Pedagogical questions as a scaffold for kids' long-term thinking and learning
Official title: Investigating Pedagogical Questions as a Scaffold for Longitudinal Executive Functioning Development
Funded at Univ of Maryland, College Park · NIH-11440307 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A study explores how parents’ guided questions during play can help children develop executive function skills over several years.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R03 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Univ of Maryland, College Park NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (College Park, United States) |
| Project start | September 7, 2026 |
| Project end | August 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $152,792 |
| NIH project number | 1R03HD123308-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11440307 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are children aged 3–16 years and their caregivers involved in the longitudinal dataset of EF development.
✕Less likely to help
Children outside the 3–16 age range or those not part of the longitudinal dataset may not directly benefit from these findings.
What this research studies
This project looks at how the way caregivers talk to children—specifically the questions they ask—may shape kids’ ability to control impulses, hold information in memory, and switch tasks as they grow. Researchers will use a long-term dataset following 306 children from ages 3 to 16, with four early-childhood sessions where parents guide their children through a puzzle using different pedagogical questions. The interactions will be recorded, transcribed, and coded to identify which question types best support steady EF development over time. The goal is to find simple, low-cost strategies parents can use to foster lifelong cognitive and academic benefits.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, families and educators could use targeted questioning strategies to support children’s long-term cognitive and academic growth.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research suggests pedagogical questions can boost exploration and reasoning, but this study uniquely examines long-term EF development across years.
Where this research is happening
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Univ of Maryland, College Park
College Park, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Romeo, Rachel R. — Univ of Maryland, College Park
- Study coordinator: Romeo, Rachel R.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.