All children deserve the best start in life and new scientific discoveries deepen our understanding of how to create the best environments for children. The team at I-LABS creates new and effective ways to bridge the gap between the science and the practice of learning by disseminating the latest science of child development. Our team shares the latest scientific discoveries in relevant and actionable ways with those who can best put it into practice: early learning professionals, parents, and policymakers. Partners use cutting-edge research to create evidence-based policies, practices, and programs that grow the next generation of lifelong learners.

This 20-minute Online module covers the following key points:

• From the first day of life, children watch others and imitate their actions to learn about the physical world and their culture.
• As they grow older, they can remember actions for longer (deferred imitation), and use them to navigate situations (generalizations).
• Children’s brains seem ready to imitate-studies have found similar changes in infants’ brain activity whether they are doing an activity or just watching it.