Mentor: Dr. Christina der Nederlanden
Assistant Professor
Project Description
Music and language are two important forms of communication, however, when we think of reading texts for school courses, we very rarely think of doing that through song. Our ongoing research projects examine how folks who struggle with reading fluency, such as individuals with dyslexia, comprehend short texts when they are read aloud via text-to-speech or via text-to-song compared to reading silently. There is a large body of research suggesting that music can boost memory for information learned through song, but there is scant evidence examining whether music can be used as a tool for facilitating reading comprehension. Our project will examine which genres of music are best at facilitating reading comprehension, whether preferred genres or cultural music matched to the individuals’ preferences are most ideal for reading comprehension, or whether the benefit of text-to-song is specific to those with low reading fluency. A background in music is not necessary for this work, but an interest or enjoyment in music listening is an asset! In the LAMA Lab, we regularly program these behavioural studies using Matlab or Gorilla.sc, some of our studies also require neuroimaging via EEG which we have on site. We are a developmental lab, so while many studies examine these questions in young adults at the university, we regularly recruit children to participate in our work, especially early readers.
Mentorship Statement
My hope for this mentorship program is to support a student in developing their critical thinking and enthusiasm for psychological research. I mentor students through one-on-one meetings to discuss project goals and concrete steps to achieve those goals. However, students also learn best in an environment of teachers and learners, so a big part of mentorship comes from SROP students taking on the role of teaching in our lab meetings, interacting with student researchers. SROP students will also be given the chance to present their research at a local conference and, if they are keen on making a meaningful conceptual contribution to the project, I am happy to have student authors on the published manuscript. I am excited to be a part of the SROP program that provides high-level training and decent wages for doing this hard but rewarding work. I have enjoyed working with SROP students in the past and I still keep in touch with my first SROP to this day!