2024 Lectures
The Center for Children and Families presents its 16th annual series of lectures, “The Owen Eras Tour.” Honoring outgoing CCF director Dr. Margaret T. Owen, the series will feature talks by local researchers working in areas of Dr. Owen’s long career and will include a tribute to her work. All lectures are free and open to the public and will be held in-person at UT Dallas in the Callier Richardson Addition building, CRA 12.110, and online via MS Teams. The series is sponsored by United Way of Metropolitan Dallas.
January 26, 2024, 9:30am
| Pumpki Lei Su, Ph.D. “The Effect of Infant-Directed Speech (Parentese) on Language Learning in Autistic Children and Bilingual Children” |  |
Parents in many cultures speak in infant-directed speech (IDS; more commonly known as “parentese”) when addressing young children. Compared to adult-directed speech (ADS), IDS is characterized by a slower rate, greater pitch variations, longer pauses, and shorter utterances. Decades of research suggest that IDS facilitates various aspects of early language learning in monolingual typically developing children. However, it remains unknown whether the facilitative effect of IDS on early language learning can be generalized to children in clinical groups or children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. In this presentation, Dr. Su will present data from two recent studies that test the effect of IDS on early language development in autistic children and in Spanish-English bilingual children.
February 23, 2024, 9:30am
| Annie Wright, Ph.D. “Active Playful Learning in a Research to Practice Partnership” |  |  | |
This talk will examine active playful learning (APL), an approach to classroom instruction in the early grades that leverages students’ natural tendencies to play, infuses joy into the educational experience, and promotes deeper learning. Southern Methodist University’s Center on Research and Evaluation (CORE) is leading a pilot year of an APL study with Dallas ISD. This presentation will focus on the APL framework, including the pillars and practices utilized in classroom settings, the approach to measurement, and overall commentary on how a long-lasting research to practice partnership between SMU and Dallas ISD played an important role in initiating this pilot.
| Camilo Ruggero, Ph.D. “A Tale of Two Cities: Redressing Behavioral Health Disparities” | |
Health disparities in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex can be stark, with neighboring areas facing widely divergent health outcomes. These extend to behavioral health, which has ripple effects for well-being of families and communities. Dr. Ruggero’s talk outlines contours of the issue, pressing determinants implicated, and the possibilities for a psychological clinical science workforce aimed at redressing a backslide in progress.
SAVE THE DATE: Friday April 19, 2024
CCF Annual Forum on School Readiness with Dr. Margaret Caughy at Communities Foundation of Texas. More information here!