Connecting the Science of Early Learning to Policy: Washington State Legislators Visit I-LABS

Just days before the Washington State Legislature was called into a special budget cutting session to address $1.4 billion state budget deficit, members of the Washington State Legislature and their staff visited I-LABS to learn about the importance of early childhood education and work of connecting the science with policy and practice.

During the joint I-LABS/Early Learning Action Alliance briefing, legislators delved into the cutting-edge science of infant brain development and its implications for early learning policy development in Washington State. The briefing also highlighted important new findings helping to create more effective and higher-quality early learning environments for our children, including:

· Quality of parent language used in book sharing relates to maturity rate of child's brain specialization, especially for families with socioeconomic risk.

· Quantity of language exposure in infancy relates to brain sensitivity for language in bilingual children, and for their vocabulary development.

· Live interaction stimulates infants' optimal brain responses compared to televised interactions.

· How much an infant follows an adult's eye gaze and uses gestures predicts their language as a toddler.

• Category

  Education

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