Meet Shira May Peterson

Born to an Israeli mother and an American father, Shira May Peterson developed two native tongues: Hebrew and English; but as she lived in the United States, and attended public school in Los Angeles, her English proficiency quickly surpassed her Hebrew skills.

“Being a bilingual child was one of many experiences which have contributed to my fascination with language and learning,” says Peterson. “I have been my own case study on the psycholinguistic effects of bilingualism and the deterioration of one’s native language.”

Peterson, whose research interests include language development, cognitive development, and school success in the early childhood years, also received inspiration from her parents. Her father was a speech pathology professor-turned special education teacher working with aphasic students. Aphasia is a condition resulting in the loss of the power to use or comprehend words. Her mother was a kindergarten teacher who later pursued a career in school psychology, and often included her daughter in the educational process as a study partner and practice test subject.

Earning her bachelor’s degree from the University of California (UCLA) at Berkeley, Peterson majored in cognitive science, specializing in theories of language, and received an interdisciplinary education in psychology, linguistics, anthropology, philosophy, neurobiology, and information processing. As an undergraduate research assistant, her research focused on comparing the narrative styles of Spanish-speaking and English-speaking children. After completing her undergraduate degree, she began work as a teacher’s assistant in a fourth grade Hebrew class, in which she assessed and graded students’ Hebrew reading and comprehension skills. She continued, however, to study theories of language and cognition through independent study.

In 1998, Peterson began working toward her Ph.D. at the Warner School, receiving the prestigious Scandling Scholarship and an assistantship with Lucia French, associate professor, teaching and curriculum, on the ScienceStart! project. Her research has involved videotaping, transcribing, and analyzing classroom conversations to better understand how young children learn to use language and learn through language in preschool. She also has provided workshops and in-home visits to family day care providers.

In 2002, Peterson was awarded an American Education Research Association (AERA)/Spencer Pre-Dissertation Fellowship for travel to two AERA/Spencer Foundation Institutes and the AERA Annual Meeting in Chicago in April 2003. Additionally, she was paired with a mentor who works on discourse processes in families with young children. In 2003, the Spencer Foundation awarded her a Dissertation Fellowship for research related to education, a strong expression of the Foundation’s confidence in her potential contribution to the history, theory, and practice of education. Each of these fellowships recognizes the most promising young scholars in the education fields.

Peterson completed her doctorate in teaching and curriculum in 2005 and is currently a research associate at Children's Institute in Rochester.