WEI, Ran

WEI, Ran 魏然

Assistant Professor

 

Address: Graduate School of Education, Room 431

Email: ranwei@pku.edu.cn

Research and Teaching Interests: developmental/educational psychology, language acquisition, cognitive development, family/social/cultural environment, early socialization, eye-tracking and EEG/ERP research methods

 

Education:

2016.8 – 2021.5

Harvard University, Graduate School of Education & Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Ph.D. in Education (Concentration: Human Development, Learning and Teaching; Secondary Field: Mind, Brain, Behavior)

 

2014.8 – 2015.5

Harvard University, Graduate School of Education

Ed.M. (Concentration: Language and Literacy)

 

2010.8 – 2014.7

Tsinghua University, Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures

B.A. (Major: English Language and Literature)

 

Professional Affiliations:

Since 2023.9

Peking University, Graduate School of Education

Assistant Professor

 

2021.9 – 2023.9

Harvard Medical School & Boston Children’s Hospital, Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

 

Selected Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles:

[1]   Wei, R., Kirby, A., Naigles, L., & Rowe, M. (2022). Parents’ talk about conceptual categories with infants: Stability, variability, and implications for expressive language development. Journal of Child Language.

[2]   Tang X., Hua, Z., Xing, J., Yi, L., ..., Wei, R.*, Li, X.*, & Liu, J*. (2022). Verbal fluency as a predictor of autism spectrum disorder diagnosis and co-occurring attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms. Reading and Writing. (*joint corresponding authors)

[3]   McCatharn, J., Herbert, K., Wei, R., & Rowe, M. (2021). Avenues for increasing parenting knowledge: Interviewing parents about preferred information sources. Journal of Child and Family Studies.

[4]   Ronfard, S.*, Wei, R.*, & Rowe, M. (2021). Uncovering the linguistic, social, and cognitive skills underlying processing efficiency as measured by the looking-while-listening paradigm. Journal of Child Language, 1-24. (*joint first and corresponding authors)

[5]   Choi, A., Wei, R., & Rowe, M. (2021). Show, give and point gestures across infancy differentially predict language development. Developmental Psychology.

[6]   Wei, R., Leech, K., & Rowe, M. (2020). Decontextualized language use during American and Chinese caregiver-child interactions. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 71, 101214.

[7]   Wei, R., Ronfard, S., Leyva, D., & Rowe, M. (2019). Teaching a novel word: Parenting styles and toddlers’ word learning. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 187, 104639.

[8]   Leech, K., Wei, R., Harring, J. R., & Rowe, M. L. (2018). A brief parent-focused intervention to improve preschoolers’ conversational skills and school readiness. Developmental Psychology, 54(1), 15-28.

 

 

Book Chapter:

Rowe, M., Wei, R., & Salo, V. (2021). Early gesture predicts later language development. In A. Morgenstern & S. Goldin-Meadow (Eds.), Gesture in language. Mouton.

 

Selected Conference Presentations:

[1]   Wei, R., Li, J., Wang, M., & Yamamoto, Y. (March, 2023). How Questions Drive Teaching and Learning in European-American and Chinese-American Families. Paper presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting.

[2]   Wei, R., Kirby, A., Naigles, L., & Rowe, M. (July, 2021). Parents’ talk about conceptual categories with infants: Stability, variability, and implications for expressive language development. Paper presented at the 2021 International Association for the Study of Child Language Conference.

[3]   Wei, R., Leech, K., & Rowe, M. (April, 2021). Decontextualized language in Chinese and American caregiver-child interactions: Similarities, differences, and implications for children’s narratives. Paper presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting.

[4]   Wei, R., Kirby, A., Naigles, L., & Rowe, M. (October, 2020). Parents’ talk about conceptual categories with infants: Stability, variability, and implications for expressive language development. Paper presented at the Many Paths to Language Workshop at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics.

[5]   Wei, R., Ronfard, S., Leyva, D., & Rowe, M. (March, 2019). Teaching a novel word: Parenting styles and toddlers’ word learning. Paper presented at the 2019 Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting.

 

Selected Invited Talks:

[1]   Wei, R. (December, 2021). Decontextualized language in Chinese families: Cultural pathways to narrative development. Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London.

[2]   Wei, R. (June, 2021). Understanding the role of the home environment in Chinese preschoolers’ language development. Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Oslo.

[3]   Wei, R. (June, 2021). Understanding the role of the home environment in Chinese preschoolers’ language development. Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Oslo.

[4]   Wei, R. (October, 2019). Decontextualized language in caregiver-child interactions: Cultural patterns and developmental implications. Department of Comparative Linguistics, University of Zurich, Switzerland.

[5]   Wei, R. (July, 2019). What is the baby “saying”? Adults’ interpretation of infants’ gestures. The Little World Explorers Lab, Psychological Institute, University of Zurich, Switzerland.

[6]   Wei, R. (June, 2019). Teaching a novel word: Parenting styles and toddlers’ word learning. Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures Colloquium, Tsinghua University, China.

[7]   Wei, R. (May, 2019). Teaching a novel word: Parenting Styles and Toddlers’ Word Learning. Language Acquisition Seminar, University of Oslo, Norway.

[8]   Wei, R. (May, 2019). Decontextualized Language Use During American and Chinese Caregiver-Child Interactions. In Open Seminar: Parent-Child Interaction across Early Development and Cultures, Department of Special Needs Education and Department of Education, University of Oslo, Norway.

 

Selected Fellowships, Grants, and Awards:

Society for Research in Child Development Early Career Travel Award

Harvard Graduate School of Education Doctoral Research Grant

Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies Research Grant

Harvard Graduate Student Council Research Award

Society for Research in Child Development Student Travel Award

Harvard University Marco Polo Fellowship

 

Academic Service:

Reviewed for journals including Child Development, Contemporary Educational Psychology, Reading and Writing, First Language, Infant Behavior and Development, Infancy