by Working out Meaning Study by New Jersey senior shows
inference is best strategy for toddlers Toddlers learn new words
more easily when they figure out the words' meaning for
themselves, research by a 22-year-old Johns Hopkins
undergraduate from Medford, N.J., Meredith Brinster's original
research, suggesting that learning words by inference is more
powerful for 3-year- olds than just being told their meaning, is
intriguing and may have important implications for the future of
teaching, her faculty adviser said. "One of the things that is
particularly exciting about the work Meredith is doing is its
potential to change the way we think about education and
learning," said Justin Halberda, assistant professor of
psychological and brain sciences at Johns Hopkins. Brinster's
work was funded by a Johns Hopkins Provost's Undergraduate
Research Award. One of about 45 PURA winners this academic year,
Brinster, a senior, will present the results of her research at
an awards ceremony held at Johns Hopkins on March 8.