Skip to main content

Research

About the Early Learning and Development Lab

Lab director: Dr. Rufan Luo

Focus: In the Early Learning and Development Lab, we work with young children, families, and teachers from diverse backgrounds. Our research focuses on language and cognitive development, language interaction, home learning environment, and sociocultural and ecological contexts. We also conduct applied work through developing community-based, early language interventions and language assessment tools.

Getting involved: If you are interested in working in the lab, please contact Dr. Rufan Luo at rufan.luo@rutgers.edu

Research Areas and Selected Publications

Early home learning environment in sociocultural context

Each family is different. What are the sources of variation in early home learning environment? How do parents support their children’s learning in culture-specific ways? I conduct indigenous and cross-cultural studies to answer these questions through a sociocultural and ecological lens.

  • Luo, R., Tamis-LeMonda, C. S, & Mendelsohn A. (2020). Predictors and consequences of children’s literacy experiences in low-income families: The contents of books matter. Reading Research Quarterly, 55(2): 213-234.
  • Luo, R. & Tamis-LeMonda, C. S. (2019). Preschool book-sharing and oral storytelling experiences in ethnically diverse, low-income families. Early Child Development and Care. 189(10), 1602-1619
  • Luo, R., Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., Kuchirko, Y., Ng, F. F., & Liang, E. (2014). Mother-child book-sharing and children’s storytelling skills in ethnically diverse, low-income families. Infant and Child Development, 23(4), 402-425.
  • Luo, R., Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., & Song, L. (2013). Chinese parents’ goals and practices in early childhood. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 28, 843-857. 

Early home learning experiences predicting later school-related skills

A key aim of my work is to understand ways to best support children’s language and academic development in the home context. I examine children’s early home learning environments (i.e., learning materials, learning activities, and quality of parent-child interactions) in relation to early language skills, school readiness, and academic achievement.

  • Luo, R., Masek, L. R.*, Alper, R. M., & Hirsh-Pasek, K. (2022). Maternal question use and child language outcomes: The moderating role of children’s vocabulary skills and socioeconomic status. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 59(2), 109-120.
  • Levine, D., Pace, A., Luo, R., Hirsh-Pasek, K., Golinkoff, R. M., de Villiers, J., Iglesias, A., & Wilson, M. S. (2020). Evaluating socioeconomic gaps in preschoolers’ vocabulary, syntax, and language process skills with the Quick Interactive Language Screener (QUILS). Early Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 50: 114-128.
  • Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., Luo, R., Bandel, E., Vallontton, C., & McFadden, K. (2019). Early home learning environment predicts children’s 5th grade academic skills. Applied Developmental Science, 23(2), 153-169.
  • Pace, A, Luo, R., Hirsh-Pasek, K., & Golinkoff, R. (2017). Identifying pathways between socioeconomic status and language development. Annual Review of Linguistics, 3(1), 285-308.

Dual language learners

Dual language learners are children who are exposed to more than one language early on. Does knowledge in one language help children learn the other language? Do parents change their dual language input as children transition from home to school? How does children’s home language environment relate to their learning in the classroom? I work with Spanish-English and Chinese-English dual language learners to answer these questions.

  • Luo, R., Song, L., Villacis,*, & Santiago-Bonilla, G. (2021). Parental beliefs and knowledge, parenting practices, and child school readiness: The dual language perspective. Frontiers in Psychology. doi:org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.661208
  • Luo, R., Pace A., Levine, D.*, Golinkoff, R. M., de Villiers J., Hirsh-Pasek K., Iglesias A., & Wilson, M. S. (2021). Home literacy environment and existing knowledge mediate the link between socioeconomic status and language learning skills in dual language learners. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 55(2): 1-14.
  • Pace A., Luo, R. (co-first author), Golinkoff, R. M., de Villiers J., Hirsh-Pasek K., Iglesias A., & Wilson, M. S. (2021). Within and Across Language Predictors of Word Learning Processes in Dual Language Learners. Child Development. 92(1): 35-53.
  • Luo, R., Escobar, K., & Tamis-LeMonda, C. S. (2020). Heterogeneity in the trajectories of US Latine mothers’ dual-language input from infancy to preschool. First Language, 40(3): 275-299
  • Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., Song, L., Luo, R., Kuchirko, Y., Kahana-Kalman, R., Yoshikawa, H., & Raufman, J. (2014). Children’s language growth in Spanish and English across early development: Associations to school readiness. Developmental Neuropsychology, 39(2), 69-87.

Early language intervention: The Duet project

My colleagues at Temple University (Drs. Rebecca Alper and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek) and I developed an early language intervention, called The Duet Project, to improve the quality of parent-child interaction in high-risk families. The Duet project bridges rigorous science with culturally sensitive, community-based practice using Community-Based, Participatory Research (CBPR). We have received a new grant from the William Penn Foundation to develop Duet 2.0, which will support families from diverse linguistic backgrounds through a light touch, public health model.

  • Luo, R., Alper, R.(co-first author), Hirsh-Pasek, K., Mogul, M., Chen, Y.*, Masek, L.*, Paterson S., Pace, A., Adamson, L., Bakeman, R., Golinkoff, R., & Owen, M. (2019). Community-based, caregiver-implemented early language intervention in high-risk families: Lessons learned. Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action, 13(3), 283-291.
  • Rumper, B., Alper, R., Jaen, J., Masek, L.*, Luo, R., Blinkoff, E.*, Mogul, M., Golinkoff, R., Hirsh-Pasek, K. (2021). Beyond translation: Caregiver collaboration in adapting an early language intervention. Frontiers in Education. doi:org/10.3389/feduc.2021.660166