Jill Connor’s children have participated in approximately 30 studies at the University of Maryland’s Infant and Child Studies Program since moving to Greenbelt two years ago. When asked why she continues to enroll in research studies, Connor said, “I love learning. I want my kids to be comfortable with learning and college environments.” Connor’s mother was a psychology professor, and Connor would visit the classroom as a child and draw pictures. Her mother used these pictures to teach the class about child development. Connor said she remembers this fondly and wants her kids to have that experience as well.
The Infant and Child Studies Program was founded in 2005 at the University of Maryland to study how children learn and grow. The program has offices in the Linguistics, Psychology, Human Development and Hearing and Speech Sciences departments. Researchers are typically graduate students working on projects as part of their graduate curriculum, undergraduate students working on projects for research experience or as part of an honors thesis, volunteers or paid research assistants. Their research relies on volunteer participation from local families and has led to improvements in childhood literacy, cochlear implants and treatments for children with concussions, among other things.
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