Welcome to The Adult Learning Lab!

 

Welcome to the home page for the The Adult Learning Lab at the University of Illinois! The focus of our research is adult age differences in learning and language processing. Adult development brings differential patterns of growth, loss, and stability in our capacities for mental activities. Consequently, the way in which we best learn new things changes as we move through adulthood. Currently, we have two major threads of research:

Self-Regulated Learning:

We are examining how we adapt our reading strategies in later life to be effective learners when we read. Topics include: attentional allocation during reading, memory monitoring, learning heuristics, and the effects of knowledge.

The Senior Odyssey:

This is a community-based program in which adults over 60 engage in creative problem solving activities within teams of 5 to 7 people over a 20-week period.  Activities include fast-paced “spontaneous problems,” as well as the formulation and testing of solutions for “long-term problems.”  This program provides an avenue for intellectual engagement and teamwork, exercising such key abilities as speed of processing, working memory, inductive reasoning, divergent thinking, and collaborative problem solving.  We are examining the benefits of this program on cognition and well-being.  

March 10th, 2007, one of our teams performed at the state tournament in Belleville, IL!

News: 

The Odyssey of the Aging Mind: Stine-Morrow Studies How We Learn Over a Lifetime

*Participate in a fun experiment!*

• We are looking for people to come in and read passages on a computer and keep track of characters.  It takes about an hour and a half.  Particpants receive $15 for particiaption. We often get comments that participating was fun and interesting.  We need adults ages 60+. If you are interested in participating, give us a call!
• We are also looking for volunteers for a similar experiment, where you will read passages on the computer and for part of it we will track your eye movements while you read.  Participants recieve $15 plus parking for participation for this one also.  You may participate in both studies on separate days.  Thanks!
• We are looking for volunteers for an experiment where text is presented in varying levels of clarity.   Participants may do one, two or all of these experiments. 

Requirements: must be a native english speaker, age 18-35 or 60+, with normal or corrected vision

If you are interested, please contact the lab at 244-7336 or tall@ed.uiuc.edu

We always reimburse your parking costs!

FOR MAPS TO THE LAB CLICK HERE

Subject Pool Participants, click here for scheduling info.

Scheduling Info. for other Participants

Past Community Events for Seniors:

On Sept. 23, 2006 the U of I's Krannert Center for the Performing Arts had a science inspired dance performance.  The performance caps a series of campus-wide events and interdisciplinary discussions marking the opening of the Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  Human experience including aging is included in the program. Click here for the Krannert website.

We've seen the Second Annual UIUC Senior Odyssey Tournament come to fruition with great success.  Eight teams of seniors competed on Saturday April 1, 2006 at Barkstall Elementary.  Thanks to all who participated, Joanne Rompel (OOTM State Director), all of the wonderful Odyssey of the Mind judges who came from far and near, Jeanine Parisi, Liz Stine-Morrow, the Adult Learning Lab staff, and the Barkstall PTA.  Thanks also to Meijer for a donation of paper goods. 

The Inaugural UIUC Senior Odyssey Tournament was held on Saturday, 4/23/05 at the Hays Center located at 1311 West Church Street Champaign, IL 61821 (operated by the Champaign Park District).  It was an overwhelming success thanks to the participants, Joanne Rompel (OOTM State Director), Odyssey of the Mind judges, Jeanine Parisi (Program Coordinator), Liz Stine-Morrow (Supervising Faculty Member), the Adult learning Lab staff and The Hayes Center staff.

Center for Healthy Minds

The Adult Learning Lab is a part of the University of Illinois Roybal Center of Applied Cognitive Aging.  Elizabeth Stine-Morrow, the TALL primary investigator is an affiliated member of the Center.  For more information about other aging research at the University of Illinois, visit the Center for Healthy Minds website. 

 

 

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We are grateful for funding from the National Institute on Aging and the Roybal Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Illinois.