The Gesell Institute of Child Development is a 501c(3)

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

located in the Gesell Institute building on the campus of

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, United States. It promotes to and educates child care professionals on the principles of child development originally laid down by the institutional namesake,

Arnold Gesell Arnold Lucius Gesell (21 June 1880 – 29 May 1961) was an American psychologist, pediatrician and professor at Yale University known for his research and contributions to the fields of child hygiene and child development.Harris, B. (2011). Arn ...

History

Inception

The Gesell Institute was founded in 1950 by Dr.

Louise Bates Ames Louise Bates Ames (October 29, 1908 – October 31, 1996) was an American psychologist specializing in child development. Ames was known as a pioneer of child development studies, introducing the theory of child development stages to popular disc ...

and Dr.

Frances Ilg Frances Lillian Ilg (1902– July 26, 1981) was an American pediatrician and professor at Yale University. She was an expert in infant and child development, as co-founder and director of the Gesell Institute of Child Development. Early life an ...

alongside Janet Learned after Gesell's retirement from the

Yale Child Study Center The Yale Child Study Center is a department at the Yale University School of Medicine. The center conducts research and provides clinical services and medical training related to children and families. Topics of investigation include autism and r ...

the previous year. Shortly afterward a Gesell Nursery School was founded adjacent to the institute and provided practical experience to those studying child development. Between 1961 and 1984, the Gesell Institute offered post-doctorate fellowships in

ophthalmology Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

. In 1964, the three-volume set ''

Soothing Sounds for Baby ''Soothing Sounds for Baby'' (1962) is a three-volume set of ambient electronic music by American composer, musician, and inventor Raymond Scott. Scott originally intended to lull infants to sleep with the music, but later generations have found ...

'' was released as a collaboration with American composer

Raymond Scott Raymond Scott (born Harry Warnow; September 10, 1908 – February 8, 1994) was an American composer, band leader, pianist and record producer. Known best in his time as a composer of production music, Scott is today regarded as an early ...

Today

Currently the organization maintains its headquarters in the original Gesell Institute building on the campus of Yale University. Outside of the main office, a group of educators called the National Lecture Staff traverse the United States conducting workshops which teach attendees to administer the Gesell Developmental Observation-Revised(GDO-R) assessment.

Gesell Developmental Observation-Revised (GDO-R)

The GDO-R is a comprehensive multi-dimensional assessment system that assists educators, and other (child care) professionals in understanding the characteristics of child behavior in relation to typical growth patterns between 2½ and 9 years of age. It is based on the developmental schedules created by

which detail the patterns and sequences of child development recorded during his large scale observational studies.

References

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External links

Gesell Institute of Child Development
Educational organizations based in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Connecticut Organizations established in 1950