Özlem received her B.Sc. in 2005 from the Department of Early Childhood Education at Middle East Technical University (Ankara, Turkey). After finishing her M.A. in Cognition and Instruction program at McGill University she spent a year teaching kindergarten children in Thailand. Ozlem completed her Ph.D, under the supervision of Dr. Jo-Anne LeFevre, in 2013.
Özlem’s general research interest is cognitive development in early childhood and its relation to literacy interventions and playing games. Her Ph.D. research focuses on exploring the effects of language, culture and home experiences on the acquisition of early numeracy skills.