The Windward Institute continues to move forward with its partnership with the Haskins Global Literacy Hub in its multi-year research project, Predicting Literacy Outcomes at The Windward School (PLOW). The longitudinal study is entering its third year, focusing on in-school research to better understand which instructional strategies work best for which students, a critical step in moving toward individualized brain-based instructional programs.  

The Windward students, known as Junior Scientists, participating in the study are asked to perform behavioral assessments, which analyze their reading and language skills over the course of their instruction at The Windward School. Brain imaging from electroencephalography (EEG) testing is another tool that provides Haskins researchers with a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms of speech and print processing for children with language-based learning disabilities to help identify new biomarkers of response to intervention. 

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, EEG data was not collected during the 2020-21 school year due to COVID-19 restrictions, but other behavioral measures were collected on a virtual platform giving the research team another interesting data component to consider. Full EEG data collection resumed, along with the behavioral assessments, on-site at Windward’s campuses in October 2021. 

Meet the PLOW Research Study Team 

Haskins Laboratories Members 

• Nicole Landi, Director of EEG Research and Principal Investigator 
• Daniel Kleinman, Research Scientist 
• Nikole Parrilla, Research Associate