Spring Lecture Series
Overview
The Margaret Tresch Owen Lecture Series is a series of developmental science talks by center-affiliated researchers. All lectures are free and open to the public.
View the recordings of the CCF Spring Lecture Series on YouTube.
Next Lecture Series
Save the date for CCF’s 17th annual series of lectures featuring talks by local developmental scientists. All lectures are free and open to the public and will be held from 9:30 to10:30 a.m. in person at UT Dallas in the Callier Richardson Addition (CRA) building, room 12.110, as well as online via MS Teams.
Friday, February 7 – with Dr. Leehyun Yoon
“How do adolescents’ brains process social feedback on their performance and likability?”
Adolescence is a transformative period marked by heightened emotional reactivity and an amplified drive to seek self-understanding, peer acceptance, and social status. These factors make adolescents exceptionally attuned to social feedback, particularly in the realms of performance and likability. Dr. Yoon’s talk unravels the unique ways adolescents process social feedback, showcasing insights from her work and the broader field of developmental affective neuroscience. By shedding light on the intricate interplay between social feedback, emotional responses, and brain development in adolescence, this talk informs how to better understand adolescents’ emotional reactivity and how to nurture healthy emotional and self-development during this critical stage of life.
View a recording of the lecture here
Friday, February 21 – with Dr. Sarah Kucker
“Tech & Talking: How the pervasiveness of digital media impacts language development”
Digital media is now ubiquitous in the lives of even the youngest children. Growing evidence suggests it is increasingly impacting early development, including language acquisition during the first few years of life. Here, I take a deep dive into why and how the increasing prevalence of digital media changes young children’s language development by both altering their opportunities for social interactions and changing the linguistic content they are exposed to. I argue that instead of focusing on how much screen time is bad, we should instead focus on how and why digital media is used. Doing so allows for a fuller understanding of the pathways by which young children’s development will be impacted by an increasingly digital world.
View a recording of the lecture here
Friday, March 7 – with Dr. Michael Siller
“Supporting Children with Autism in Naturalistic Settings”
During the last decade, autism intervention researchers have increasingly adopted the Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Intervention (NDBI) framework to guide program development. To the extent possible, NDBI-based interventions embed learning opportunities within children’s natural environment, which includes (1) play or familiar daily life routines that are meaningful, rich in affect, and motivating, and (2) quality relationships between child and adult. Dr. Siller describes a program of research that investigates the feasibility and efficacy of embedding naturalistic learning opportunities within (1) parent-child play routines at home, (2) inclusive preschool classrooms, and more recently (3) clinic-based interventions. Barriers, opportunities, and future directions will be discussed.
Register to attend here: https://forms.office.com/r/Y5GEgqEGLu