Mechanisms Supporting Experience-Driven Changes in Semantic Knowledge

Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA

Investigators

Abstract

Human knowledge about the world is structured in semantic networks in which concepts are linked by relevant relations. This semantic structure is thought to be crucially important for many day-to-day activities, including learning in formal and informal settings, because it allows access to and use of stored knowledge across many different contexts. Prior studies suggest that there are marked individual differences in semantic structure based on factors such as age and expertise in specific domains. However, paucity of methods appropriate for studying semantic structure in young children makes it challenging to gain insight into changes in semantic structure with experience and learning during several key developmental periods, including the preschool years and transition into formal schooling. Using recent advances in the measurement of structured semantic knowledge in young children, this project will further our understanding of how learning and experience in real-world settings (such as a summer camp at a local botanical garden) promote rapid changes in children's semantic networks. The results of this project will have implications for our understanding of many cognitive processes thought to rely on structured semantic knowledge, including memory encoding and retrieval, attention, reading comprehension, and learning in formal and informal settings. Therefore, the results of this project have the potential to provide novel evidence pointing to the importance of enrichment experiences (such as field trips and summer camps) to children's academic achievement. The findings from this project will be disseminated to academic audiences and also to parents and educators in the community. Therefore, this project will provide opportunities to engage members of the public in conversations about improving the scientific literacy of children. The goals of this project are (1) to develop and validate developmentally-appropriate methods to study semantic structure in children, (2) to directly test theoretically-driven predictions about the learning mechanisms promoting changes in semantic structure in a real-world setting, and (3) to examine how changes in semantic structure promote changes in inferential comprehension, a cognitive process that is a component of reading comprehension. In Study 1, the researchers will develop and validate new methods to study semantic structure in children aged 4-9 years, and in so doing will examine how changes in semantic structure across a number of early acquired domains of knowledge (e.g., animals, clothes, foods) are related to changes in the ability to make inferences in those domains. In Studies 2 and 3, the research team will partner with a local botanical garden to directly test how different aspects of children's informal learning experiences contribute to changes in semantic structure and thereby affect children's inferential comprehension. The results of this project will provide the research community with new methods of studying semantic networks in children and will provide new insights into the importance of enrichment experiences for semantic development, including aspects of semantic development that are relevant for school success. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.