Ideas In Action

By Jenna Somers ChatGPT is here to stay, and educators need to adapt to their students using it—at least, that’s what news headlines have suggested for almost a year following ChatGPT’s unveiling. Much of the coverage has given voice to worries about the possibility that AI will hinder learning… Read More

By Jenna Somers Andres Pinedo How do young people develop an understanding of societal and systemic injustices, and how are they compelled to challenge those injustices? These questions lie at the center of new research published in Child Development that illuminates the interplay between youth participation in community-based… Read More

In 2023, many states made major progress to address poverty, the child care crisis, birth outcomes, and more.   American families are struggling. A national funding cliff is making child care even less affordable and accessible, the Medicaid unwinding means dropped coverage for millions, and child poverty has doubled after… Read More

By Jenna Somers Meghan Burke Public schools’ resources for students with disabilities are critical tools for empowering their educations, especially when families have the knowledge to advocate for their children and partner with their children’s schools to create support plans. However, research suggests that some schools may be falling… Read More

By Jenna Somers Amy Booth; Photo by Anne Rayner; VU Little is known about the origins and development of scientific literacy and interests that emerge in early childhood, but according to Amy Booth, professor of psychology and human development at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of education and… Read More

Impacts include higher quality of care, increased parental employment and educational achievement—plus millions of dollars in state economic benefits. The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center release a one-of-its-kind report, Early Investment, a Lifetime of Returns: Articulating the Value of Early Childhood Investments in Virginia. This report estimates that the… Read More

By Jenna Somers Lisa Fazio New research published in Public Opinion Quarterly reveals a correlation between the number of times President Donald Trump repeated falsehoods during his presidency and misperceptions among Republicans, and that the repetition effect was stronger on the beliefs of people who consume information primarily… Read More

By Jenna Somers Jeannette Mancilla-Martinez Many students from Spanish-speaking homes—whether designated as English learners or not—struggle with English language and reading comprehension, including students born and raised in the U.S. and who attend English-only-instruction schools. These students’ low scores on standardized English reading and language assessments are often associated… Read More

By Jenna Somers Hilary Travers Earlier this year, the U.S. and Tennessee Departments of Education awarded grants totaling more than $9.9 million to Hilary Travers, PhD’21, research assistant professor of special education, to support educational and post-school outcomes of students with disabilities in Tennessee. In April, Travers received… Read More

By Jane Sevier and Jenna Somers Meghan Burke Meghan Burke joined Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development in August as professor of special education. Her research interests include family advocacy, families of individuals with disabilities, and disability policy. She examines how families advocate for… Read More

By Jenna Somers James R. Booth A five-year, $3.9 million grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders will support novel research into the brain function of language development in 4- to- 8-year-old late talkers with language delay to identify predictive biomarkers that could support early… Read More

By Jenna Somers Autumn Kujawa A two-year, $1.45 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health will support a study to test a novel therapeutic approach for preventing the emergence of anhedonia, a hallmark symptom of depression, in high-risk children. Autumn Kujawa, associate professor of psychology… Read More

Daphne Penn Sociologist of education Daphne Penn joined Vanderbilt University Peabody College of education and human development in July as assistant professor of education policy and inequality. Her research aims to understand and address the root causes of educational inequality by examining schools as microcosms of society. “In… Read More

By Jenna Somers Alyssa Wise Learning sciences, educational technology, and learning analytics researcher Alyssa Wise joined Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development this month as professor of technology and education in the Department of Teaching and Learning and is the new director of the… Read More

  Erin Henrick Erin Henrick has been named a Carnegie National Faculty member by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Henrick is a senior lecturer in the Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations at Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development. “Carnegie National Faculty… Read More

Laurie Cutting, a renowned scholar and expert in cognitive neuroscience, has been appointed associate provost in the Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Innovation, where she will aim to foster academic excellence, innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration. Read More

By Jenna Somers Krista Mehari Youth violence prevention researcher Krista Mehari joined Vanderbilt University Peabody College of education and human development in May as assistant professor of psychology and human development. As a community-based researcher, Mehari works with schools, police departments, local businesses, and organizations to understand… Read More

Despite the practice of exclusionary discipline in schools declining over the past decade, policy and program reforms intended to replace the practice largely have not benefited African American students, according to a new study from associate professor of education and public policy Richard Welsh recently published in Children and Youth Services Review. Read More

By Jenna Somers Lisa Fazio A study recently published in Psychological Science reveals that when people repeatedly encounter headlines about corporate wrongdoing, they view the wrongdoing as less unethical and are more likely to believe the headlines are true. Social media can cause scandalous news to go viral in… Read More

Kathryn Humphreys, associate professor of psychology and human development at Vanderbilt Peabody College, has won a 2023 Early Career Impact Award from the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences. Read More