Research summary
Early childhood (infancy to age 6) is a crucial period in a child’s development, and many researchers are paying attention to how children experience this period. Dr. Lorie-Marlène Brault Foisy, Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience for Early Childhood Education, is one of them.
Brault Foisy and her research team are seeking to deepen our knowledge of early childhood education using the relatively unexplored lens of cognitive neuroscience. They are characterizing the cognitive and cerebral processes involved in early learning tasks that are deemed particularly challenging, such as reading words and developing the building blocks of scientific reasoning. They are also interested in connecting brain data with behavioural data in educational settings. Lastly, they are working to develop educational interventions adapted to young children’s cognitive and cerebral functioning. Their research will help us understand more about how children learn and will uncover pathways for supporting educational interventions in early childhood.