Bilingual Advantages in Memory Flexibility During Early Childhood

About the Presentation

Dr. Rachel Barr, PhD will discuss how bilingual exposure alters memory processing during infancy, as opposed to research focusing on perceptual processing during infancy and cognitive processing during early childhood.  Dr. Barr will also discuss the implications of the work for our understanding of how early environmental variations shape the trajectory of memory development and cognitive flexibility, and practical implications for early bilingual education. 

Learning Outcomes/Objectives

As a result of attending this lecture, participants will be able to:
1. Define crib bilinguals & the relevance of understanding early bilingual exposure in light of the bilingual school readiness gap.
2. Clarify the importance of memory flexibility during early childhood.
3. Illustrate how bilingual exposure alters developmental trajectories in memory development.
4. Discuss these research findings of bilingual advantages in memory flexibility in light of the bilingual achievement gap & implications for early education.

About Dr. Rachel Barr

Rachel Barr is an Associate Professor in the Dept of Psychology and is also a member of the Georgetown Early Learning Project at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.  Her area of expertise is on early memory and learning in bilingual children.  Her recent work has examined how bilingual exposure alters memory processing during infancy.  The Georgetown Early Learning Project has focused research on perceptual processing differences during infancy and cognitive processing differences during early childhood.   Dr. Barr will discuss the implications of her work to aide our understanding of how early environmental variations shape the trajectory of memory development and cognitive flexibility in bilingual children, and also provide practical implications for early bilingual education.