Optimizing learning opportunities for students in preschool and beyond

Med midler fra NFR, UTNAM, fikk forskere ved Institutt for pedagogikk, UiO muligheten til å invitere to ledende forskere fra USA innen området barns læring og utvikling i barnehage og skole til et forskningsopphold hos oss; Professor Carol Connor og Professor Deborah Vandell. I løpet av det to uker lange oppholdet diskuterte vi våre nåværende og planlagte forskningsprosjekter og artikler, vi beøskten forskjellige barnehager i Oslo og arrangerte et to dagers kurs for PhD studenter ved det Utdanningsvitenskapelige fakultet. Professor Carol Connor and Professor Deborah Vandell foreleste på kurset og og gav tilbakemeldinger på studentpresentasjoner. Kurset var også åpnet for andre forskere og fagpersoner med interesse for barns læring og utvikling i pedagogiske settinger.

This grant application represents a unique opportunity to build on leading educational research to support the opportunities for children to maximally benefit from preschool experiences in Norway. We propose inviting two of the leading scholars in preschool education and childhood development from the US, Professor Carol Connor and Professor Deborah Vandell (both employed at the School of Education at the University of California, Irvine) to the Department of Education at the University of Oslo to collaborate on our ongoing and planned research projects over a period of two weeks in September 2017. Dr. Connor is currently the principal investigator conducting a series of basic research studies and randomized controlled field trials investigating the reasons children fail to achieve proficient reading comprehension skills and the causal implications of child-by-instruction interaction effects on student achievement, specifically investigating the effect of individualizing language arts, social studies, and science instruction in preschool through fifth grade based on students' language and early reading skills. Dr. Vandell's research focuses on the effects of developmental contexts on children's social, behavioral, and academic functioning. As one of the principal investigators with the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, she has conducted an intensive study of 1300 children from birth through high school. This work is viewed by many social scientists as one of the most comprehensive studies of the short-term and long-term effects of early education programs, schooling, and the family on children's development. We will also arrange a two day conference for our PhD students at the Department of Education with Dr. Connor and Dr. Vandell as the keynote speakers and commentators to PhD work in progress.