Research Base
LearnLead translated research into practical, playful strategies for parents and teachers of young children.
All our programs integrate the cognitive and social development theories of experiential object-based learning, respect for parents and a child-centered two-generation approach expressed in the works of Vygotsky, Dewey, Comer, Bronfenbrenner, and Malaguzzi.
Research and the Learning Model
From the early 1990’s forward multiple neuroscience studies documented the physical impact of early parent-child interactions on a child’s brain development. Unlike many more academic studies, Hart and Risley’s Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children (1995) brought both popular attention and controversy to the thesis that how much conversation a child experienced from infancy forward affected language development and learning, and further that the differences aligned with social and economic status. Some found the study insightful; others found the methodology flawed and the conclusions “blaming the victim.” For LearnLead it raised the issue, is there a practical answer for parents’ question, “What am I supposed to say?”
LearnLead’s learning model was created to test whether or not visual vocabulary, words most adults across the socio-economic spectrum know and use, could be adapted to help address that very practical, real-world question.
Research and Logistics
The logistics of all our family programs draw on the criteria identified by Marilyn G. Hood (1981) which I first encountered in John Falk's study Decisions Influencing African American Use of Museums. (1992) The criteria include:
being with people, or social interaction (therefore, large group activities)
doing something worthwhile (therefore, something child-centered)
feeling comfortable and at ease in one’s surroundings (therefore, events at or starting from familiar environments)
having the challenge of new experiences (therefore, going someplace as a group you probably haven’t been before)
having an opportunity to learn (therefore, workshops, tip sheets and/or pocket guides)
participating actively (therefore, hands-on activities and facilitated opinion sharing)
These criteria, written with expanding museum audiences in mind, actually provide a strong guide for engaging parents and families in school related activities.
Additional Research and Specific Programs
Museum as a Resource, our initial program, tested the thesis and logistics that adult to adult interaction between Head Start adults (teachers, social workers and parents of young children) and museum educators would result in improved social and academic outcomes for children and greater comfort and participation of families in using museums. The national survey study of museums and Head Start agencies across the country Head Start and Museums: Status and Opportunity, was subsequently published in the Research Journal of the National Head Start Association Vol 1, Yr 1, 1997.
Messages of the Built Environment, was further influenced by Ernest Boyer’s report for the Carnegie Foundation, Building Connections: Enriching Education through the Power of Architecture and Design (1999) which argues for integrating architecture and design into education for all ages to encourage higher level thinking skills and engaged learning.