How to build and keep a memory
a cardboard cloud dangling from the ceiling. A mother and her young child share the experience of building the structure while a remote camera captures images of their activity. Their answers to a series of questions about the experience are recorded. When they return home, mother and child log onto a Web site where they can view the photos and listen to their oral narrative. They are among the thousands of people who
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have participated in the award-winning Skyline exhibit at the Chicago Children’s Museum, which is designed for children and their caregivers to work together on an activity while simultane- ously reflecting on their experience, then later sharing their memories. Behind the scenes, the process is being
studied by Catherine A. Haden, PhD, director of the Children’s Memory Study at Loyola. Haden, an associate professor of psychology, con- ducts research on how preschool-age children (3–5 years old) form memories and how their memories can be enhanced through conversa- tions and by reviewing photographs and audio files of their experiences. So far, research shows that if preschoolers retain memories of learning experiences and can relate personal stories of those events, their literacy skills improve. And, in the case of activities such as the Skyline exhibit, those children show an enhanced understand- ing of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. “Our sense of self-worth and our ability to
learn is shaped in part by our memories,” Haden says. Haden has been interested in developmen-
tal psychology for more than two decades and earned her master’s degree and doctorate in that subject at Emory University. She established the Children’s Memory Study at Loyola in 1997. Haden began her research by creating learn-
ing experiences in people’s homes, using props and inventing make-believe “events” such as camping trips, bird watching, and pirate adven- tures. For example, a child and parent might don outdoor clothing and sit in a tent and pretend to
he miniature skyscraper, built with brightly colored wood and plastic materi- als, stretches skyward, nearly touching
Abol Jalilvand, PhD
Jack Wall, PhD
Two deans to step down Abol Jalilvand, PhD, dean of the School of
Business Administration, and Jack Wall, PhD, dean of the School of Social Work, will step down in the coming months. Following an administrative leave in fall
A father and son work together to build a structure at the Chicago Children’s Museum as part of an exhibit being studied by Catherine Haden, PhD.
be on a camping trip. Two Chicago museums then invited Haden to
conduct research in their interactive children’s exhibits. Besides observing children and caregiv- ers build skyscrapers at the Chicago Children’s Museum, Haden watched them play with and learn about fossils and artifacts at the South- western Pueblo and Plaza exhibit at the Field Museum. While the observation
Catherine Haden, PhD
opportunities are helpful for Haden’s research, the museums also benefit. “Dr. Haden’s work allows us to look at how learning really works in a museum and allows us to offer programs that enhance the learning experience,” says
Tsivia Cohen, the Chicago Children’s Museum’s director of family learning initiatives. In addition to enriching children’s learning
experiences, and helping parents and educators understand that process, Haden has inspired a new generation of developmental psychologists. Consider Erin Wilkerson, 26, a research assistant who is working on her doctorate in developmen- tal psychology at Loyola. “The work has been incredibly valuable,” Wilk-
erson says. “We’re only one of a few psychology labs doing this kind of work, and one of the very few doing this work in local museums. I feel very blessed to be a part of this.”
2011, Jalilvand expects to return to teaching and research responsibilities in the SBA where he will occupy the Ralph Marotta Professorship in Free Enterprise. Wall will be on leave during the spring 2011 semester and intends to return to the school as professor of social work in the fall of 2011. Kevin Gillespie, S.J., the associate provost, will serve as interim dean of the School of Social Work, effective January 1, 2011. Loyola is grateful to both Jalilvand
and Wall for their leadership and accomplishments in their respective tenures as dean. Searches are under way for both positions.
LUHS vs. HIV
Loyola researchers have identified the key components of a protein called TRIM5a that destroys HIV in rhesus monkeys. The finding could lead to new TRIM5a-based treatments that would knock out HIV in humans, said senior researcher Edward M. Campbell, PhD, of Loyola University Health System. In 2004, other researchers reported that TRIM5a protects rhesus monkeys from HIV, but the human version of TRIM5a does not protect against HIV. Now Loyola researchers have identified six individual amino acids that are critical in the ability of the protein to inhibit viral infection. A better understanding of the underlying mechanism might enable the development of drugs that mimic the virus- destroying actions of TRIM5a.
FALL / WINT ER 2010
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