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1. Co-Constructing and Sharing STEAM Knowledge through a Culturally Relevant Literacy-Based Early Childhood School-University Partnership

   Caudle, Lori ; Harper, Frances K. ; Quinn, Margaret ; Greene, Darelene ( January 2021 , Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference of the Journal Scuola Democratica)

   null (Ed.)

   Through school-university partnerships that situate learning within culturally relevant educational experiences, faculty, preservice teachers, and school-based educators are able to co-construct and share scientific knowledge. This knowledge consists of pedagogical content knowledge and funds of knowledge that include both knowledge and skills developed in cultural context that have evolved historically. In early childhood education, culturally relevant Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) learning experiences are particularly important for young children's cognitive and social emotional development. This paper describes how intentional co-planning and collaboration to celebrate the US Read across America Day provided over 100 preschool children in eight classrooms with access to STEAM lessons virtually led by university preservice teachers in partnership with educators in the school. These activities engaged children in exploring art, computer science, physical science, engineering, and mathematics within the context of a culturally relevant version of the fairy tale Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Lessons implemented as part of school-university partnerships support Black and Latinx children's development of a sense of belonging in STEAM. Further, these experiences enhance teacher candidates' abilities to engage in culturally responsive STEAM teaching while receiving ongoing guidance and education from university faculty and school-based educators. Teacher education programs within higher education institutions should embrace school- university partnerships as contexts for the development of shared scientific knowledge and discourse since the benefits are twofold. First, children and teachers gain access to, and engage with, innovative STEAM experiences. Second, preservice teachers learn culturally relevant research-based instructional strategies through university coursework situated in authentic learning experiences; thus, their learning as teacher candidates is enhanced through planning, implementation, evaluation, and critical reflection. 

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2. The Age of Reason: Functional Brain Network Development during Childhood

   https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0511-22.2022  

   Tooley, Ursula A. ; Park, Anne T. ; Leonard, Julia A. ; Boroshok, Austin L. ; McDermott, Cassidy L. ; Tisdall, Matthew D. ; Bassett, Dani S. ; Mackey, Allyson P. ( October 2022 , The Journal of Neuroscience)

   Human childhood is characterized by dramatic changes in the mind and brain. However, little is known about the large-scale intrinsic cortical network changes that occur during childhood because of methodological challenges in scanning young children. Here, we overcome this barrier by using sophisticated acquisition and analysis tools to investigate functional network development in children between the ages of 4 and 10 years ($n=92$; 50 female, 42 male). At multiple spatial scales, age is positively associated with brain network segregation. At the system level, age was associated with segregation of systems involved in attention from those involved in abstract cognition, and with integration among attentional and perceptual systems. Associations between age and functional connectivity are most pronounced in visual and medial prefrontal cortex, the two ends of a gradient from perceptual, externally oriented cortex to abstract, internally oriented cortex. These findings suggest that both ends of the sensory-association gradient may develop early, in contrast to the classical theories that cortical maturation proceeds from back to front, with sensory areas developing first and association areas developing last. More mature patterns of brain network architecture, controlling for age, were associated with better visuospatial reasoning abilities. Our results suggest that as cortical architecture becomes more specialized, children become more able to reason about the world and their place in it.

   SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTAnthropologists have called the transition from early to middle childhood the “age of reason”, when children across cultures become more independent. We employ cutting-edge neuroimaging acquisition and analysis approaches to investigate associations between age and functional brain architecture in childhood. Age was positively associated with segregation between cortical systems that process the external world and those that process abstract phenomena like the past, future, and minds of others. Surprisingly, we observed pronounced development at both ends of the sensory-association gradient, challenging the theory that sensory areas develop first and association areas develop last. Our results open new directions for research into how brains reorganize to support rapid gains in cognitive and socioemotional skills as children reach the age of reason.

    

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3. FTO variation and early frontostriatal brain development in children

   https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.23926  

   Thapaliya, Gita ; Kundu, Poorbita ; Jansen, Elena ; Naymik, Marcus A. ; Lee, Richard ; Bruchhage, Muriel Marisa Katharina ; D'Sa, Viren ; Huentelman, Matthew J. ; Lewis, Candace R. ; Müller, Hans‐Georg ; et al ( October 2023 , Obesity)

   Common obesity‐associated genetic variants at the fat mass and obesity‐associated (FTO) locus have been associated with appetitive behaviors and altered structure and function of frontostriatal brain regions. The authors aimed to investigate the influence ofFTOvariation on frontostriatal appetite circuits in early life.

   Data were drawn from RESONANCE, a longitudinal study of early brain development. Growth trajectories of nucleus accumbens and frontal lobe volumes, as well as total gray matter and white matter volume, by risk allele (AA) carrier status onFTOsingle‐nucleotide polymorphism rs9939609 were examined in 228 children (102 female, 126 male) using magnetic resonance imaging assessments obtained from infancy through middle childhood. The authors fit functional concurrent regression models with brain volume outcomes over age as functional responses, andFTOgenotype, sex, BMIzscore, and maternal education were included as predictors.

   Bootstrap pointwise 95% CI for regression coefficient functions in the functional concurrent regression models showed that the AA group versus the group with no risk allele (TT) had greater nucleus accumbens volume (adjusted for total brain volume) in the interval of 750 to 2250 days (2–6 years).

   These findings suggest that common genetic risk for obesity is associated with differences in early development of brain reward circuitry and argue for investigating dynamic relationships among genotype, brain, behavior, and weight throughout development.

    

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4. Influence of a Socially Assistive Robot on Physical Activity, Social Play Behavior, and Toy-Use Behaviors of Children in a Free Play Environment: A Within-Subjects Study

   https://doi.org/10.3389/frobt.2021.768642  

   Raja Vora, Joseline ; Helmi, Ameer ; Zhan, Christine ; Olivares, Eliora ; Vu, Tina ; Wilkey, Marie ; Noregaard, Samantha ; Fitter, Naomi T. ; Logan, Samuel W. ( November 2021 , Frontiers in Robotics and AI)

   Background: Play is critical for children’s physical, cognitive, and social development. Technology-based toys like robots are especially of interest to children. This pilot study explores the affordances of the play area provided by developmentally appropriate toys and a mobile socially assistive robot (SAR). The objective of this study is to assess the role of the SAR on physical activity, play behavior, and toy-use behavior of children during free play. Methods: Six children (5 females, M age = 3.6 ± 1.9 years) participated in the majority of our pilot study’s seven 30-minute-long weekly play sessions (4 baseline and 3 intervention). During baseline sessions, the SAR was powered off. During intervention sessions, the SAR was teleoperated to move in the play area and offered rewards of lights, sounds, and bubbles to children. Thirty-minute videos of the play sessions were annotated using a momentary time sampling observation system. Mean percentage of time spent in behaviors of interest in baseline and intervention sessions were calculated. Paired-Wilcoxon signed rank tests were conducted to assess differences between baseline and intervention sessions. Results: There was a significant increase in children’s standing (∼15%; Z = −2.09; p = 0.037) and a tendency for less time sitting (∼19%; Z = −1.89; p = 0.059) in the intervention phase as compared to the baseline phase. There was also a significant decrease (∼4.5%, Z = −2.70; p = 0.007) in peer interaction play and a tendency for greater (∼4.5%, Z = −1.89; p = 0.059) interaction with adults in the intervention phase as compared to the baseline phase. There was a significant increase in children’s interaction with the robot (∼11.5%, Z = −2.52; p = 0.012) in the intervention phase as compared to the baseline phase. Conclusion: These results may indicate that a mobile SAR provides affordances through rewards that elicit children’s interaction with the SAR and more time standing in free play. This pilot study lays a foundation for exploring the role of SARs in inclusive play environments for children with and without mobility disabilities in real-world settings like day-care centers and preschools. 

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5. Changes in frontal and posterior cortical activity underlie the early emergence of executive function

   https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12602  

   Buss, Aaron T. ; Spencer, John P. ( September 2017 , Developmental Science)

   Executive function (EF) is a key cognitive process that emerges in early childhood and facilitates children's ability to control their own behavior. Individual differences inEFskills early in life are predictive of quality‐of‐life outcomes 30 years later (Moffitt et al., 2011). What changes in the brain give rise to this critical cognitive ability? Traditionally, frontal cortex growth is thought to underlie changes in cognitive control (Bunge & Zelazo, 2006; Moriguchi & Hiraki, 2009). However, more recent data highlight the importance of long‐range cortical interactions between frontal and posterior brain regions. Here, we test the hypothesis that developmental changes inEFskills reflect changes in how posterior and frontal brain regions work together. Results show that children who fail a “hard” version of anEFtask and who are thought to have an immature frontal cortex, show robust frontal activity in an “easy” version of the task. We show how this effect can arise via posterior brain regions that provide on‐the‐job training for the frontal cortex, effectively teaching the frontal cortex adaptive patterns of brain activity on “easy”EFtasks. In this case, frontal cortex activation can be seen as both the cause and the consequence of rule switching. Results also show that older children have differential posterior cortical activation on “easy” and “hard” tasks that reflects continued refinement of brain networks even in skilled children. These data set the stage for new training programs to foster the development ofEFskills in at‐risk children.

    

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