Welcome to the Science of Education and Early Development Lab!
The SEED Lab at Lake Forest College studies children's cognitive development, with a focus on how children think, learn, and develop in their complex, dynamic, everyday settings. We use the methods and tools of cognitive science to explore the basic mechanisms of children’s development in context. We also examine socialization and teaching practices that parents and teachers can use when making real-world decisions regarding how to present information to children in formal and informal learning environments. The SEED Laboratory is directed by Professor Elayne Vollman.
Studying Development in Diverse Contexts using Diverse Methodologies
In this lab, we use a range of methodologies to study children across diverse settings. We examine children in the lab, in their everyday home environments, and in mathematics classrooms. We use experiments, video-based studies of naturally occurring learning interactions, cross-cultural comparisons, and longitudinal data analysis. We believe that examining children in their naturalistic contexts will provide rich insight into the mechanisms that support cognitive development.
Work from the SEED has applied and practical focus, with implications for parents, teachers and children in the US and abroad. This work has been translated to different languages to expand the scope of impact and it is accessible to a diverse body of readers (i.e., parents, teachers, stakeholders).
If you are interested in joining the SEED lab or have further inquiries, please reach out to Prof Elayne Vollman at evollman@lakeforest.edu.