Some Frequently Asked Questions: |
Where exactly is the Children's Learning Lab? The CLL is located at the Boca Raton campus at FAU. We are on the first floor of the Behavioral Sciences building (Building 12). Please see the Directions page for driving directions from various popular routes in South Florida. How long does a session take? Generally, our studies last approximately 30 minutes from the time you park your car to the time the study is over. We like to leave a few minutes open so that your child can get used to the lab environment and get familiarized with members of our staff. What if my child doesn't like playing these games or watching the videos? At the CLL, we always let the children guide the way the study proceeds. If your child gets tired or fussy, or just doesn't want to play, we can always end the session early. Don't worry; this happens a lot and we completely understand when it does. In fact, many times, children's disinterest in activities helps us learn more about child development! I have another child with me. Do you provide childcare during the lab session? Yes. Members of our research staff will provide activities and care for your other children for the duration of the lab session. Will I be present during the study session with my child? Yes. You will always be with your child during the study session. You will either be seated in close proximity to your child or he/she will be seated on your lap. Will I be compensated for participating? Unfortunately, at this time, we cannot financially compensate you for participating in studies at the CLL. However, you will receive a certificate as a record of your visit. Many parents like to put these in a scrapbook or babybook, or post them in their homes. How can I find out how my child did in the study? We will make general study results available to parents through a newsletter on our lab website. Additionally, you may contact us find out how the studies are progressing. Importantly, we do not evaluate individual children's performances – children cannot "do well" or "do poorly" in our studies. We are simply interested in what kinds of behaviors children show in different types of study contexts. Every child might perform our tasks somewhat differently and that is just fine. We pool all of this data over large groups of children to come up with general patterns of behavior that are characteristic of the group. |
