventions [19] and the need for professional development to support teachers of children growing up in at-risk economic circumstances. [20] Other research has investigated effects of poverty on toddler's early language skills [21] and the impact of quality preschool programs on children's academic gains. [15]
Justice and her collaborators received the ASHA Editor's Award for their 2004 article "Relations among maternal,child,and demographic factors and the persistence of preschool language impairment." [9] This article used data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care to examine language outcomes of children,who at the age of 3 appeared to exhibit specific language impairment. At age 4.5,over half of the children show a persistent language impairment,with maternal depression identified as a risk factor in the children's prognosis.
Justice and her colleagues have used shared storybook reading as a context for early intervention,and stress the importance of emphasizing print over pictures while reading to develop children's literacy awareness. [22] Her research team has tied early exposure to picture books to the so-called Million Word Gap. [23]
Mixed receptive-expressive language disorder is a communication disorder in which both the receptive and expressive areas of communication may be affected in any degree,from mild to severe. Children with this disorder have difficulty understanding words and sentences. This impairment is classified by deficiencies in expressive and receptive language development that is not attributed to sensory deficits,nonverbal intellectual deficits,a neurological condition,environmental deprivation or psychiatric impairments. Research illustrates that 2% to 4% of five year olds have mixed receptive-expressive language disorder. This distinction is made when children have issues in expressive language skills,the production of language,and when children also have issues in receptive language skills,the understanding of language. Those with mixed receptive-language disorder have a normal left-right anatomical asymmetry of the planum temporale and parietale. This is attributed to a reduced left hemisphere functional specialization for language. Taken from a measure of cerebral blood flow (SPECT) in phonemic discrimination tasks,children with mixed receptive-expressive language disorder do not exhibit the expected predominant left hemisphere activation. Mixed receptive-expressive language disorder is also known as receptive-expressive language impairment (RELI) or receptive language disorder.
Reading for special needs has become an area of interest as the understanding of reading has improved. Teaching children with special needs how to read was not historically pursued due to perspectives of a Reading Readiness model. This model assumes that a reader must learn to read in a hierarchical manner such that one skill must be mastered before learning the next skill. This approach often led to teaching sub-skills of reading in a decontextualized manner. This style of teaching made it difficult for children to master these early skills,and as a result,did not advance to more advanced literacy instruction and often continued to receive age-inappropriate instruction.
Phonological awareness is an individual's awareness of the phonological structure,or sound structure,of words. Phonological awareness is an important and reliable predictor of later reading ability and has,therefore,been the focus of much research.
Specific language impairment (SLI) is diagnosed when a child's language does not develop normally and the difficulties cannot be accounted for by generally slow development,physical abnormality of the speech apparatus,autism spectrum disorder,apraxia,acquired brain damage or hearing loss. Twin studies have shown that it is under genetic influence. Although language impairment can result from a single-gene mutation,this is unusual. More commonly SLI results from the combined influence of multiple genetic variants,each of which is found in the general population,as well as environmental influences.
Language development in humans is a process which starts early in life. Infants start without knowing a language,yet by 10 months,babies can distinguish speech sounds and engage in babbling. Some research has shown that the earliest learning begins in utero when the fetus starts to recognize the sounds and speech patterns of its mother's voice and differentiate them from other sounds after birth.
Project STAR was three-year,federally funded research project which consisted of an intervention with preschoolers enrolled in the Head Start program in Lane County,Oregon,United States. The project was conducted from 1999 to 2003 by the Early Childhood Research Unit of the University of Oregon College of Education. The principal investigators were Dr. Ruth Kaminski,one of the co-authors of the DIBELS early literacy assessment,and Beth Stormshak. The goal of the program was to increase literacy skills of at-risk children by improving their learning environments by increasing the number of planned and focused activities. The curriculum had two components:a classroom ecology component and family-focused intervention activities. The intervention was focused on strengthening children's skills in social ability. In order to help children they increased parenting and family participation in school by working directly with the parents of the students.
Print awareness refers to a child's understanding of the nature and uses of print. A child's print awareness is closely associated with his or her word awareness or the ability to recognize words as distinct elements of oral and written communication. Both skills are acquired in the child's natural environment.
Speech–language pathology (also known as speech and language pathology or logopedics) is a healthcare and academic discipline concerning the evaluation,treatment,and prevention of communication disorders,including expressive and mixed receptive-expressive language disorders,voice disorders,speech sound disorders,speech disfluency,pragmatic language impairments,and social communication difficulties,as well as swallowing disorders across the lifespan. It is an allied health profession regulated by professional bodies including the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and Speech Pathology Australia. The field of speech-language pathology is practiced by a clinician known as a speech-language pathologist (SLP) or a speech and language therapist (SLT). SLPs also play an important role in the screening,diagnosis,and treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD),often in collaboration with pediatricians and psychologists.
The Hanen Centre is a not-for-profit registered charitable organization,based in Toronto,Canada. It defines its mission as,“providing the important people in a child’s life with the knowledge and training they need to help the child develop the best possible language,social and literacy skills”.
Susan Neuman is an educator,researcher,and education policy-maker in early childhood and literacy development. In 2013,she became Professor of Early Childhood and Literacy Education,and Chair of the Department of Teaching and Learning at NYU's Steinhardt School of Culture,Education,and Human Development.
Speech and language impairment are basic categories that might be drawn in issues of communication involve hearing,speech,language,and fluency.
David P. Hurford is a psychologist and researcher who specializes in dyslexia/reading difficulties and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). He is a professor and chair of the Department of Psychology and Counseling at Pittsburg State University and directs the Center for Research,Evaluation and Awareness of Dyslexia at the same institution. In addition,he is the president of Reading Screening,LLC and the manager of the Center for the Assessment and Remediation of Reading Difficulties,Inc. a nonprofit created to help individuals become competent readers and was a Spencer Fellow of the National Academy of Education.
Marcia Invernizzi is an American professor,author,and researcher in the field of Reading Education. At the University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development,she teaches reading education. As founder of the Book Buddies program,she is known as a leader in early literacy intervention.
Emergent literacy is a term that is used to explain a child's knowledge of reading and writing skills before they learn how to read and write words. It signals a belief that,in literate society,young children—even one- and two-year-olds—are in the process of becoming literate. Through the support of parents,caregivers,and educators,a child can successfully progress from emergent to conventional reading.
Kindergarten readiness refers to the developmental domains that contribute to children's ability to adapt to the kindergarten classroom,which is often a new and unfamiliar environment. There is no single agreed upon definition of Kindergarten readiness. The domains often included in the definition comprise:academic skills,social-emotional development,and physical development. In addition to these competencies,the child's environment and opportunities for learning should also be considered. This includes the child's home environment and their interactions with teachers and peers.
Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) is identified when a child has problems with language development that continue into school age and beyond. The language problems have a significant impact on everyday social interactions or educational progress,and occur in the absence of autism spectrum disorder,intellectual disability or a known biomedical condition. The most obvious problems are difficulties in using words and sentences to express meanings,but for many children,understanding of language is also a challenge. This may not be evident unless the child is given a formal assessment.
Gail Therese Gillon is a New Zealand child development academic. She is currently a full professor at the University of Canterbury and is a Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi.
Margaret R. Burchinal is a quantitative psychologist and statistician known for her research on child care. She is senior research scientist and director of the Data Management and Analysis Center of the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Carol McDonald Connor was an educational psychologist known for her research contributions to the field of early literacy development in diverse learners,in particular for work on individualized student instruction interventions and the lattice model of reading development. She held the position of Chancellor's Faculty and Equity Advisor in the School of Education at the University of California,Irvine.
Allyssa K. McCabe is a psychological scientist known for her work on narrative development. She is Professor Emerita of Psychology in the College of Fine Arts,Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Massachusetts,Lowell,and affiliated with the Center for Autism Research &Education (CARE).
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