Ohio State Marion Associate Professor of Psychology, Nikole Patson and Ohio State Professor of Psychology, Laura Wagner have been awarded a three-year, $382,631 Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site grant renewal from the National Science Foundation to continue the Language of Science and the Science of Language program at the Center for Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus, OH.
The REU Site takes place in the Language Sciences Research Lab at COSI, in which Ohio State faculty and students conduct cutting-edge work at the intersection of rigorous linguistic analysis, social interaction, and cognitive processing. Museum visitors are able to witness and learn about the studies in progress and are invited to join in the process as research participants. The REU site provides students with an integrated experience that trains students in both missions of the lab: how to conduct language science research and how to communicate with the public about science. Students experience classroom training in linguistics and psychology and in informal science education, research activities, and hand-on work on the museum floor engaging the public using interactive demonstrations of key language science concepts. The REU site expands the lab's undergraduate engagement from the Ohio State Columbus campus students to students from regional campuses and community colleges who might not otherwise be able to be involved
Students in the program will work with faculty mentors on language science research projects investigating how language is used in a social context, how children learn to use language in context, and how language understanding is integrated with other aspects of cognition, such as attention and memory. They will also learn how to explain complex scientific concepts to the general public in an engaging and accessible way. Training future researchers to communicate effectively is critical for maintaining a healthy long-term societal commitment to good science.
This is the program’s second renewal of the REU Site grant awarded to Laura Wagner (Psychology) and Kathryn Campbell-Kibler (Linguistics). Over the past six years, 80 students have successfully participated in the training, including three students from Marion: Kori Montgomery, Madeline Nicol, and Nathan Baker.