This January, five Windward faculty members had the opportunity to visit their new colleagues at Haskins Laboratories in New Haven, CT to participate in an intensive EEG training session. The goal of the training at Haskins headquarters was to further enhance the direct connection between researchers and practitioners as well as reinforce the skills used for neuroscience data collection

After a previous workshop in the foundations of educational neuroscience and electroencephalogram (EEG) at Windward in August of 2019, this training at Haskins provided an in-depth, immersive experience for Windward faculty. Isabelle Soussou, a teacher at Westchester Middle School; Andrea Kaminsky, a teacher at Westchester Lower School; Emma Block, a teacher at Manhattan Middle School; Annie Stutzman, Assistant Director of The Windward Institute; and Danielle Scorrano, a teacher at Manhattan Middle School and Windward's research coordinator, represented Windward during the EEG training session. They will soon step into the roles as research assistants for the in-school research study, Predicting Literacy Outcomes at the Windward School, which is part of the Windward/ Haskins Laboratories Collaborative Project. These continuous training sessions are integral to the success of the in-school research study. Phase one of the study was completed in October, and the faculty research assistants will lead EEG data collection with Haskins scientists for the second round of data collection this spring. Reflecting upon the training, Ms. Soussou explained, “It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that strengthened my confidence in administering EEG testing and made me feel like a true team member in this research."

The training at Haskins provided the faculty with practical and hands-on experience in several aspects of the research process. Led by Vishakha Agrawal, Research Associate at Haskins Laboratories, the group reviewed EEG procedures including practicing equipment set-up, applying the EEG cap, and identifying proper brain signals for data collection. Later, Dan Kleinman, postdoctoral fellow at Haskins Laboratories, walked the Windward group through each step of EEG testing procedures in one of the testing labs to simulate the student’s experience during a testing session. “I appreciated learning the science behind the EEG testing experimentation,” Ms. Block stated. “It helped me better understand the purpose of the study and how to more effectively help our population of students in the long-run.”

The in-school research study, Predicting Literacy Outcomes at the Windward School, is a longitudinal study that is part of a larger collaborative in-school neuroscience project between The Windward School, Haskins Laboratories, and AIM Academy. The Windward School and Haskins Laboratories will continue to share expertise to translate research and practice as well as investigate important educational issues to benefit learners around the world.