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December 2024
December 2024
Here is the Fall 2024 end-of-semester lab picture at the Wallace Hall Atrium. We really appreciate the work our lab team members did throughout this semester!
Top row: Dr. Caroline Hornburg, Taylor Tuck, Lauren Falk, Sydney Hinkey, Maegan Colbert, Isabel Valdivia
Bottom row: Emily Kolcz, Alexis Whitfield, Jalyn White, Fatima Rehmatulla, Shuqi Yu, Lili Guan
Not pictured: Grace Morrow
Congratulations to our Fall 2024 graduate, Grace!
December 2024
December 2024
Dr. Hornburg and Dr. Choi (Director of the CoDeS Lab at Virginia Tech) were awarded a grant from the Caplan Foundation, titled Supporting Playful Parent-Child Joint Reading Experiences through AI Digital Technology. Our team is excited to launch this new project for 4- to 6-year olds and their parents in the Spring 2025 semester!
December 2024
December 2024
The L&D lab was part of the Hokie For A Day program, hosted by Virginia Tech's Center for Educational Networks and Impacts, at the Moss Art Center. Our booth "Math Masterminds" was visited by many children who had fun playing games and practicing their math skills. We are looking forward to being a part of this event again in the next semester!
November 2024
November 2024
Dr. Hornburg presented a poster from the lab’s NSF grant at the Psychology of Mathematics Education – North American Chapter Annual Conference in Cleveland, OH, titled Predictors of middle-school students’ performance on order-of-operations problems. Details about the project can be found on the NSF website here.
November 2024
November 2024
Isabel Valdivia, graduate student, participated in the Nutshell Games, a fast-paced research presentation competition at the Moss Arts Center, where the university's graduate students present their research to the general audience in a concise and compelling 90-second presentation.
November 2024
November 2024
We have some exciting news to share from outreach activities this month! (See photos below).
First photo from the left: The Learning and Development Lab participated in Virginia Tech's 2024 Science Festival. Our exhibit was titled "AI and Robots for Young Children's Cognitive Development." Children and families engaged in fun activities to learn about emerging technologies, including AI, social robots, and eye-tracking through hands-on activities. Children also learned how researchers leverage those technologies in math learning and math research!
Second and third photo: Undergraduates Sydney Hinkey and Lauren Falk play math games with children during a "STEM Saturday" session at Wonder Universe! We love to share our passion for STEM education with the local community!
October 2024
October 2024
Our L&D lab and the CoDeS lab launched TaleMate data collection and completed the first session in October 2024! Here is a group selfie of the data collection team taken right after the very first session.
From left to right: Shuqi Yu (joint member of L&D and CoDeS labs), Erin Wade (CoDeS lab member), Fatima Rehmatulla (L&D lab member), and Mahmut Sami Gurdal (CoDeS lab member).
September 2024
September 2024
Maegan Colbert (graduate student, formerly Maegan Reinhardt)’s son was born. Welcome to the lab team, Max! ♥️
July 2024
July 2024
Jisun Kim successfully defended her dissertation, titled Preschoolers’ Mathematical Language Learning during Book Reading with an AI Voice Agent. Committee members, family, and friends celebrated to send her off to her postdoc position at Purdue University. Congratulations, Dr. Kim!
June 2024
June 2024
The L&D Lab presented our work at the Mathematical Cognition and Learning Society (MCLS) conference in Washington, D.C. Two graduate students presented posters and the lab director, Dr. Caroline Hornburg, was part of the "Understanding Perceptual Influences on Math Cognition and Learning" symposium where she presented preliminary results of an NSF-funded project in collaboration with colleagues at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Purdue University, and the University of Minnesota. We also connected with other collaborators, like the Our Mathematical World (OMW) team and the PEARL Lab at Purdue University.
Upper left and lower right: Graduate students Maegan Reinhardt (left) and Isabel Valdivia (right) presenting their posters.
Lower left: Members of the Learning & Development Lab and the PEARL Lab, directed by Dr. David Purpura.
Upper right: Dr. Caroline Hornburg presenting at the symposium.
May 2024
May 2024
Here is our end-of-semester picture at the Wallace Hall Atrium. We are very proud of the work our lab members did throughout the semester and the 23-24 academic year!
Top row, left to right: Isabel Valdivia, Maegan Reinhardt, Sydney Hinkey, Taylor Tuck, Evie O’Connor, Lilly Nelson, Dr. Caroline Hornburg
Bottom row, left to right: Jisun Kim, Rachel Thompson, Jalyn White, Emily Kolcz, Elisa Lee, Alexis Whitfield
Congratulations to our Spring 2024 graduates (Elisa, Lilly, and Rachel). You will be missed!
April 2024
April 2024
The CoDeS and L&D lab members once again teamed up to be present at the Healthy Kids Day hosted by the Virginia Tech YMCA. We had fun connecting with our community while raising awareness regarding the importance of the health and well-being of kids and their families.
March 2024
March 2024
March was a busy month for the Learning & Development Lab! We attended the Cognitive Development Society (CDS) conference in Pasadena, California, where three grad students presented posters. One of our grad students, Isabel Valdivia, presented a flash talk at the 40th Annual GPSS Research Symposium, hosted by Virginia Tech. We were also present at the Christiansburg Elementary School for their STEM Night.
Upper Left: Members of the Learning & Development Lab and the CoDeS Lab at the CDS 2024 conference.
Mid left, bottom left, and bottom: Graduate students Jisun Kim, Isabel Valdivia, and Maegan Reinhardt presenting their posters at the CDS 2024 conference.
Right: Undergraduate students Rachel Thompson, Alexis Whitfield, and Jalyn White at the Christiansburg Elementary STEM Night.
February 2024
February 2024
L&D lab members engaged with 5th-grade children during the Center for Educational Networks and Impacts' Hokie for a Day event! In one session, children played various math games to build their fluency and confidence (see photo to the right and below).
In another Hokie for a Day session in collaboration with the CoDeS lab this semester, children got the opportunity to interact with social robots and conversational AI agents deployed across smart speakers, computers, and tablets. Additionally, children explored the head-mounted eye trackers and wearable devices as the team demonstrated how these methodological tools are used to understand human cognitive processes (see photo below, far right).
December 2023
December 2023
Here is the Fall 2023 end-of-semester lab picture at the Wallace Hall Atrium. We really appreciate the work our lab team members did throughout this semester!
Top row: Taylor Tuck, Lilly Nelson, Maegan Reinhardt, Isabel Valdivia, Jisun Kim, Dr. Caroline Hornburg
Bottom row: Alexis Whitfield, Rachel Thompson, Elisa Lee
Not pictured: Brinn MacLellan, Jackie Gregasavitch
Congratulations to our Fall 2023 graduate, Brinn!
October - November 2023
October - November 2023
We have some exciting news to share from the Fall 2023 semester! (Please see photos below)
First, second, and third photo: Elementary school students visited our booth "Math Masterminds" at the Moss Art Center on campus for the Hokie For A Day program, hosted by Virginia Tech's Center for Educational Networks and Impacts! Students practiced math skills while playing fun games (Prime Climb, How Close to 100, and 15s Go Fish). Prime Climb was a favorite among the students!
Fourth photo: The lab hosted another "STEM Saturday" activity at Wonder Universe! We love to share our passion for STEM education with the local community!
June 2023
June 2023
Dr. Hornburg, lab director, was awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant for a project titled, "Examining the Effects of Perceptual Cues on Middle School Students’ Online Mathematical Reasoning and Learning." In this project, Dr. Hornburg is collaborating as a Co-Investigator with Dr. Erin Ottmar (WPI, Principal Investigator), Dr. Ji-Eun Lee (WPI), and Dr. Avery Closser (Purdue University). Details about the project can be found on the NSF website here as well as our Perceptual Cues Study project website. We are excited to launch data collection in local 6th-grade classrooms this Fall!
May 2023
May 2023
Here is another end-of-semester lab picture outside by the Child Development Center for Learning and Research on campus!
Top row: Ninie Asad, Brinn MacLellan, Hailey Foster, Jisun Kim, Hannah Madren, Isabel Valdivia
Bottom row: Rachel Castro, Katie Quinn, Julia Nathanson, Saba Ahmed, Dr. Caroline Hornburg
Not pictured: Gabrielle Elardo, Lilly Nelson
Congratulations to our Spring 2023 graduates (Gabrielle, Hailey, Hannah, Katie, Julia, Ninie, and Saba)!
April - June 2023
April - June 2023
We have so much exciting news to share from the Spring 2023 semester! (Please see photos below)
First photo: One of our undergraduate students, Ninie Asad, gave a poster presentation from the Our Mathematical World project at the Virginia Tech Dennis Dean Undergraduate Research Conference, titled "Examining the impact of a storybook series designed to strengthen math identity in Black and Latine students and students experiencing poverty." We are so proud of you, Ninie!
Pictured (from left to right): Ninie Asad, Isabel Valdivia (graduate student mentor), and Dr. Caroline Hornburg
Second photo: Elementary school students visited our booth "Math Masterminds" at the Moss Art Center on campus for the Hokie For A Day program, hosted by Virginia Tech's Center for Educational Networks and Impacts! We had a great time practicing our math skills while playing fun math games (Prime Climb, How Close to 100, and 15s Go Fish).
Third photo: The lab hosted a "STEM Saturday" activity at Wonder Universe! We hope the children found STEM-related activities fun and exciting!
April 2023
April 2023
The Our Mathematical World (OMW) team for which our lab director, Dr. Hornburg, is the Principal Investigator gave a presentation at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) 2023 conference in Chicago! The symposium was titled "Centering Student and Educator Voice and Expertise in Inclusive, Equity-Centered Research and Development."
Also, the EF+Math program, funded by the Advancing Education Research and Development Fund (AERDF), published an Insights Report, which addresses early math learning approaches including the Our Mathematical World program and others aiming to build students' math identity, executive function, and problem-solving skills! Check out the report here.
March 2023
March 2023
Dr. Hornburg, lab director, received the 2022-2023 Excellence in Research and Creative Scholarship Award from the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech. Congratulations, Dr. Hornburg!
March 2023
March 2023
One of our graduate research assistants, Jisun Kim, gave a poster presentation at the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) 2023 conference, titled "Examining Gender Differences in Children’s Math Identity and Representations of Mathematicians Across Elementary Grades."
January 2023
January 2023
Jisun Kim (graduate research assistant), Dr. Caroline Hornburg (lab director), and Dr. Koeun Choi (Jisun’s faculty advisor) from the HDFS department received a SEAD grant from the Virginia Tech Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology/Center for Educational Networks and Impacts! The project is titled "Storybook Reading with an AI Voice Assistant to Promote Preschoolers’ Mathematics Learning." Dr. Hornburg is a Co-Investigator on the project, collaborating with Dr. Koeun Choi (Principal Investigator), Dr. Myounghoon Jeon, and Shannon Mury (early childhood educator at the Virginia Tech Child Development Center for Learning and Research).
December 2022
December 2022
We had another end-of-semester lab picture taken in the Wallace Hall Atrium!
Top row: Dr. Caroline Hornburg, Ninie Asad, Brinn MacLellan, Julia Nathanson, Rachel Castro, Gabrielle Elardo, and Hannah Madren
Bottom row: Isabel Valdivia, Katie Quinn, Saba Ahmed, Jisun Kim, and Lilly Nelson
Not pictured: Marie Costanzo and Hailey Foster
Congratulations to our Fall 2022 graduate, Marie!
Other news: Baby Paul arrived as the newest member of the lab in late December 2022!
November 2022
November 2022
The L&D lab was part of the Hokie For A Day program, hosted by Virginia Tech's Center for Educational Networks and Impacts, at the Moss Art Center. Our booth "Math Masterminds" was visited by many students, who had fun playing and practicing their math skills. We are looking forward to be part of this even again in the future!
September 2022
September 2022
Dr. Hornburg, lab director, received funding from National Institutes of Health (NIH) R03! What exciting news! She is collaborating as a Co-Investigator with faculty members from Psychology and Industrial and Systems Engineering. The project is titled, "Development of machine learning methods to support collaboration in a neurodiverse team at work."
July 2022
July 2022
Dr. Hornburg, lab director, met with the entire Our Mathematical World research team in person for the first time in Chicago! The team of researchers and educators shared about the OMW project and learned about other EF+Math program projects!
May 2022
May 2022
We took an end-of-semester lab picture in the Wallace Hall Atrium!
Top row: Dr. Caroline Hornburg, Katherine D'Ercole, Jisun Kim, Katie Quinn, Gabrielle Elardo, and Maddi Walker
Bottom row: Rachel Castro, Christine Berry, Caroline Begley, and Marie Costanzo
Not pictured: Hailey Foster, Hannah Madren, Beth Marsico, and Julia Nathanson
Congratulations to our Spring 2022 graduates (Christine, Katherine, Maddi, and Beth)!
April 2022
April 2022
Two of our undergraduate students gave a poster presentation at the Virginia Tech Dennis Dean Undergraduate Research Conference, titled "Relations between parents' and children's math anxiety along with children's math avoidance and math performance in elementary school." We are so proud of you!
Pictured (from left to right): Dr. Caroline Hornburg, Christine Berry, Katherine D'Ercole, and Jisun Kim (graduate student mentor)
April 2022
April 2022
In Fall 2021 we launched our Home Math Environment Survey! This study focused on learning more about how families of 3- to 5-year-old children in the U.S. with and without developmental disabilities use math with their young children at home. We recruited over 100 participants for this survey! Recruitment is now closed, and our team is currently in the analysis phase. Once we have analyzed the results we will share the overall results with participating families via an e-newsletter!
March 2022
March 2022
Elementary school students visited our booth "Math Masterminds" at the Moss Art Center on campus for the Hokie For A Day program!
Children had a great time playing fun math games (Prime Climb, How Close to 100, and 15s Go Fish) as they practiced their math skills with VT students!
December 2021
December 2021
We took an end-of-semester lab picture outside by the Child Development Center for Learning and Research on campus!
Top row: Jisun Kim, Maria Hirt, Katherine D'Ercole, Dr. Caroline Hornburg, Maria Meara, Maddi Walker, and Hailey Foster
Bottom row: Marie Costanzo, Elise Jensen, Gina DeLeo, Julia Nathanson, Mimi Rainey, and Christine Berry
Not pictured: Caroline Begley, Beth Marsico, Bri Whitmore
Congratulations to our Fall 2021 graduates (Maria H., Maria M., Bri, and Elise)!
October 2021
October 2021
The Learning and Development Lab participated in Virginia Tech's 2021 Science Festival as exhibitors in collaboration with the CoDeS Lab! Our exhibit was titled "Look, Think, and Play: Mobile Eye Tracking and Math Games." We provided fun opportunities to middle schoolers where they can learn about eye-tracking technology and how it can be used in math learning and math research!
October - December 2021
October - December 2021
The Learning and Development Lab partnered with the Boys & Girls Club to launch the Math Buddies program we began via Zoom to occur in an in-person setting at Eastern Montgomery Elementary School.
February - April 2021
February - April 2021
The Learning and Development Lab teamed up with service-learning students at Virginia Tech to create an 8-week virtual math program, "Virginia Tech Math Buddies," focused on word-problem solving, based on the Pirate Math Curriculum created by Dr. Sarah Powell and Dr. Kate Berry at the University of Texas at Austin. The virtual sessions with 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders occurred with a Virginia Tech Student and Math Buddies Program Assistant over Zoom.
September - October 2020
September - October 2020
The Learning and Development Lab paired up with the CoDeS Lab during Virginia Tech's 2020 Virtual Science Festival! Our exhibit was titled "Do you know what I’m looking at? Tracking eye movements during math games." We had a great time with the 3rd-grade students and middle schoolers exploring the use of eye-tracking technology in math activities!
Check out more information about the CoDeS (Cognitive Developmental Science) lab here.
September 2020
September 2020
Dr. Hornburg, lab director, received funding from the Advanced Education Research and Development Fund (AERDF)'s EF+Math program for a project titled "My Math Stories: Taking My Place in Our Mathematical World." Dr. Hornburg is the Primary Investigator of a large multi-university team of researchers and educators, focused on developing math learning approaches that embed executive function skill-building opportunities within equitable, high-quality math content and instruction.
The Our Mathematical World project specifically is working to design activities to build 3rd-5th graders' math identity, executive function skills, and problem-solving skills, especially for Black and Latine students and students experiencing poverty. Check out more information about the Our Mathematical World project and related projects at www.efmathprogram.org.
February 2020
February 2020
The Learning and Development Lab implemented the "Number Wizards" outreach program with 5th graders from the local community. Students had a great time playing diverse math games including "How Close to 100?," "Mobi," "24," and "Prime Climb." These fun games help students build math fluency!
August 2019
August 2019
The Learning and Development Lab at Virginia Tech was born!
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