Brianna Devlin earned her PhD in Education from the University of Delaware in 2021, specializing in Learning Sciences. Her research focuses on discovering how to best support children’s early learning to benefit their later understanding of mathematics. She has a specific interest in providing early support for children who may experience difficulties with mathematics learning due to math-specific learning disability or contextual factors (e.g., systemic inequities faced by children from under-resourced communities). Brianna is part of Sara Schmitt’s lab and works on an NSF-funded study focused on structuring preschoolers’ group block play such that it builds foundational STEM and self-regulation skills for children from under-resourced communities. Brianna serves as Co-Chair of the Trainee Board of the international Mathematical Cognition and Learning Society.
Elyssa A. Geer, PhD examines the connection between spatial and math skills over time with particular focus on factors that may impact this relation such as cognitive anxieties (i.e., math and spatial anxiety), sex differences, executive function, and other cognitive/environmental factors. Elyssa received her PhD in Developmental Psychology from Florida State University, and she is currently in her third year as a postdoctoral scholar at the Prevention Science Institute. Elyssa works alongside Sara Schmitt on studies examining the effects of classroom-based interventions that are designed to improve math skills (i.e., geometry knowledge), executive function, and other cognitive skills.
Kate Hails, PhD earned her doctorate in clinical and developmental psychology from the University of Pittsburgh in 2021, after completing her clinical internship at Oregon Health & Science University with a focus on supporting children with special health needs. Kate’s research program has two prongs, one focused on understanding parenting and family management in the context of depression, poverty-related stressors, and other ecological influences on child development and wellbeing, and the other on investigating how parents engage with a brief, evidence-based parenting intervention, the Family Check-Up. Her overarching career goal is to expand families’ access to evidence-based behavioral supports, particularly for families who have historically faced barriers to accessing services, in settings such as pediatric primary care and early childhood education.