Jennifer Sander
Jennifer Sander is a research scholar at Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. Her research focuses on the role of visual attention in social interactions between children and their caregivers, and how this shapes the child’s language development. She employs head-mounted eye-tracking in naturalistic interactions, as well as screen-based eye tracking, behavioural and observational data.
Before joining BU Wheelock, Jennifer Sander conducted her doctoral research under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Caroline Rowland and Dr. Yayun Zhang at the Language Development Department of the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen in the Netherlands. Research from her dissertation titled “Through the Eyes of the Learner: How Language Modality and Visual Attention Reshape Perspectives on Word Learning” has been published in journals such as Developmental Science and First Language.
Pronouns: she/her
Education
MSc, Linguistics, University of Potsdam (Germany)
BA, Cultural Sciences, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg (Germany)
Selected Publications
Sander, J., Lieberman, A., Rowland, C.F. (2025). Caregivers use joint attention to support sign language acquisition in Deaf children. Developmental Science (28-4). http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/desc.70034
Sander, J., Zhang, Y., Rowland, C.F. (2025). Language acquisition occurs in multimodal social interaction: A commentary on Karadöller, Sümer and Özürek [Invited Commentary]. First Language, 45(6), 780-784. https://doi.org/10.1177/01427237251326984
Sander, J., Meister, N.-K., Finkbeiner, T. A., Rowland, C. F., Steinbach, M., Friederici, A., et al. (2025). Deaf signers adapt their eye gaze behaviour when processing an unknown sign language. CogSci Proceedings. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/nprju_v1
Sander, J., Cetincelik, M., Zhang, Y., Rowland, C., Harmon, Z. (2024). Why does joint attention predict vocabulary acquisition? The answer depends on what coding scheme you use. CogSci Proceedings. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3dm358j8 Sander, J., Lieberman, A., Rowland, C. (2023). Exploring joint attention in American Sign Language: The influence of sign familiarity. CogSci Proceedings. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5kq2s523
Sander, J., Schüller, A., Eikelboom, D., Baker, A., van den Bogaerde, B., Rowland, C.F (in press). Challenges of and potential solutions for creating a video-based adaptation of the MacArthur Bates Communicative Development Inventory for a Sign Language. Special Issue MB-CDI across Europe: adaptations, advances, and applications, in Croatian Review of Rehabilitation Research.
Sander, J., Schüller, A., Eikelboom, D., Baker, A., van den Bogaerde, B., Rowland, C.F (in press). NGT-CDI: a video-based adaptation of the MacArthur Bates Communicative Development Inventory for Sign Language of the Netherlands (Nederlandse Gebarentaal). Special Issue MB-CDI across Europe: adaptations, advances, and applications, in Croatian Review of Rehabilitation Research.
Selected Presentations
Sander, J., Eikelboom, D., Zhang, Y., Rowland, C.F. (2025). Exploring visual pathways for label-object mapping in signing and speaking children. BUCLD (Boston University Conference of Language Development). November 6th – 9th, Boston, USA, Conference Talk.
Sander, J., Eikelboom, D., Zhang, Y., Rowland, C.F. (2025). From the sidelines: peripheral vision reshapes what we know about word learning. X-PPL (Crosslinguistic Perspectives on Processing and Learning). September 2 – 3, Zürich, Switzerland, Conference Talk.
Sander, J., Meister, N.-K., Finkbeiner, T. A., Rowland, C. F., Steinbach, M., Friederici, A., et al. (2025). Deaf signers adapt their eye gaze behaviour when comprehending an unknown sign language. CogSci (Cognitive Science Society), July 30 – August 2, San Francisco, USA, Poster Presentation.
Sander, J., Eikelboom, D., Zhang, Y., Rowland, C.F. (2025). Competing for Attention? Investigating object-label alignment in signing and speaking dyads. WIMLA (Workshop on Interaction and Multimodality in Language Acquisition. June 23 – 25, Mexico City, Mexico, Conference Talk.
Sander, J., Eikelboom, D., Zhang, Y., Rowland, C. (2025). Through the Eyes of the Learner: Examining Attentional Dynamics in Signed Caregiver-Child Interactions using Head-Mounted Eye-Tracking. TISLR (Theoretical Issues in Sign Language Research), January 14-17, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Poster Presentation.
Sander, J, Cetincelik, M., Zhang, Y., Rowland, C., Harmon, Z. (2024). Why does Joint Attention Predict Vocabulary Acquisition? The Answer Depends on What Coding Scheme you Use. CogSci (Cognitive Science), July 24-27, Rotterdam, Netherlands. Conference Talk.
Sander, J., Zhang, Y., Yu, C., D‘Souza, H., Rowland, C. (2024). Language Acquisition in Real-World Contexts: Head-Mounted Eye Tracking in Diverse Populations. IASCL (International Congress for the Study of Child Language), July 15-19, Prague, Czech Republic. Symposium.
Sander, J., Cetincelik, M., Zhang, Y., Rowland, C., Harmon, Z. (2024). Exploring the Dynamics of Joint Attention Measures in Predicting Language Abilities. ICIS (The International Congress on Infant Studies), July 8-11, Glasgow, Scotland. Poster Presentation.
Sander, J., Lieberman, A., Rowland, C. (2024). Examining Joint Attention in Signed Interactions: The Influence of Sign Familiarity. ICIS (The International Congress on Infant Studies), July 8-11, Glasgow, Scotland. Poster Presentation.
Sander, J., Cetincelik, M., Zhang, Y., Rowland, C., Harmon, Z. (2024). Comparing Joint Attention Metrics: Insights from Infant-Caregiver Interactions. WILD (Workshop on Infant Language Development), June 18-21, Lisbon, Portugal. Conference Talk.
Sander, J., Cetincelik, M., Zhang, Y., Rowland, C., Harmon, Z. (2024). Comparing Joint Attention Metrics: Insights from Infant-Caregiver Interactions. IMPRS (International Max Planck Research School for Language Sciences Conference), June 5-7, Nijmegen, Netherlands. Poster Presentation.
Sander, J., Cetincelik, M., Zhang, Y., Rowland, C. (2023). Unraveling the Granularity of Different Metrics in Analyzing Joint Attention Data. MPaL (Many Paths to Language), October 25-27, Nijmegen, Netherlands. Poster Presentation.