报告人：哈佛大学教育学院 魏然
报告时间：2019年5月30日15:30-17:00
报告地点：文南楼116室
报告题目：Teaching a Novel Word: Parental Styles and Toddlers' Word Learning

Abstract: We examined the styles that parents adopted while teaching a novel word to their toddlers, and whether those styles related to children’s word learning and engagement during the task. Participants were 36 parents and their toddlers (M = 20 months). Parents were videotaped while teaching their children a novel name for a novel object. Parental utterances were transcribed verbatim and coded for cognitive and autonomy support. Children’s utterances were coded for elicited and non-elicited contributions. Children’s ability to recognize and process the novel word was assessed using the Looking-while-Listening task. Two parental cognitive support styles were identified via cluster analysis: “Cognitive Scaffolders” who combined a diversity of teaching moves and “Labelers” who focused on labeling the novel object for the child. Similarly, two parental autonomy support styles were identified: “Followers” who focused on following the child’s lead and providing positive feedback and “Non-followers” who used diverse communicative ways to engage the child. Compared to parents who were “Labelers”, parents who were “Cognitive Scaffolders” were not more or less likely to be “Followers”. Children of “Cognitive Scaffolders” were better at recognizing the novel word, and children of “Followers” were more engaged (provided more elicited and spontaneous contributions) in the word- teaching task. Children’s ability to recognize the novel word was not related to their engagement. Findings highlight the unique contributions of parental cognitive and autonomy support to children’s word learning.

Speaker Bio:
Ran Wei is a Ph.D. candidate in Human Development, Learning and Teaching at Harvard University. She received her B.A. in English language and literature from the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Tsinghua University and her Ed.M. in Language and Literacy from Harvard University. She is interested in how children's early language and cognitive development is shaped by their interaction with the social world. Wei's current research explores how caregivers' beliefs shape the way in which they communicate with their children and how parental input influences children's language and cognitive development. Her scholarly work has been published in journals such as Journal of Experimental Child Psychology and Developmental Psychology.

魏然，本科毕业于清华大学外文系，硕士毕业于美国哈佛大学教育学院，现哈佛大学博士生在读，师从Meredith Rowe教授，Paul Harris教授，及Catherine Snow教授。主要研究方向为儿童早期语言和认知发展，尤其是环境因素 environmental and contextual factors（如语言输入 caregiver communicative input）对儿童语言及认知发展的影响，以及社会文化环境对育儿方式（child-rearing）的影响。曾在Journal of Experimental Child Psychology，Developmental Psychology等学术期刊上发表论文； 曾获得Marco Polo Fellowship，费正清中心研究基金等。