Laurie J. Harper
Education:
Ph.D. (Child Development/Early Childhood Education) 2005, University of New Hampshire
M.S. Ed., (Reading) 1998, State University of New York (SUNY) at Potsdam
M.S. Ed., (Science Education) 1993, State University of New York (SUNY) at Potsdam
B.A., (Teacher Education), 1990, State University of New York (SUNY) at Potsdam
Professional Roles:
Early Childhood Education Certification Advisor
Proposal Reviewer, National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators Annual Conference
Rhode Island Association for the Education of Young Children Board of Directors
Rhode Island Early Learning Standards Steering Committee, Rhode Island Department of Education
Teaching and Research Interests:
With a doctoral degree in child development and early childhood education, Dr. Harper's teaching, research and service interests focus on early language development, emergent literacy and the transition to school. Dr. Harper has conducted extensive research in young children’s transition to school to identify the elements of continuity and discontinuity, as well as their impact on children’s cognitive and social-emotional development. Currently, Dr. Harper is examining the effects of explicit nursery rhyme instruction with preschool children and the correlation to children’s increased phonological awareness, sensitivity to rhyme and ability to segment phonemes.
Professional Organization Membership:
Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI)
Children’s Literature Assembly
International Reading Association (IRA)
National Association for Early Childhood Teacher Educators (NAECTE)
National Association for Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
New England Reading Association (NERA)
Zero to Three
Selected Publications:
Harper, L. J. (2010). (in press). More alike than different: Promoting respect through multicultural books & literacy strategies. Association for Childhood Education.
Phillips, D., Foote, C. & Harper, L. J. (2008). Strategies for effective vocabulary instruction. Reading Improvement, 45 (2), 62-68.
Harper, L. J. (2006). A teacher’s re-definition of constructivist elementary teaching. Journal for Practical Applications on Constructivist Teaching (J-Pacte), 1(1), 1-8.
Vermette, P., Harper, L. J. & DeMillo, M. (2004). Cooperative and collaborative learning with 4-8 year olds: How does research support teachers’ practice? Journal of Instructional Psychology, 31(2), 130-134.
Vermette, P., Harper, L. J. & DeMillo, M. (2003). Cooperative learning and 4-8 year olds: What does the research say? Great Lakes Association for Cooperation in Education, 19(1), 1-3.
Selected Presentations:
Harper, L. (2009). Interactive read-alouds: Building language and scaffolding children’s emergent literacy skills. New England Reading Association Annual Conference, Warwick, Rhode Island.
Harper, L., Solomon, R. & Bothelo, M. (2009). The correlation between nursery rhyme awareness and phonological awareness. New England Educational Research Organization Annual Conference, Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Trostle-Brand, S., Harper, L. J., & Brand, S. (2008). Cross-cultural applications of storytelling to foster comprehension, vocabulary, phonemic awareness, and phonics skills of kindergarten and early elementary students. International Reading Association 22nd World Congress, San José, Costa Rica.
Harper, L., et al. (2008). The sounds of language: Scaffolding phonological awareness using nursery rhymes and prop boxes. National Association for Early Childhood Teacher Educators Annual Conference, Dallas, Texas.
Harper, L. J. et. al. (2006). Building blocks: Nurturing foundational science skills in early childhood (K- 3). New Hampshire Association for the Education of Young Children Annual Conference. Bartlett, New Hampshire.
Harper, L. J. (2005). Transition voices: Perspectives, concerns, and experiences of children, parents, and teachers during the transition to first grade. National Association for Early Childhood Teacher Educators Annual Conference, Washington DC.
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