Selected Research Projects
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The role of sleep and its importance in improving overall cognition in children has emerged as an important research issue. This study concentrates on an understudied and underserved segment of children, that is those who are intellectually gifted, to gain important information on interindividual differences in vulnerabilities to sleep difficulty and how this may impact on their cognitive profile. Results may begin to shore up a database generalizable to approximately 6% of the school population in the US or, roughly, 3,000,000 K-12 gifted children. The proposed study identifies a population of gifted children ages 8 through 12 and examines both their sleep patterns and attitudes toward sleep. It will endeavor to answer the following questions:
Are sleep patterns and behaviors for intellectually gifted children different from those of their non-gifted peers? If so, how do they differ? Are there effects for age, gender, and ethnicity?
Do gifted children experience increased vulnerability to sleep difficulties compared with their non-gifted peers and how might this impact on learning capacity and academic performance?
What are some major sources of sleep knowledge and do these differ between the two research populations?
This project is funded by a LIU Faculty Grant.
This project was conducted during 2014 and was funded by the Fulbright Schuman Program. It involved examining aspects of global education in schools in the European Union ranging from early childhood to higher education. The project looked at topics involving the technology in education as well as the impact of the PISA examination on education worldwide.
The Role of Keyboard Training on Verbal Sequencing and Vocabulary Skills of Second Grade Students- 2009
The effect of music training on nonmusical aspects of cognitive development is a much-debated topic. Several studies have reported positive associations between formal music lessons and abilities in nonmusical (e.g., linguistic, mathematical, and spatial) domains. Nonetheless, compelling evidence for a causal link remains elusive. The major aim of the study was to examine the effect of music training on the vocabulary and verbal sequencing skills in diverse groups of second grade students. Two groups of students were studied over a period of one school year. The first (treatment) group studied keyboarding formally for a period of two years in the Music and the Brain Program. This program consisted of music lessons delivered by a trained professional twice a week as part of the school curriculum. The second (control) group had no exposure to music lessons either in school programs or in private study. Both groups were assessed with subtests from the Structure of Intellect (SOI) measure which measure both sight vocabulary and verbal sequencing skills. Subjects were also asked to complete the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory to evaluate hand preference. Results from this study helped to clarify the role of music study on specific cognitive skills and shed light on the question of the potential of music to enhance school performance in both verbal and spatial content domains.
Hand Preference in Musically Trained and Untrained Students- 2009
There is some evidence that patterns of handedness differ in individuals who are trained in specific talent areas such as music. This study examined handedness patterns in students attending New York City Public Schools. Students in grades three through six identified as musically trained and untrained completed the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory. This Inventory asks individuals to indicate their hand preference for such activities as drawing, writing, and throwing. Results were assessed in light of the developmental nature of handedness as well as the role that systematic and sustained music training may exert on hand patterns.
This three year project was funded by a grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities awarded to Long Island University. It created a web site on artworks of Rembrandt located in museums and other collections across the United States. To bring this artwork to a nationwide audience, a Teacher Advisory Council worked with a cohort of museum educators and university scholars in the fields of art history, art and aesthetic education, social studies, and technology to mine this resource of ‘American’ Rembrandts, developing instructional materials for teachers. The resulting web site includes digitized curriculum modules, artworks, biographical timelines, bibliographies, maps, slide shows, activity sheets, and primary source documents. It also references links to individual state content standards, virtual museums, online publications, and graphics software.