National Science Foundation Awards $12 Million Grant To Temporal Dynamics Of Learning Center
Dr. Paula Tallal, a co-founder of Scientific Learning Corp., is part of the team to receive funding for research on how to improve learning and teaching
11/04/2008
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Oakland, Calif. - Nov. 4, 2008 - The Temporal Dynamics of Learning Center (TDLC), one of six National Science Foundation Science of Learning Centers, has been awarded
$12 million by the National Science Foundation to expand its important work studying the role of time and timing in learning. Scientific Learning Corp. (NASDAQ:SCIL) is one of three corporate partners in the TDLC.
The grant award comprises the second round of funding for the TDLC, founded at the University of California San Diego in 2006. Over the next three years, the Center will use the new funding to expand research on the role of time and timing in learning, and disseminate practical applications of the findings to improve classroom practices. The TDLC integrates its research and educational mission through the Education Outreach Center, which is co-directed by Dr. Paula Tallal, a co-founder of Scientific Learning and an internationally recognized cognitive neuroscientist, and Terry Sejnowski from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.
As the co-creator of the Scientific Learning Fast ForWord® family of reading intervention products, and a Board of Governors professor of neuroscience at Rutgers University, Tallal is an expert on the role that timing plays in learning. "Before our work at the center, the role of timing in learning had been a little-studied aspect of how the brain learns and facilitates everyday activities, but timing has proven to be an essential element for effective functioning," said Tallal. "For example, the speed of auditory processing, which is the ability to differentiate sounds that make up words and hear the differences between words, is a timing factor and is crucial to learning, reading and speech. Information like this will enable educators to modify their instructional practices in order to effectively increase knowledge retention and mastery of skills."
Tallal and her Rutgers University team form part of the TDLC collaborative network of interdisciplinary groups comprising more than 40 scientists from UC San Diego, Vanderbilt University, and other American and international institutions. The researchers cover fields such as machine learning, cognitive science, neuroscience, psychology, and robotics. In addition to the partner universities and research institutes, the TDLC has several educational and corporate partners, including Scientific Learning.
"This new round of funding is a gratifying recognition of the work we have done so far," said Tallal. "Simultaneous experiments among TDLC researchers, and exchanges with teachers about their current instructional processes, have brought a more integrated understanding of how timing contributes to learning. We've already begun sharing with teachers, parents and the general public new information on how the brain learns and how this new knowledge can benefit academic instruction and performance. We look forward to contributing even more in the future."
About Dr. Paula A. Tallal
Paula Tallal, Ph.D., is a world-renowned authority and leading researcher in language and literacy development. She is a cognitive neuroscientist and board-certified clinical psychologist who has authored over 200 professional publications, holds several patents, and recently earned the Thomas Alva Edison Patent Prize for her work leading to the development of Fast ForWord.
Dr. Tallal is a Board of Governor's professor of neuroscience at Rutgers University in Newark, N.J., where she helped found (and currently co-directs) the Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience. She is an active participant in many scientific advisory boards and has served on governmental committees for both developmental language disorders and learning disabilities. Dr. Tallal received her bachelor's degree from NYU and her Ph.D. from Cambridge, and did additional research training at The Johns Hopkins University. She has also held academic positions at the University of California at San Diego, Johns Hopkins, and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
In 1996, Dr. Tallal co-founded Scientific Learning Corp. and helped develop Fast ForWord, the company's flagship product. She still serves on the company's board of directors.
About Scientific Learning Corp.
Scientific Learning creates educational software that accelerates learning by improving the processing efficiency of the brain. Based on more than 30 years of neuroscience and cognitive research, the Fast ForWord® family of products provides struggling readers with computer-delivered exercises that build the cognitive skills required to read and learn effectively. Scientific Learning Reading AssistantTM combines advanced speech recognition technology with scientifically-based courseware to help students strengthen fluency, vocabulary and comprehension to become proficient, life-long readers. The efficacy of the products has been established by more than 550 research studies and publications. For more information, visit http://www.scilearn.com or call toll-free 888-452-7323.
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