Dr. Elena Levy
Dr. Elena Levy received her M.A. and Ph.D. in
Cognitive Psychology from the University of Chicago. Her current
research is concerned with the development of language and thought
in young children. A second area of interest is the coordination
of speech with gestures and other forms of nonverbal communication
to form a single, unified communication system. She is currently
collecting narrations of movies from children and adults of different
ages, looking at changes over time in how language is used to create
thematic summaries of the stories they tell. Many students from
her undergraduate classes are assisting her in this project.
Named Faculty of the Year in 1999-2000, Dr. Levy regularly teaches
the Psychology of Language (PSY 221), History and Systems of Psychology
(PSY 291) and important special seminars (PSY 295), such as Disorders
of Language and the Brain and the Development of Oral and Written
Language.
Dr. Levy encourages students to conduct research projects, both
in her classes and in one-on-one student contact. Examples of past
undergraduate research projects are: "The Development of Children's
Story-Telling Skills," "The Effect of Repeated Reproductions
on Verbal Summaries," "Phonemic Analysis of Readers-at-Risk,"
and "Promoting Sources of Motivation for Elementary School
Children."
Students combine research and direct experience working with learning-disabled
children in Dr. Levy's Directed Research Practicum program. In the
Reading Program, for example, students work in an elementary school
with children who are at risk for reading disabilities. In the Autism
Program, students work with children who have been diagnosed with
autistic spectrum disorders.
Sample publications:
Levy, E.T. and Fowler, C.A. (2000). A multichannel view of communication:
The grounding of language comprehension in perception. In D. McNeill
(Ed.),
Language and Gesture. Cambridge University Press.
Levy, E.T. (1999). A social-pragmatic account of the development
of planned discourse.
Human Development, 42, 225-246.
Fowler, C.A., Levy, E.T. & J.M. Brown (1997). Reductions of
spoken words in certain
discourse contexts. Journal of Memory and Language, 36.
Office: 3.47
Telephone: 203-251-8423
Email: elena.levy@uconn.edu
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