News from The OpenEYE Campaign

Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Ph.D:
'Playful learning and the devaluation of the word play in an achievement-oriented society'

Kathy is the Stanley and Debra Lefkowitz Professor in the Department of Psychology at Temple University, where she serves as Director of the Infant Language Laboratory and was the recipient of the Great Teacher and the Eberman Research Awards. Her research in the areas of early language development and infant cognition has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health and Human Development resulting in 11 books and over 100 publications. She has just received an Award for Distinguished Service from the American Psychological Association for her work on translational science.

She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the American Psychological Society, served as the Associate Editor of Child Development and is treasurer of the International Association for Infant Studies. Her book, Einstein Never used Flashcards: How children really learn and why they need to play more and memorize less, (Rodale Books) won the prestigious Books for Better Life Award as the best psychology book in 2003.

Kathy has a strong interest in bridging the gap between research and application. To that end, she served as an investigator on the NICHD Study of Early Child Care, is on the Advisory Board of the Alliance for Childhood, worked on the language and literacy team for the development of the California Preschool Curriculum, serves on the Advisory Board for CIVITAS and their Born Learning Series and is on the Research Council for America's Promise, an organization started by Colin Powell.

She has been a spokesperson on early development for national magazines and newspapers (The NY Times, People, US News & World Report, Newsweek,Parent's Magazine, Parenting etc.) radio and television (The View, The Today Show. Good Morning America, 20/20, NPR, ABC News, CBS Morning Show), and is an advisor for Sesame Workshop, Fisher Price Toys, Highlights, K'NEX, The Cartoon Network, and a host of Children's Museums across North America. She is also the co-founder of An Ethical Start, a curricular program in moral development for children ages 3 through 5. This program, created for the Jewish Community Centers of North America was funded by Stephen Spielberg's Righteous Persons Foundation.

Dr Sebastian Suggate, Ph.D
'Early reading instruction: does it really improve reading in the long term?'

A researcher in psychology, Dr Sebastian Suggate, now based at the University of Würzburg in Germany, has conducted extensive research into the impact of early reading. Comparing children starting at age five with those beginning at age seven, he argues that there is no sound evidence to suggest that an earlier beginning will translate into long-term advantage.

His research findings have attracted widespread media interest, including in the United Kingdom, and has featured on New Zealand national television, radio, and newspaper networks. He has lectured in developmental psychology and in 2009 his PhD thesis was placed on the University of Otago's list of exceptional theses. He is currently pursuing his research interests after being awarded a research fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt foundation.

The UK Government has long claimed that its approach to early years learning is based on sound scientific evidence and is supported by most experts. Dr Suggate suggests that this position neither accurately reflects the evidence, nor empirically supports conceptions of reading development.

Professor Lilian Katz. Ph.D
'Engaging Children's Minds and Hearts'

Lilian G. Katz, a graduate of Stanford University (Ph.D.-1968), is an international leader in early childhood education and is well known as an inspirational speaker in the field. She taught at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for more than three decades-from 1968 until the year 2000, as well as directing the ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education (ERIC/EECE) for more than 30 years.

She has lectured in all 50 U.S. states and in 43 countries, and she has held visiting posts at universities in Australia, Canada, England, Germany, India, Israel, the West Indies (Barbados campus), and many parts of the United States. In 1997, she served as Nehru Professor at the University of Baroda in India.

She also was one of the founders of the Illinois Association for the Education of Young Children and served as its first president. In addition, she served as vice president of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) from 1986 to 1990 and later was elected president of NAEYC, serving from 1992-1994.

Dr. Katz has authored more than 150 publications, including articles, chapters, and books about early childhood education, teacher education, child development, and parenting. She wrote a monthly column for several years for Parents Magazine on parenting 3- and 4-year-olds. Dr. Katz founded two journals: Early Childhood Research Quarterly and Early Childhood Research & Practice(http://ecrp.uiuc.edu), which began publication in early 1999 as the first peer-reviewed, Internet-only, journal in early education, and recently became fully bilingual.

Dr. Katz is currently Principal Investigator for the Illinois Early Learning Project and lectures and consults around the world.

Dr. Aric Sigman, Ph.D
'"We've moved on....but have our children?" screen-based technology in the early years'

Dr Aric Sigman's new book 'The Spoilt Generation', has just been published. His previous book 'Remotely Controlled: How Television is Damaging Our Lives', and his health and psychology book 'Getting Physical' won The Times Educational Supplement's Information Book Award.

Dr Sigman has worked on health education campaigns with the Department of Health and acted as advisor to the Institute of Personnel Management on health and psychology issues. He conducts seminars and public speaking. He currently gives talks to schools and parents on the effects of alcohol and other health issues, and he has recently written the Brain and Behaviour column for The Times Educational Supplement magazine.

In addition, Dr Sigman, who is an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, a Fellow of the Society of Biology, a recipient of the Chartered Scientist award from the Science Council and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, has published scientific papers. Well Connected?: The Biological Implications of 'Social Networking', is published in the Spring edition of Biologist, Vol 56(1), the journal of the Institute of Biology.

His previous paper on the biological effects associated with watching television, published in the science journal Biologist, and his talk at the Houses of Parliament, caused widespread public debate. Dr Sigman has also written and presented scientific documentaries for BBC1 and Radio 4 on the scientific basis of faith; the biology of hypnosis; and on the effects of too much choice, and for Dispatches on Channel 4 on the hidden detrimental effects of modern dieting. Dr Sigman travels abroad frequently to observe various cultures including Bhutan, North Korea, Mali, Borneo, Tonga, Myanmar, Laos, Iran, Vietnam, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Far Eastern Siberia, Sumatra, South Korea, Cambodia and others.