Rutgers
Early Learning Project
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Department of
Psychology, Busch Campus
152 Frelinghuysen Rd. Piscataway, New Jersey 08854-8020 · (732) 445-4819
Dear Baby and Parents,
We invite you to participate in one of the studies
conducted by the Rutgers Early Learning Project. This project is funded by the National Institute of
Health. Its goal is to document
the normal course of learning and memory during the first 2 years of life. Our work is known the world over and
has been featured in most child development texts, in popular magazines (e.g., Parents,
American Health, American Baby, Good Housekeeping, Life),
and on TV shows in this country (e.g., PBS’s “Childhood” series, CNN’s “Science
Watch,” with Connie Chung, and “Eyewitness News” with Joyce Brothers), Great
Britain, Canada, and Japan.
All of our studies take place right in
your home because we’ve found
that babies are most comfortable and at their best at home. We usually teach your baby one of three
different games. Babies who are 2,
3, or 6 months old play the mobile game. Here, we string a ribbon from a colorful mobile to the
baby’s ankle so that kicking sets the mobile in motion. (When babies discover that they can
control the mobile, they often smile, coo, and even belly-laugh!) Babies between 6 and 18 months of age
play the train game or the puppet imitation game. In the train game, the baby learns to
push a lever to move a miniature train around a circular track strewn with
toys. In the puppet game, the baby
is shown how to take a mitten off a fuzzy hand-puppet and ring a bell inside
the mitten by shaking it.
Most studies require 2-4 visits lasting 5-15
min each, depending on the study. During
the first visit or two, we teach your baby the game, and in the final visit, we
see what your baby still remembers about it. Sometimes, we wait until your baby has forgotten the game
and then return briefly (for only 102 min) before the final visit to see if we
can bring the memory back by merely showing your baby a reminder of the game.
Because we’re also interested in whether
verbal and motor abilities are related to memory development, we occasionally
ask parents to complete brief inventories (15-20 min) of their baby’s verbal
and motor skills. We ask your
permission to videotape the puppet game (and sometimes the mobile game) so that
we can score it later—we’re too busy playing with your baby to score it at the
same time! If you prefer that we do
not videotape, however, we can play another game instead.
For participating, your baby will receive an
official Certificate of Appreciation from Rutgers University (suitable for
framing!), and when the study is over, we will send you a report of the findings. (We do not report individual results,
so you will have to remember which group your baby was in!) Parents are usually amazed at how fast
their baby learns and how much the baby remembers—especially after a long
delay.
We are eager to visit at whatever time is
best for you and your baby, but we do not want to interfere with your baby’s
normal nap or feeding—babies do not want to play when they are tired or
hungry! We’ll come any time of the
day or night—early in the morning, in the evening, or even on weekends! We want to include working moms and
fathers or grandparents, if they want to watch.
If you would like more information about our
studies or would like your baby to participate in one of them, please return
the enclosed, postage-paid reply card or call us. (Please indicate what is the best time for us to call you on
the enclosed card.) We will answer
all of your questions and, hopefully, arrange a visit! We also invite you to visit our
website: http://earlylearning.rutgers.edu.
We hope to hear from you soon—this would be a
happy and important learning experience for both of you!
Sincerely,
Carolyn Rovee-Collier, Ph.D.
Project Director
(732) 445-4819