Mentor Areas
My lab studies how children come to acquire rules and variation in natural language. When we think of learning a language, we often think of learning new vocabulary words and grammatical rules. But mastering a language to fluency also requires learning more complex and subtle dependencies in the linguistic and social environment. Many language processes are applied variably by native speakers, such that whether or not a particular form is used is conditioned on the grammatical and social context in which it is uttered. My lab is working on several projects investigating how children learn and master both the rules of their native language and the use of these variable forms, learning to apply them in the same contexts at the same rates as other speakers of their dialect.
Description:
Specific projects will vary, but most research assistants will conduct experiments with children. Your role would include helping to create and design stimuli (making videos, images, or sound recordings), running children in the experiments (video chatting with parents and children over zoom), and transcribing and coding data (transcribing what children say or coding where they are looking on the screen). Interested students should contact us to discuss possibilities.
Preferred Qualifications
We are seeking research assistants to conduct experiments with children. No previous experience with research is necessary, but experience working with children is required (e.g. caring for younger siblings, summer camp counselor, babysitting, etc). We are also seeking research assistants with computational skills to help program experiments. This role typically involves creating short interactive games that run in a web browser.
We usually ask for a 6-10 hour per week commitment. Positions are open to first year work-study students, and work-study or independent study for Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors.
Details:
Preferred Student Year
First-year, Second-Year, Junior, Senior
Academic Term
Fall, Spring, Summer
I prefer to have students start during the above term(s).Volunteer
No
Yes indicates that faculty are open to volunteers.Paid
Yes
Yes indicates that faculty are open to paying students they engage in their research, regardless of their work-study eligibility.Work Study
Yes
Yes indicates that faculty are open to hiring work-study-eligible students.