Achievement

We conducted our first “J-Term Primers” during winter semester break. We conducted 7 short courses: (1) Hands-on computational modeling, (2) Hands-on statistical modeling in R, (3) Genetics crash course, (4) Language sampling [methods for collecting & quantifying natural language behavior], (5) Speech analysis using Praat, (6) Assessment [approaches from neuropsychology & communication disorders], (7) Neurophysiology [principles of fMRI and EEG/ERP]. We had 3 Professional Development Brownbags covering topics like preparing for the job market, how to get the most from conferences, and ethics across our component disciplines. We had 2 special events: a “dinner talk” by Investigator Coppola and a movie night where we watched “Project Nim”, which led to discussions of the ethics of research and communication in non-human species. The courses accelerated student and faculty learning in practical and theoretical domains, and the special events were effective in team- and morale-building.