Visual Language and Visual Learning (VL2)

The National Science Foundation of Science of Learning Center on Visual Language and Visual Learning (VL2) advances knowledge on how human higher cognition is realized through vision. Our groundbreaking research and translation labs seek to determine the effects of visual processes, visual language, and social experience on the development of cognition, language, reading, and literacy for the benefit of society.

We especially pursue new perspectives on these learning processes through the widened vantage point of studying deaf individuals and sign language as a window into the flexibility and structure of the human mind. We study these learning processes in monolinguals and bilinguals across the lifespan in order to promote optimal practices in education in both formal and informal settings.

VL2 is also the home of the Ph.D in Educational Neuroscience program (PEN), in which students conduct supervised research within their mentor’s lab as well as develop their own lines of research through independent research projects. During those four years, our students gain state-of-the-art cognitive neuroscience training in how humans learn and become an expert in cutting-edge neuroimaging methods. Learn more about the pioneering PEN program.

To learn more about our labs, projects and collaborations, doctoral program, and upcoming events, visit our website.