Integrative Studies of Cognition in Development: Planning for a Research Center

Purdue University, West Lafayette IN

Investigators

Abstract

Abstract Integrative Studies of Cognition in Development: Planning for a Research Center Robert Kail, Thomas Berndt, & Lynn Okagaki The aim of this project is to plan a Center for Integrative Studies of Cognition in Development. The Center is intended to bring together experts in cognitive development, family relations, social development, and childhood socialization for the purpose of conducting research that integrates these diverse theoretical and research perspectives. The Center's research will focus on the development of children's understanding of mathematics and science in the context of their relationships with parents and peers. The Center is needed because scientists who study basic cognitive processes rarely consider the social context of children's lives. Conversely, scientists who study children's social contexts either ignore cognitive processes or examine forms of thinking specific to the social domain while giving little attention to basic cognitive processes. Consequently, a scientific knowledge base of children's development and learning is fragmented and incomplete. The goal of the Center will be to increase understanding of children's learning, particularly of math and science, by supporting multidisciplinary studies of children's cognition and social relationships. To specify the plan for the Center, a workshop will be conducted at which researchers from several institutions will discuss strategies for the integrative study of cognition in development. Some of the workshop participants will be invited to join the Center's core research group, while others will be asked to serve on an Advisory Board. With the guidance of the Advisory Board, the core scientific group will prepare a complete proposal for the Center for submission to the NSF in 2002.