iLearn Study
The iLearn Study is a multi-site research project funded by the NIH and conducted at UConn and the University of Kansas. The study explores how learning and memory develop in infancy — and whether early learning is connected to a child’s thinking, language, and motor skills at age 2.
Information for Participants
This is a longitudinal study, meaning you and your baby will visit the CAP Lab five times: at 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months. Each visit takes about 30-45 minutes.
During the first four sessions, your baby will play two simple, engaging games designed to measure how infants learn in different situations. At the final visit, around your child’s second birthday, we’ll conduct a standard developmental assessment to understand how they think, talk, and move.
Our goal is to learn whether early learning patterns are connected to later development — and if so, how these insights could help identify developmental delays earlier. Since babies can’t always take standard assessments, these playful learning tools may offer a new way to detect early signs and support timely intervention.
This study was approved by the KU IRB (Protocol #STUDY00150699) and funded by NIH R01 HD109221 (J.A. Colombo & K. Cuevas, MPIs): Psychometrics and Predictive Validity of Infant Learning.
How do I join?
If your child meets the eligibility criteria, you can join our participant pool by completing the recruitment form. Joining the pool does not require you to participate, nor does it guarantee enrollment if eligibility is not confirmed. It simply allows us to contact you about your child’s potential participation.
Participate in Our Study!
We’re currently enrolling families who meet the criteria below. Participants receive a $25 gift card for each lab visit!
- Child aged 5-18 months old (you can sign up before your child ages into the study and we will reach out to you when they age in).
- No prenatal or birth complications.
- No known developmental or neurological conditions.
- Born no earlier than 37 weeks of gestation.
- Weighed at least 5 lbs 8oz at birth.
- Are able to visit one of our lab spaces (at UConn Waterbury or Storrs) for the sessions.
What Happens During a Visit?
Generally, each session only takes between 30 and 45 minutes to play our two games. During your first visit, we will start by going over the consent form and having you fill out a brief demographic questionnaire in our family room. Then we move on to the games!
Our first game is our “Looking Game” in which your baby watches abstract images pop up on the screen and we see which one they prefer. Then we start playing a pleasant sound when they look at the image they don’t prefer and track how their looking changes. The looking game takes about 5-10 minutes to complete.
Our second game is our “Train Game” in which they sit in front of a train diorama with a big button in front of them. At first the button doesn’t do anything, but after a minute it causes the train to go around the track and turns on the lights in the diorama. In this game we see how their button-pressing changes once it starts to run the train and lights. The train game takes about 6-12 minutes to complete.
Both of these games show us the most basic form of learning in babies, but in different ways!
After most lab visits there will also be a survey or two for you to fill out that asks what your child has been hearing and doing recently. These can be done at home within a week following the lab visit. The surveys are important because they give added context to the information we get from our games during the session.
We offer free parking, and a researcher will be with you to guide you about the campus. If additional children are coming with you, we can provide babysitting in our family room during the session but please tell us ahead of time so we can be prepared with some fun games for them too!
This is a longitudinal study, so you will be asked to come back for multiple visits over your baby’s first two years. The visits are at specific age points for your child (at 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months), so how many sessions you’ll be asked to come back for will depend on when you start.
Have Questions? Contact Us!
If you have any additional questions about the study, eligibility, or about our lab in general — do not hesitate to reach out to us!
| Phone: | 203-236-9933 |
|---|---|
| E-mail: | kidcaplab@uconn.edu |
Principal investigator: Kimberly Cuevas, UConn Department of Psychological Sciences