In this dissertation, I establish a research program that uses computational modeling as a testbed for theories of phonological learning. This dissertation focuses on a fundamental question: how do children acquire sound patterns from noisy, real-world data, especially in the presence of lexical exceptions that defy regular patterns? For instance,…

Children achieve better long-term language outcomes than adults. However, it remains unclear whether children actually learn language "more quickly" than adults during real-time exposure to input--indicative of true superior language learning abilities--or whether this advantage stems from other factors. To examine this issue, we…

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been evolving since the mid-twentieth-century when luminaries such as Alan Turing, Herbert Simon, and Marvin Minsky began developing rudimentary AI applications. For decades, AI programs remained pretty much in the realm of computer science and experimental game playing. This changed radically in the 2020s when…

A robust finding in psycholinguistics is that prior language experience influences subsequent language processing. This phenomenon is known as syntactic priming. Most of the empirical support for L2 syntactic priming comes from lab-based experiments. However, this evidence might not reflect how priming occurs in typical language activities in the…

In the history of psycholinguistics, there are traditional accounts that have been told about language learning and processing. These accounts revolve around the constraints imposed by the age of language learning and by universal principles that are assumed to be natively given. The contribution of Brian MacWhinney and his collaborators has been…

This activity prompts students to go beyond the often reductionist responses to new technologies (e.g. technological determinism) by creating a media literacy-focused infographic about the role, uses, ethical concerns, and/or impact of generative AI (e.g. ChatGPT). Sample topics have included the role of AI in specific industries (e.g. film,…

The relative importance of phonological versus morphological processes in reading varies depending on the writing system's orthographic consistency and morphological complexity. This study investigated the interplay between phonology and morphology in Hebrew reading acquisition, a language offering a unique opportunity for such examination with…

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) models have grown increasingly popular among pre-service teachers (PSTs) and have become their constant companions, primarily assisting them in scientific writing. This article presents a study that investigates the differences and benefits of GenAI in the scientific writing process. Essays generated by…

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted higher education. The sudden and profound transformations it necessitated had a direct and negative impact on higher education students, as evidenced by the widely reported instances of academic disengagement, decreased motivation, and lower performance. This was often due to student burnout caused by…

The breakthrough in generative artificial intelligence (AI) has unlocked new possibilities for higher education. There are many studies on educational chatbots in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; however, studies on designing and leveraging chatbots in a multidisciplinary field like project management have been…

Background: The recent advent of powerful, exam-passing large language models (LLMs) in public awareness has led to concerns over students cheating, but has also given rise to calls for including or even focusing education on LLMs. There is a perceived urgency to react immediately, as well as claims that AI-based reforms of education will lead to…

In spoken languages, children acquire locative terms in a cross-linguistically stable order. Terms similar in meaning to in and on emerge earlier than those similar to "front" and "behind," followed by "left" and "right." This order has been attributed to the complexity of the relations expressed by…

Background/purpose: The study examined the potential benefits and concerns of implementing ChatGPT, an advanced tool of artificial intelligence technology, in the realm of teaching and learning. Materials/methods: A systematic review was conducted, detailing the processes of inclusion and exclusion criteria, selection, data extraction, and…

This paper presents a novel contribution to the discourse surrounding Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT in relation to education and society by using systems theory. We argue that ChatGPT can be understood not just as an 'artificial' intelligence but that it is entangled in the evolution of society and therefore education. ChatGPT is a…

As artificial intelligence transforms education, ChatGPT has emerged as a tool for learning, reshaping how students engage with academic material. This study investigates ChatGPT's influence on student engagement among Filipino college students, focusing on self-management and intentional learning--two critical dimensions of self-directed…