The Psychobiology of Language and Literacy: Understanding the Scope of Research Within CLLRNet

1
Réseau canadien de recherche sur le langage et
lalphabétisation CANADIAN LANGUAGE LITERACY
RESEARCH NETWORK
The Psycho-biology of Language and Literacy
Understanding the Scope of Research Within
CLLRNet Robert V. Harrison, Theme I Leader,
CLLRNet
Presented at the Annual Network Conference June
16-19 2004, Montreal, QC
START HERE If your general mindset is
behavioural/cognitive Go Right If your general
mindset is biological Go Left
CLLRNet is a multidisciplinary organization
offering a unique opportunity to understand more
about language and literacy development. One
useful approach in understanding complex
behaviour is scientific reductionism. This means
looking at successively lower levels of
organization to identify the basic mechanisms
which are causal or contributory to language and
literacy problems.
CLLRNet is a multidisciplinary organization
offering a unique opportunity to understand more
about language and literacy development. Basic
biological principals, from protein organization
to neural development and brain plasticity are
the building blocks of all behaviour. How does
your work impact on higher order brain function
relating to language and literacy?
Theme I Biological Factors The goal of Theme I
is to understand more fully the basic
developmental neural processes that provide the
substrate for all the higher level mechanisms
that culminate in language and literacy behaviour.
Theme II Sensory Processes and Environment The
goals of Theme II are to address such issues as
1) the early detection of, and improved
intervention programs for, children with hearing
and vision deficits 2) the improved
understanding of central auditory, visual and
cognitive processes which affect the acquisition
of language and reading skills and 3) the
contribution of environment factors, such as the
acoustical conditions in classrooms, on learning.
Theme III Language The goals of Theme III are 1)
to expand knowledge of the relationships between
children's skills in the areas of auditory
processing, oral language, and literacy 2) to
identify ways to facilitate the development of
oral language skills and 3) to find ways to
identify, and intervene effectively with,
children who are at risk for delayed or
disordered language development.
Theme IV Literacy The goals of Theme IV are 1)
to better understand and measure literacy
development and 2) to apply this knowledge to
ensure that all children will have the
opportunity, through literacy, to participate
fully in, and contribute actively to, Canadian
society and culture.
Theme V Social, Economic and Program
Influences The goal of Theme V is to better
understand the contexts in which language and
literacy occur and how to maximize the potential
for children and their communities to become
fluent and literate.
To make a difference, members of all themes
strive to influence or change policy and practice
to improve on language and literacy skills.
Partners Partners, in public and private sectors
are an important component in the outreach and
education goals of CLLRNet.
OUTREACH EDUCATION
MAKING THINGS HAPPEN !!!
Understanding brain development -
Identification and improved diagnosis of causes
- Evidence based therapy -
Promoting early childhood health/education -
Improving literacy
Partager la science. Éveiller les esprits. ?
sharing the science. opening minds.