Kent State University’s Center for Applied Conflict Management is transforming into a new School of Peace and Conflict Studies this month. The change better reflects Kent State’s reputation as a leading institution of research, teaching and practice in constructive conflict management, and elevates the center from a unit within the Department of Political Science to a school in the College of Arts and Sciences. 

The original center was established in 1971 as the university’s “living memorial” to the four Kent State students who were killed by the Ohio National Guard on May 4, 1970, during a demonstration against the U.S. war in Vietnam and Cambodia. Throughout its history, the center’s mission has been to promote constructive and peaceful mechanisms of social and political change.

The new School of Peace and Conflict Studies will have seven full-time faculty members, two of whom were recently hired for the start of the school on Aug. 21. The school will initially be headed by Patrick G. Coy, Ph.D., Kent State professor of political science and longtime director of the Center for Applied Conflict Management. A national search for a new director will be conducted this fall, which will bring the school’s faculty total to eight in 2018.

“Establishing a School of Peace and Conflict Studies is the logical next step for Kent State, which had the foresight to make a substantial leadership commitment to this field back in 1971,” Coy said. “We have a vibrant, award-winning faculty researching and teaching about the critical issues facing our communities in the 21st century, including violence, conflicts and peace with justice. With the higher profile and increased resources of a school, even more can and will be done in these important areas, further cementing Kent State’s leadership role.”

Faculty members from the new School of Peace and Conflict Studies will oversee the College of Arts and Sciences’ popular undergraduate Applied Conflict Management major and minor, teaching courses in mediation, cross-cultural conflict management, nonviolence, negotiation, conflict in the workplace, environmental conflict resolution, gender, power and conflict, and international conflict resolution among others.

In cooperation with Kent State’s Division of Student Affairs, the school will support and staff the campus-based Student Mediation Services program, and continue to house Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change, a peer-reviewed series published since 1977 by Emerald Publishing of the U.K.

Kent State’s peace and conflict studies undergraduate program is one of the country’s oldest and largest, enrolling more than 1,000 students in its classes each year. Students are taught applied skills in the constructive management of conflicts on the international, community, workplace and relationship levels. School faculty also will teach in the political science doctoral program, which offers a track in conflict analysis and management.

The school also will promote working groups centered on constructive conflict themes that faculty and students can affiliate with. For example, a faculty research group on identity-based conflicts is already forming to spur research, external grant applications and impactful publications.

For more information about Kent State’s School of Peace and Conflict Studies, visit www.kent.edu/cacm.

# # #

Photo Caption:

Kent State University’s Patrick G. Coy, Ph.D., professor of political science and longtime director of the Center for Applied Conflict Management, will initially head the School of Peace and Conflict Studies.

Media Contacts:

Patrick G. Coy, pcoy@kent.edu, 330-510-7497

Jim Maxwell, jmaxwel2@kent.edu, 330-672-8028

Kristin Anderson, kander63@kent.edu, 330-672-7907

When Army Training Sgt. Curtis Cofojohn returned from his tour in Afghanistan, he watched as his fellow soldiers struggled to find a place to live. They had been out of the country for many months and most of the housing where they wanted to live was taken. Even finding a simple advertisement was almost as rare as finding a vacancy. In addition to veterans, Cofojohn noticed that the problem affected college students looking for off-campus housing.

At the time, Cofojohn was studying political science in Kent State University’s College of Arts and Sciences. As a student, he too discovered the need to secure off-campus housing more than a year in advance.

The obstacle made way for an opportunity. Cofojohn was about to embark on a journey he had not planned: a website and ultimately an app that connects renters to landlords. With the help of his business partner, Cofojohn created AllCollegeRentals.com. The site is similar to Zillow, which connects potential homebuyers to real estate listings around the country except it is directed towards student housing.

“I found that landlords struggle to market their properties efficiently, and renters don’t know where to look to find housing,” he said. “AllCollegeRentals.com is the bridge that brings both parties together. We haven’t seen a site quite like ours, so we created and copyrighted our own.”

With the help of dropdown menus, the site gives renters the option to search rooms, studios, lofts, apartments and houses. They can choose how many baths and bedrooms they are seeking. They can pick the price of rent they can afford and the date range of when they need housing, up to the year 2020. Renters can also see 4K photos of the property.

The site will soon be offered in multiple languages to accommodate the growing international student body. Cofojohn says it will help students from the international community who are trying to arrange housing from their native countries before they come to Kent State.

For now, the site focuses on campus listings within a 40-mile radius of the Kent area. As the company grows, Cofojohn says so too will the listings and the number of states that the site serves. It is free to search and list properties, but that could change in the next year as the site grows to multiple campuses nationwide.

“We are working on creating an app for the site and business cards with microchips that can send property listing updates through phone texts, emails, and social media sites,” Cofojohn said. “The app will also allow renters to fill out an application and pay rent and utilities online.”

After starting AllCollegeRentals.com, Cofojohn reached out to LaunchNET Kent State, now located on the second floor of the library.

“Curtis found us because of our outreach specific to student veterans, which is one of my initiatives, as veterans have unique needs and abilities in creating future ventures,” said Tabitha Martin, LaunchNET venture advisor. “I am so glad to be able to connect Curtis with resources and be a sounding board for him as he grows his company. I think the website is filling a real need that will help the entire Kent community.”

Cofojohn graduated from Kent State in May 2017. In addition to being a real estate agent and entrepreneur, Curtis says he may eventually go into real estate law in the near future. Cofojohn says that he is so grateful for his education that he wants to give back in the form of grants and paid internships to Kent State students who help grow the business and market to other students.

“AllCollegeRentals.com will hopefully be the largest college rental search engine in the country in the next few years, which will allow us to employ more students and help them hone their skill sets for when they graduate,” said Cofojohn. “I’ve been working at it nonstop and look forward watching it grow. There’s a need out there to connect renters with landlords. We are doing that and much, much more.”

Learn more about LaunchNET Kent State

When Army Training Sgt. Curtis Cofojohn returned from his tour in Afghanistan, he watched as his fellow soldiers struggled to find a place to live. They had been out of the country for many months and most of the housing where they wanted to live was taken. Even finding a simple advertisement was almost as rare as finding a vacancy. In addition to veterans, Cofojohn noticed that the problem affected college students looking for off-campus housing.

At the time, Cofojohn was studying political science in Kent State University’s College of Arts and Sciences. As a student, he too discovered the need to secure off-campus housing more than a year in advance.

The obstacle made way for an opportunity. Cofojohn was about to embark on a journey he had not planned: a website and ultimately an app that connects renters to landlords. With the help of his business partner, Cofojohn created AllCollegeRentals.com. The site is similar to Zillow, which connects potential homebuyers to real estate listings around the country except it is directed towards student housing.

“I found that landlords struggle to market their properties efficiently, and renters don’t know where to look to find housing,” he said. “AllCollegeRentals.com is the bridge that brings both parties together. We haven’t seen a site quite like ours, so we created and copyrighted our own.”

With the help of dropdown menus, the site gives renters the option to search rooms, studios, lofts, apartments and houses. They can choose how many baths and bedrooms they are seeking. They can pick the price of rent they can afford and the date range of when they need housing, up to the year 2020. Renters can also see 4K photos of the property.

The site will soon be offered in multiple languages to accommodate the growing international student body. Cofojohn says it will help students from the international community who are trying to arrange housing from their native countries before they come to Kent State.

For now, the site focuses on campus listings within a 40-mile radius of the Kent area. As the company grows, Cofojohn says so too will the listings and the number of states that the site serves. It is free to search and list properties, but that could change in the next year as the site grows to multiple campuses nationwide.

“We are working on creating an app for the site and business cards with microchips that can send property listing updates through phone texts, emails, and social media sites,” Cofojohn said. “The app will also allow renters to fill out an application and pay rent and utilities online.”

After starting AllCollegeRentals.com, Cofojohn reached out to LaunchNET Kent State, now located on the second floor of the library.

“Curtis found us because of our outreach specific to student veterans, which is one of my initiatives, as veterans have unique needs and abilities in creating future ventures,” said Tabitha Martin, LaunchNET venture advisor. “I am so glad to be able to connect Curtis with resources and be a sounding board for him as he grows his company. I think the website is filling a real need that will help the entire Kent community.”

Cofojohn graduated from Kent State in May 2017. In addition to being a real estate agent and entrepreneur, Curtis says he may eventually go into real estate law in the near future. Cofojohn says that he is so grateful for his education that he wants to give back in the form of grants and paid internships to Kent State students who help grow the business and market to other students.

“AllCollegeRentals.com will hopefully be the largest college rental search engine in the country in the next few years, which will allow us to employ more students and help them hone their skill sets for when they graduate,” said Cofojohn. “I’ve been working at it nonstop and look forward watching it grow. There’s a need out there to connect renters with landlords. We are doing that and much, much more.”

Learn more about LaunchNET Kent State

When Army Training Sgt. Curtis Cofojohn returned from his tour in Afghanistan, he watched as his fellow soldiers struggled to find a place to live. They had been out of the country for many months and most of the housing where they wanted to live was taken. Even finding a simple advertisement was almost as rare as finding a vacancy. In addition to veterans, Cofojohn noticed that the problem affected college students looking for off-campus housing.

At the time, Cofojohn was studying political science in Kent State University’s College of Arts and Sciences. As a student, he too discovered the need to secure off-campus housing more than a year in advance.

The obstacle made way for an opportunity. Cofojohn was about to embark on a journey he had not planned: a website and ultimately an app that connects renters to landlords. With the help of his business partner, Cofojohn created AllCollegeRentals.com. The site is similar to Zillow, which connects potential homebuyers to real estate listings around the country except it is directed towards student housing.

“I found that landlords struggle to market their properties efficiently, and renters don’t know where to look to find housing,” he said. “AllCollegeRentals.com is the bridge that brings both parties together. We haven’t seen a site quite like ours, so we created and copyrighted our own.”

With the help of dropdown menus, the site gives renters the option to search rooms, studios, lofts, apartments and houses. They can choose how many baths and bedrooms they are seeking. They can pick the price of rent they can afford and the date range of when they need housing, up to the year 2020. Renters can also see 4K photos of the property.

The site will soon be offered in multiple languages to accommodate the growing international student body. Cofojohn says it will help students from the international community who are trying to arrange housing from their native countries before they come to Kent State.

For now, the site focuses on campus listings within a 40-mile radius of the Kent area. As the company grows, Cofojohn says so too will the listings and the number of states that the site serves. It is free to search and list properties, but that could change in the next year as the site grows to multiple campuses nationwide.

“We are working on creating an app for the site and business cards with microchips that can send property listing updates through phone texts, emails, and social media sites,” Cofojohn said. “The app will also allow renters to fill out an application and pay rent and utilities online.”

After starting AllCollegeRentals.com, Cofojohn reached out to LaunchNET Kent State, now located on the second floor of the library.

“Curtis found us because of our outreach specific to student veterans, which is one of my initiatives, as veterans have unique needs and abilities in creating future ventures,” said Tabitha Martin, LaunchNET venture advisor. “I am so glad to be able to connect Curtis with resources and be a sounding board for him as he grows his company. I think the website is filling a real need that will help the entire Kent community.”

Cofojohn graduated from Kent State in May 2017. In addition to being a real estate agent and entrepreneur, Curtis says he may eventually go into real estate law in the near future. Cofojohn says that he is so grateful for his education that he wants to give back in the form of grants and paid internships to Kent State students who help grow the business and market to other students.

“AllCollegeRentals.com will hopefully be the largest college rental search engine in the country in the next few years, which will allow us to employ more students and help them hone their skill sets for when they graduate,” said Cofojohn. “I’ve been working at it nonstop and look forward watching it grow. There’s a need out there to connect renters with landlords. We are doing that and much, much more.”

Learn more about LaunchNET Kent State

When Army Training Sgt. Curtis Cofojohn returned from his tour in Afghanistan, he watched as his fellow soldiers struggled to find a place to live. They had been out of the country for many months and most of the housing where they wanted to live was taken. Even finding a simple advertisement was almost as rare as finding a vacancy. In addition to veterans, Cofojohn noticed that the problem affected college students looking for off-campus housing.

At the time, Cofojohn was studying political science in Kent State University’s College of Arts and Sciences. As a student, he too discovered the need to secure off-campus housing more than a year in advance.

The obstacle made way for an opportunity. Cofojohn was about to embark on a journey he had not planned: a website and ultimately an app that connects renters to landlords. With the help of his business partner, Cofojohn created AllCollegeRentals.com. The site is similar to Zillow, which connects potential homebuyers to real estate listings around the country except it is directed towards student housing.

“I found that landlords struggle to market their properties efficiently, and renters don’t know where to look to find housing,” he said. “AllCollegeRentals.com is the bridge that brings both parties together. We haven’t seen a site quite like ours, so we created and copyrighted our own.”

With the help of dropdown menus, the site gives renters the option to search rooms, studios, lofts, apartments and houses. They can choose how many baths and bedrooms they are seeking. They can pick the price of rent they can afford and the date range of when they need housing, up to the year 2020. Renters can also see 4K photos of the property.

The site will soon be offered in multiple languages to accommodate the growing international student body. Cofojohn says it will help students from the international community who are trying to arrange housing from their native countries before they come to Kent State.

For now, the site focuses on campus listings within a 40-mile radius of the Kent area. As the company grows, Cofojohn says so too will the listings and the number of states that the site serves. It is free to search and list properties, but that could change in the next year as the site grows to multiple campuses nationwide.

“We are working on creating an app for the site and business cards with microchips that can send property listing updates through phone texts, emails, and social media sites,” Cofojohn said. “The app will also allow renters to fill out an application and pay rent and utilities online.”

After starting AllCollegeRentals.com, Cofojohn reached out to LaunchNET Kent State, now located on the second floor of the library.

“Curtis found us because of our outreach specific to student veterans, which is one of my initiatives, as veterans have unique needs and abilities in creating future ventures,” said Tabitha Martin, LaunchNET venture advisor. “I am so glad to be able to connect Curtis with resources and be a sounding board for him as he grows his company. I think the website is filling a real need that will help the entire Kent community.”

Cofojohn graduated from Kent State in May 2017. In addition to being a real estate agent and entrepreneur, Curtis says he may eventually go into real estate law in the near future. Cofojohn says that he is so grateful for his education that he wants to give back in the form of grants and paid internships to Kent State students who help grow the business and market to other students.

“AllCollegeRentals.com will hopefully be the largest college rental search engine in the country in the next few years, which will allow us to employ more students and help them hone their skill sets for when they graduate,” said Cofojohn. “I’ve been working at it nonstop and look forward watching it grow. There’s a need out there to connect renters with landlords. We are doing that and much, much more.”

Learn more about LaunchNET Kent State

When Army Training Sgt. Curtis Cofojohn returned from his tour in Afghanistan, he watched as his fellow soldiers struggled to find a place to live. They had been out of the country for many months and most of the housing where they wanted to live was taken. Even finding a simple advertisement was almost as rare as finding a vacancy. In addition to veterans, Cofojohn noticed that the problem affected college students looking for off-campus housing.

At the time, Cofojohn was studying political science in Kent State University’s College of Arts and Sciences. As a student, he too discovered the need to secure off-campus housing more than a year in advance.

The obstacle made way for an opportunity. Cofojohn was about to embark on a journey he had not planned: a website and ultimately an app that connects renters to landlords. With the help of his business partner, Cofojohn created AllCollegeRentals.com. The site is similar to Zillow, which connects potential homebuyers to real estate listings around the country except it is directed towards student housing.

“I found that landlords struggle to market their properties efficiently, and renters don’t know where to look to find housing,” he said. “AllCollegeRentals.com is the bridge that brings both parties together. We haven’t seen a site quite like ours, so we created and copyrighted our own.”

With the help of dropdown menus, the site gives renters the option to search rooms, studios, lofts, apartments and houses. They can choose how many baths and bedrooms they are seeking. They can pick the price of rent they can afford and the date range of when they need housing, up to the year 2020. Renters can also see 4K photos of the property.

The site will soon be offered in multiple languages to accommodate the growing international student body. Cofojohn says it will help students from the international community who are trying to arrange housing from their native countries before they come to Kent State.

For now, the site focuses on campus listings within a 40-mile radius of the Kent area. As the company grows, Cofojohn says so too will the listings and the number of states that the site serves. It is free to search and list properties, but that could change in the next year as the site grows to multiple campuses nationwide.

“We are working on creating an app for the site and business cards with microchips that can send property listing updates through phone texts, emails, and social media sites,” Cofojohn said. “The app will also allow renters to fill out an application and pay rent and utilities online.”

After starting AllCollegeRentals.com, Cofojohn reached out to LaunchNET Kent State, now located on the second floor of the library.

“Curtis found us because of our outreach specific to student veterans, which is one of my initiatives, as veterans have unique needs and abilities in creating future ventures,” said Tabitha Martin, LaunchNET venture advisor. “I am so glad to be able to connect Curtis with resources and be a sounding board for him as he grows his company. I think the website is filling a real need that will help the entire Kent community.”

Cofojohn graduated from Kent State in May 2017. In addition to being a real estate agent and entrepreneur, Curtis says he may eventually go into real estate law in the near future. Cofojohn says that he is so grateful for his education that he wants to give back in the form of grants and paid internships to Kent State students who help grow the business and market to other students.

“AllCollegeRentals.com will hopefully be the largest college rental search engine in the country in the next few years, which will allow us to employ more students and help them hone their skill sets for when they graduate,” said Cofojohn. “I’ve been working at it nonstop and look forward watching it grow. There’s a need out there to connect renters with landlords. We are doing that and much, much more.”

Learn more about LaunchNET Kent State

When someone suffers a stroke, traumatic brain injury, or brain tumor, one of the common symptoms is aphasia, a disorder that arises from damage to portions of the brain, usually the left side, that are responsible for language. It impairs the expression and understanding of language as well as reading and writing. 

About 1 million people in the United States currently have aphasia, and nearly 180,000 Americans acquire it each year, according to the National Aphasia Association. But, there is not a consensus in the medical community on how to best provide rehabilitation for those afflicted with the disorder. 

With a five-year, $2.4 million grant recently awarded from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers from Kent State University and the Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute (MRRI) in Philadelphia will conduct a series of studies to develop a theory of learning needed to advance aphasia rehabilitation.

Katherine Rawson, Ph.D., professor of psychology in Kent State’s College of Arts and Sciences, is co-investigator and director of a sub-award of $476,000 under the grant from the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) entitled “Retrieval Practice Principles:  A theory of learning for Aphasia Rehabilitation.” This is a multi-site project, led by Erica Middleton, Ph.D., of the Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute. 

“The project takes a novel approach to aphasia rehabilitation that promises to improve naming in people with aphasia,” said Maria Zaragoza, Ph.D., chairperson of Kent State’s Department of Psychological Sciences. “The groundbreaking aspect of this project is that it takes research from the fields of psychology and education and applies it to the therapeutic context.”

With this new grant, researchers will try to define what types of people with aphasia benefit from retrieval practice-based naming treatments (versus other treatments) and what cognitive-linguistic characteristics predict such differential benefit. They will also apply retrieval practice principles to treat people with comprehension deficits, and develop a theoretical account of how and why retrieval practice principles impact naming.

Rawson has been systematically investigating the learning techniques of retrieval practice (i.e., the “what to do”) and distributed practice (i.e., the “when to do it”) for more than 10 years.  Her previous work had largely been focused on enhancing student learning outcomes, with a particular eye toward improving the durability and efficiency of student learning.  

Several years ago, Middleton and Rawson started exploring the application of these learning techniques in a new domain—aphasia rehabilitation.  

“Outcomes of our earlier, smaller-scale studies were quite promising and led to the larger-scale research that we’ll be pursuing in this funded project to further investigate and explain the potent effects of distributed retrieval practice in the context of aphasia rehabilitation,” Rawson said.  

“We know that every act of speech is an act of learning,” Middleton said. “By better understanding how and why that is, we believe this research program can make existing aphasia treatments more principled and effective.” 

To learn more, go to http://mrri.org/nih-grant-aims-to-improve-naming-in-people-with-aphasia/

To learn more about Rawson’s research, visit her laboratory web site. 

# # #

Photo Caption:
Katherine Rawson, Ph.D., professor of psychology in Kent State’s College of Arts and Sciences and the Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute (MRRI) in Philadelphia will conduct a series of studies to develop a theory of learning needed to advance aphasia rehabilitation. 

Media Contacts:
Kerry O’Connor, OConnKer@einstein.edu, 203-581-4192
Jim Maxwell, jmaxwel2@kent.edu, 330-672-8028
Kristin Anderson, kander63@kent.edu, 330-672-7907

When someone suffers a stroke, traumatic brain injury, or brain tumor, one of the common symptoms is aphasia, a disorder that arises from damage to portions of the brain, usually the left side, that are responsible for language. It impairs the expression and understanding of language as well as reading and writing. 

About 1 million people in the United States currently have aphasia, and nearly 180,000 Americans acquire it each year, according to the National Aphasia Association. But, there is not a consensus in the medical community on how to best provide rehabilitation for those afflicted with the disorder. 

With a five-year, $2.4 million grant recently awarded from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers from Kent State University and the Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute (MRRI) in Philadelphia will conduct a series of studies to develop a theory of learning needed to advance aphasia rehabilitation.

Katherine Rawson, Ph.D., professor of psychology in Kent State’s College of Arts and Sciences, is co-investigator and director of a sub-award of $476,000 under the grant from the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) entitled “Retrieval Practice Principles:  A theory of learning for Aphasia Rehabilitation.” This is a multi-site project, led by Erica Middleton, Ph.D., of the Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute. 

“The project takes a novel approach to aphasia rehabilitation that promises to improve naming in people with aphasia,” said Maria Zaragoza, Ph.D., chairperson of Kent State’s Department of Psychological Sciences. “The groundbreaking aspect of this project is that it takes research from the fields of psychology and education and applies it to the therapeutic context.”

With this new grant, researchers will try to define what types of people with aphasia benefit from retrieval practice-based naming treatments (versus other treatments) and what cognitive-linguistic characteristics predict such differential benefit. They will also apply retrieval practice principles to treat people with comprehension deficits, and develop a theoretical account of how and why retrieval practice principles impact naming.

Rawson has been systematically investigating the learning techniques of retrieval practice (i.e., the “what to do”) and distributed practice (i.e., the “when to do it”) for more than 10 years.  Her previous work had largely been focused on enhancing student learning outcomes, with a particular eye toward improving the durability and efficiency of student learning.  

Several years ago, Middleton and Rawson started exploring the application of these learning techniques in a new domain—aphasia rehabilitation.  

“Outcomes of our earlier, smaller-scale studies were quite promising and led to the larger-scale research that we’ll be pursuing in this funded project to further investigate and explain the potent effects of distributed retrieval practice in the context of aphasia rehabilitation,” Rawson said.  

“We know that every act of speech is an act of learning,” Middleton said. “By better understanding how and why that is, we believe this research program can make existing aphasia treatments more principled and effective.” 

To learn more, go to http://mrri.org/nih-grant-aims-to-improve-naming-in-people-with-aphasia/

To learn more about Rawson’s research, visit her laboratory web site. 

# # #

Photo Caption:
Katherine Rawson, Ph.D., professor of psychology in Kent State’s College of Arts and Sciences and the Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute (MRRI) in Philadelphia will conduct a series of studies to develop a theory of learning needed to advance aphasia rehabilitation. 

Media Contacts:
Kerry O’Connor, OConnKer@einstein.edu, 203-581-4192
Jim Maxwell, jmaxwel2@kent.edu, 330-672-8028
Kristin Anderson, kander63@kent.edu, 330-672-7907

When someone suffers a stroke, traumatic brain injury, or brain tumor, one of the common symptoms is aphasia, a disorder that arises from damage to portions of the brain, usually the left side, that are responsible for language. It impairs the expression and understanding of language as well as reading and writing. 

About 1 million people in the United States currently have aphasia, and nearly 180,000 Americans acquire it each year, according to the National Aphasia Association. But, there is not a consensus in the medical community on how to best provide rehabilitation for those afflicted with the disorder. 

With a five-year, $2.4 million grant recently awarded from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers from Kent State University and the Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute (MRRI) in Philadelphia will conduct a series of studies to develop a theory of learning needed to advance aphasia rehabilitation.

Katherine Rawson, Ph.D., professor of psychology in Kent State’s College of Arts and Sciences, is co-investigator and director of a sub-award of $476,000 under the grant from the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) entitled “Retrieval Practice Principles:  A theory of learning for Aphasia Rehabilitation.” This is a multi-site project, led by Erica Middleton, Ph.D., of the Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute. 

“The project takes a novel approach to aphasia rehabilitation that promises to improve naming in people with aphasia,” said Maria Zaragoza, Ph.D., chairperson of Kent State’s Department of Psychological Sciences. “The groundbreaking aspect of this project is that it takes research from the fields of psychology and education and applies it to the therapeutic context.”

With this new grant, researchers will try to define what types of people with aphasia benefit from retrieval practice-based naming treatments (versus other treatments) and what cognitive-linguistic characteristics predict such differential benefit. They will also apply retrieval practice principles to treat people with comprehension deficits, and develop a theoretical account of how and why retrieval practice principles impact naming.

Rawson has been systematically investigating the learning techniques of retrieval practice (i.e., the “what to do”) and distributed practice (i.e., the “when to do it”) for more than 10 years.  Her previous work had largely been focused on enhancing student learning outcomes, with a particular eye toward improving the durability and efficiency of student learning.  

Several years ago, Middleton and Rawson started exploring the application of these learning techniques in a new domain—aphasia rehabilitation.  

“Outcomes of our earlier, smaller-scale studies were quite promising and led to the larger-scale research that we’ll be pursuing in this funded project to further investigate and explain the potent effects of distributed retrieval practice in the context of aphasia rehabilitation,” Rawson said.  

“We know that every act of speech is an act of learning,” Middleton said. “By better understanding how and why that is, we believe this research program can make existing aphasia treatments more principled and effective.” 

To learn more, go to http://mrri.org/nih-grant-aims-to-improve-naming-in-people-with-aphasia/

To learn more about Rawson’s research, visit her laboratory web site. 

# # #

Photo Caption:
Katherine Rawson, Ph.D., professor of psychology in Kent State’s College of Arts and Sciences and the Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute (MRRI) in Philadelphia will conduct a series of studies to develop a theory of learning needed to advance aphasia rehabilitation. 

Media Contacts:
Kerry O’Connor, OConnKer@einstein.edu, 203-581-4192
Jim Maxwell, jmaxwel2@kent.edu, 330-672-8028
Kristin Anderson, kander63@kent.edu, 330-672-7907

When someone suffers a stroke, traumatic brain injury, or brain tumor, one of the common symptoms is aphasia, a disorder that arises from damage to portions of the brain, usually the left side, that are responsible for language. It impairs the expression and understanding of language as well as reading and writing. 

About 1 million people in the United States currently have aphasia, and nearly 180,000 Americans acquire it each year, according to the National Aphasia Association. But, there is not a consensus in the medical community on how to best provide rehabilitation for those afflicted with the disorder. 

With a five-year, $2.4 million grant recently awarded from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers from Kent State University and the Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute (MRRI) in Philadelphia will conduct a series of studies to develop a theory of learning needed to advance aphasia rehabilitation.

Katherine Rawson, Ph.D., professor of psychology in Kent State’s College of Arts and Sciences, is co-investigator and director of a sub-award of $476,000 under the grant from the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) entitled “Retrieval Practice Principles:  A theory of learning for Aphasia Rehabilitation.” This is a multi-site project, led by Erica Middleton, Ph.D., of the Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute. 

“The project takes a novel approach to aphasia rehabilitation that promises to improve naming in people with aphasia,” said Maria Zaragoza, Ph.D., chairperson of Kent State’s Department of Psychological Sciences. “The groundbreaking aspect of this project is that it takes research from the fields of psychology and education and applies it to the therapeutic context.”

With this new grant, researchers will try to define what types of people with aphasia benefit from retrieval practice-based naming treatments (versus other treatments) and what cognitive-linguistic characteristics predict such differential benefit. They will also apply retrieval practice principles to treat people with comprehension deficits, and develop a theoretical account of how and why retrieval practice principles impact naming.

Rawson has been systematically investigating the learning techniques of retrieval practice (i.e., the “what to do”) and distributed practice (i.e., the “when to do it”) for more than 10 years.  Her previous work had largely been focused on enhancing student learning outcomes, with a particular eye toward improving the durability and efficiency of student learning.  

Several years ago, Middleton and Rawson started exploring the application of these learning techniques in a new domain—aphasia rehabilitation.  

“Outcomes of our earlier, smaller-scale studies were quite promising and led to the larger-scale research that we’ll be pursuing in this funded project to further investigate and explain the potent effects of distributed retrieval practice in the context of aphasia rehabilitation,” Rawson said.  

“We know that every act of speech is an act of learning,” Middleton said. “By better understanding how and why that is, we believe this research program can make existing aphasia treatments more principled and effective.” 

To learn more, go to http://mrri.org/nih-grant-aims-to-improve-naming-in-people-with-aphasia/

To learn more about Rawson’s research, visit her laboratory web site. 

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Photo Caption:
Katherine Rawson, Ph.D., professor of psychology in Kent State’s College of Arts and Sciences and the Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute (MRRI) in Philadelphia will conduct a series of studies to develop a theory of learning needed to advance aphasia rehabilitation. 

Media Contacts:
Kerry O’Connor, OConnKer@einstein.edu, 203-581-4192
Jim Maxwell, jmaxwel2@kent.edu, 330-672-8028
Kristin Anderson, kander63@kent.edu, 330-672-7907