International Brain Awareness Week celebrated at Meadowlark Elementary, Chinook High

Reporters note: Brain Awareness Week (BAW), celebrated every March, is a global campaign to increase public awareness of the progress and benefits of brain research. Jon Martin, the Principal at Meadowlark Elementary in Chinook, invited me to one of several presentations hosted by Chinook schools that gave students a glimpse of the fascinating brain research currently in progress. The presentation I attended was for the third grade classes and the focus of the program was Pleo, a computerized robot about the size of a young puppy. The students were fascinated, and so was I. Here's some of what I learned.

Dr. Racheal Severson,

presents via the internet

First, how the third graders saw the presentation was a bit, well, 'brain-boggling.' Via some internet technology that was pretty sophisticated, students from several schools around Montana simultaneously interacted with a professor in Missoula as she talked about how we think about living and non-living things. The presenter was Dr. Rachael Severson, an Assistant Professor of Developmental Psychology at the University of Montana and the Director of The Minds Lab at the university.

In a later email, Dr. Severson described her research interests that were the basis for her talk, to and with the third graders. She wrote the widespread availability robotic devices to consumers, caused her to wonder, "how children would understand these technological 'pets.'" Adding that children can early distinguish the difference between living and inanimate objects, her research deals with how children, and adults, think about a robot that is clearly a piece of technology, but interacts in seemingly social ways.

Students meet Pleo,

the robotic, baby dinosaur

Severson introduced a commercially available baby dinosaur called 'Pleo.' Pleo was about the size of a small puppy and students, per the professor's questions, recognized it was not a living creature. She then asked a series of questions: is Pleo alive? Does Pleo feel pain? Could Pleo be your friend?

Students responded by giving a thumbs up for 'yes,' thumbs down for 'no,' and a sideways thumb for 'not sure.' Severson could watch students' reactions to her questions and later said, "Pretend play is very important to a child's development, the early pretend play affects later social relationships and emotional understanding." She added, "As children's lives are increasingly populated with personified toys (compared to a stuffed animal, for example), there is less opportunity for them to engage in pretend play."

The students respond

No matter the research objectives and the long-term implications of concern to Dr. Severson, the kids loved Pleo. As the robot moved, made noises and responded to Dr. Severson, the students watched with awe, cheered and clapped. Parents and grandparents be forewarned: don't be surprised if a child asks for a Pleo-just a heads up.

When the presenter asked for questions, I made some notes of questions from Meadowlark students: What does Pleo cost? How was Pleo built-what's it made of? Can you reprogram Pleo and how long does that take? If Pelo's legs were longer, could it climb stairs? Obviously, the kids were thinking, "Can I get a Pleo and how do I make it do more stuff?"

Professor Severson later wrote by email that the responses by Meadowlark students to her questions about Pleo were pretty typical of what she hears from same aged kids in her research lab. She added, "The students clearly understood it's a robot and not biological, nevertheless they think it has feelings, could be their friend and shouldn't be treated poorly." Dr. Severson concluded, "It appears personified toys, whether robots or media-linked toys, may not be well-suited for pretend play. The toys already have a programmed persona and don't offer an opportunity for children to generate an imaginary persona. I think it's important to understand those implications and decide what sorts of experiences we want our children to have."

During Brain Week other Chinook classes saw different programs about the brain. The same day Meadowlark third graders were learning from Pleo, Chinook High students watched a presentation about brain concussions-a topic much in the news about teenagers and professional athletes.

You can learn more about Pleo by typing "youtube pleo robotoc dinosaur" into your web browser and choosing from several short videos.