Adam Winsler is a developmental psychologist known for his research on
early child development,
private speech
Private speech is speech spoken to oneself for communication, self-guidance, and self-regulation of behaviour. It is between the ages of two and seven that children can be observed engaging in private speech. Although it is audible, it is neither ...
, and benefits of
arts education. Winsler is Professor of Applied Developmental Psychology at
George Mason University
George Mason University (George Mason, Mason, or GMU) is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia with an independent City of Fairfax, Virginia postal address in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. The university was origin ...
.
Winsler co-authored with Laura Berk the volume ''Scaffolding Children's Learning: Vygotsky and Early Childhood Education,'' which describes the theories of development created by
Lev Vygotsky
Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky (russian: Лев Семёнович Выго́тский, p=vɨˈɡotskʲɪj; be, Леў Сямёнавіч Выго́цкі, p=vɨˈɡotskʲɪj; – June 11, 1934) was a Soviet psychologist, known for his work on ps ...
and how they be applied to children's learning in a school environment. He also co-edited the volume ''Private Speech, Executive Functioning, and The Development of Verbal Self-Regulation.'' Winsler was Editor in Chief of
Early Childhood Research Quarterly
''Early Childhood Research Quarterly'' is an academic journal providing current research (predominantly empirical) in the field of early childhood (birth through eight years of age) education and development that was established in 1986. The journa ...
, and serves on their editorial board.
Biography
Winsler received his B.A. degree in psychology at
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...
in 1988. He furthered his education and obtained his Ph.D. in Child and Adolescent Development at
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
Graduate School of Education in 1994. While at Stanford, Winsler worked as Program Evaluator and Evaluation Director at the
Redwood City Schools in California, where he conducted research on bilingual language development, and documented the benefits of bilingual preschool programs for Spanish-speaking children growing up in low income families.
Winsler started his academic career at the
University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...
in 1994 as an assistant professor before moving to George Mason University in 1997. His research has been funded by the
Institute of Education Sciences
The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) is the independent, non-partisan statistics, research, and evaluation arm of the U.S. Department of Education. IES' stated mission is to provide scientific evidence on which to ground education practice ...
of the
U.S. Department of Education
The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...
and by foundations including
The Children's Trust
'The Children's Trust'' is the UK's leading charity for children with brain injury.
The Children's Trust runs a range of specialist care, education and therapy services for children and young people from across the UK, including the UK's larges ...
and the Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade/Monroe.
Research
As a graduate student, Winsler began a collaborative program of research with Rafael M. Diaz on young children's use of private speech, which led to a series of studies on self-regulation in children with attention and behavioral problems. Winsler's research examined private speech in relation to aspects of
executive functioning
Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to:
Role or title
* Executive, a senior management role in an organization
** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators
** Executive dire ...
in children with disabilities such as
autism spectrum disorder
The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental disorder, neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) ...
, and
ADHD
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inapp ...
. Following Vygotsky, Winsler considers the use of private speech to be an important turning point in a child's development, as it supports the child in verbalizing their thoughts, regulating their attention, and helping them produce decisions on their own. According to Winsler, private speech is beneficial in lowering impulsivity in small children, while increasing performance as they learn to recollect and express their train of thought.
Winsler is also known for his research on
early childhood education
Early childhood education (ECE), also known as nursery education, is a branch of education theory that relates to the teaching of children (formally and informally) from birth up to the age of eight. Traditionally, this is up to the equivale ...
, where he has focused on evaluating the cognitive, language, and social-emotional outcomes and
school readiness of children from diverse backgrounds, many who come from low-income families, attending variously structured child-care and preschool programs. Winsler and his colleagues' research indicates the importance of the arts in early childhood development. When young children are involved in electives such as dance, drama, and music, they become more socially competent, show better self-regulation, and their academic performance improves.
In work with Martha Carlton, Winsler critiqued the concept of school readiness, which they view as a biased concept based on the perspective of the school system and its qualifications for children's school entry. Winsler has focused on bilingual, immigrant children who are often misunderstood because of their inability to speak English, yet are just as capable as their peers; such children may fall behind due to bias toward
languages other than English
LOTE or Languages Other Than English is the name given to language subjects besides English in Australia, New York City, and other schools. The name evolved from 'heritage language', a term first used to refer to languages other than French and ...
in the school system. Although immigrant children may lag behind their peers in preschool cognitive and language skills, they show advantages relative to non-immigrant children in socio-emotional skills and behavior.
Representative Publications
* Carlton, M. P., & Winsler, A. (1999). School readiness: The need for a paradigm shift. ''School Psychology Review'', ''28'', 338–352.
*Lobo, Y. B., & Winsler, A. (2006). The effects of a creative dance and movement program on the social competence of head start preschoolers. ''Social Development'', ''15''(3), 501–519.
*Morrissey, T. W., Hutchison, L., & Winsler, A. (2014). Family income, school attendance, and academic achievement in elementary school. ''Developmental Psychology'', ''50''(3), 741–753.
* Winsler, A., Diaz, R. M., & Montero, I. (1997). The role of private speech in the transition from collaborative to independent task performance in young children. ''Early Childhood Research Quarterly'', ''12''(1), 59–79.
*Winsler, A., Madigan, A. L., & Aquilino, S. A. (2005). Correspondence between maternal and paternal parenting styles in early childhood. ''Early childhood research quarterly'', ''20''(1), 1–12.
*Winsler, A., & Naglieri, J. (2003). Overt and covert verbal problem‐solving strategies: Developmental trends in use, awareness, and relations with task performance in children aged 5 to 17. ''Child Development'', ''74''(3), 659–678.
*Winsler, A., Tran, H., Hartman, S. C., Madigan, A. L., Manfra, L., & Bleiker, C. (2008). School readiness gains made by ethnically diverse children in poverty attending center-based childcare and public school pre-kindergarten programs. ''Early Childhood Research Quarterly'', ''23''(3), 314–329.
References
External links
Faculty HomepageWinsLabGoogle Scholar profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winsler, Adam
Living people
20th-century American psychologists
21st-century American psychologists
American developmental psychologists
American educational psychologists
George Mason University faculty
Stanford University alumni
University of New Mexico alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)