Above: Kelly Cartwright
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Professor of Psychology Dr. Kelly Cartwright has been appointed to an advisory board that will assist the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).
Cartwright is one of several distinguished faculty nationwide selected to join the 22-member Ready To Learn Advisory Board for the CPB-PBS joint grant initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Education. She will bring her expertise in the development of literacy, executive function and self-regulation to an expanding effort to create media content that supports literacy development.
“I'm delighted to contribute to this work, which will directly impact young learners across the nation,” Cartwright said. “I fondly recall my own experiences with PBS as a young child, learning from my friends on “Sesame Street,” which propelled me into an academic career studying how people think, learn and learn to read. Having the opportunity to contribute to the development of programming to reach new generations of young learners really brings my career full circle.”
The advisory board will guide CPB and PBS as they use funds in a Ready To Learn grant from the U.S. Department of Education. In announcing the appointment of Cartwright and the other board members, PBS and CPB said they will focus on the development and distribution of new learning content and community resources that introduce young children to career and workforce options, and help them build vital functional literacy, critical thinking, collaboration, and other key skills and knowledge.
Cartwright will assist the content and curriculum team at PBS in the refinement of their learning frameworks that provide the foundation for the curriculum plans and learning goals for the content they create. She will contribute to the development of a new literacy show for young children while also working on other series in development and may be called upon to advise on other shows or projects, as needed.
Cartwright teaches psychology, neuroscience and teacher preparation, and directs the Reading, Executive Function and Development Lab. Her research explores the development of skilled reading comprehension and the neurocognitive and affective factors that underlie comprehension processes and difficulties from preschool through adulthood. She has written numerous peer-reviewed books and articles about literacy development and is considered one of the nation’s foremost experts in the field.