Developing Early Literacy Skills in Today’s Diverse Classrooms

Yuuko Uchikoshi is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at the University of California, Davis.  She received her Ed.D. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Human Development and Psychology with a concentration on Language and Literacy.  Dr. Uchikoshi’s research focuses on the language and literacy development of young children from linguistically, culturally, and economically diverse backgrounds.  Her research also examines the effects of instruction and parental involvement on the language and reading development of school-age children.

As the U.S. population becomes increasingly diverse, there has been a rise in the number of children who are dual language learners and English learners (DLLs/ELs).  In California, for example, on average, over 20% of public school children are DLLs/ELs.  However, closing the educational achievement and attainment gap between DLLs/ELs and monolingual English-speakers still remains a challenge in education.  In this talk, Dr. Uchikoshi will present her longstanding research on oral language and early literacy development in diverse populations including Spanish-English and Cantonese-English DLLs/ELs.  She will also discuss ongoing research projects including (1) a project examining the neurocognitive processes involved in literacy acquisition of monolingual and DLL children using behavioral and functional brain imaging, and (2) projects involving interventions where she works collaboratively with teachers and principals in the greater Bay Area.