Current Research:

Social Cognition in Adolescents and Young Adults

Funded by the SSHRC Research Grants Sub-Committee, Trent University.

The main goal of this project is to investigate cognitive and affective factors associated with social cognition in late adolescence and early adulthood.

• Primary Investigator: Nancie Im-Bolter

Development of Test of Higher Order Language

Funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)

This main objective of this research is to develop, refine, and pilot test-items for a test of higher order language. The long-term goals of this project is to create a modern, standardized, and developmentally sensitive Test of Higher Order Language that can be administered in both computerized and paper-based formats and used as a large scale community screening tool. The test will reliably assess the early markers of higher order language comprehension and be used from preschool to adolescence. As a result, this measure should be an important tool for clinicians and researchers in developmental psychology and psychopathology, education, and neuropsychology.

• Primary Investigator: Fataneh Farnia, University of Toronto and OISE/UT
• Co-Investigators: Nancie Im-Bolter, Trent University; Nancy J. Cohen, University of Toronto; Esther Geva, OISE/UT

Number without Language? Developmental Pathways Among Language, Numeracy, and Executive Function

Funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)

This research examines the complex relationships between, and antecedents of, language and math learning by focusing on preschool and early school-aged children's cognition. This knowledge will help identify the skills and processes that are critical for language and math success, which will support improved educational assessment and intervention of children at risk for, or already experiencing, language or math difficulties. This is important because early interventions can actively close learning gaps. In addition, findings from this study will assist researchers and educators in developing curricula that maximize high quality language and math experiences and instruction in the early years.

• Primary Investigator: Nancie Im-Bolter
• Co-Investigators: Alba Agostino, Trent University; Cathy Bruce, School of Education and Professional Learning, Trent University; Fataneh Farnia, University of Toronto and OISE/UT; Brenda Smith-Chant, Trent University

Language, Executive Function, and Social Cognition in Children with Epilepsy

Funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)

http://trentepilepsyresearch.weebly.com/

• Primary Investigator: Nancie Im-Bolter

TalkAbility™: Building Social Cognitive Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)

Funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Grants Sub-Committee, Trent University.

In collaboration with The Hanen Centre

There is great interest in determining whether programs designed to target social cognitive skills (such as social interaction and communication skills) in children with ASD are effective and can provide these children with the tools necessary to navigate the social world. The goal of this program evaluation is to examine a range of child (e.g., language, executive function) and parent factors (e.g., parental stress, efficacy) that may mediate or moderate the efficacy of the TalkAbility™ program on both child (e.g., theory of mind, social competence) and parent (e.g., parental responsivity and competence) outcomes.

• Primary Investigator: Nancie Im-Bolter

11 Years Later: Academic Achievement and Peer Relationships of Children Adopted from China

Funded by SSHRC

• Primary Investigator: Nancy J. Cohen, University of Toronto
• Co-Investigators: Fataneh Farnia, University of Toronto and OISE/UT; Nancie Im-Bolter, Trent University.

The Relationship between Language and Literacy: Examining Models of Development

Funded by SSHRC and the Canadian Language and Literacy Network (CLLRNet).

• Primary Investigator: Nancie Im-Bolter
• Co-Investigators: Nancy J. Cohen and Fataneh Farnia, University of Toronto.

Closing the Gap: Toward an Integrative Model of Language, Cognition, and Psychiatric Disorder in Adolescence. 

Funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and The Provincial Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health at CHEO.

• Primary Investigator: Nancy J. Cohen, University of Toronto.
• Co-Investigators: Nancie Im-Bolter, Trent University; Zohreh Yaghoub Zadeh, Canadian Council on Learning; Marshall Korenblum, Sunnybrook Medical Centre, University of Toronto.

Figurative Language and Social Problem Solving in Children with Language Impairments

Funded by the SSHRC Research Grants Sub-Committee, Trent University.

• Primary Investigator: Nancie Im-Bolter

 

 

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