The Count Me In Team
CMI Research Team 2009
Dr. Jo-Anne LeFevre, Ph.D.
Carleton University
Dr. LeFevre is a cognitive psychologist in the Department of Psychology and the Institute of Cognitive Science Program. She is the Director of the Centre for Applied Cognitive Research at Carleton University. Topics she is currently pursuing in the area of mathematical cognition include (a) the types of mental codes are used to solve arithmetic problems, (b) the role of working memory in mental arithmetic, and (c) the role of language and bilingualism in mental arithmetic. Developmental projects include research in the home literacy and numeracy experiences of children and the role of those experiences in the acquisition of literacy and numeracy. Applied questions, such as “What should parents do at home to help their children learn about reading and arithmetic?” or “Why do some people find arithmetic harder than other people?” help to frame and focus my basic research.
Dr. Jeff Bisanz, Ph.D.
University of Alberta
Dr. Bisanz is a developmental psychologist in the Department of Psychology at the University of Alberta. His research is focused on cognitive development and, especially, the development of mathematical thinking and instruction in children. He is also Director of the Community-University Partnership for the Study of Children, Youth, and Families, where he works to develop community-based projects in research and knowledge sharing.
Dr. Brenda Smith-Chant, Ph.D.
Ontario Ministry of Child and Youth Services & Trent University
Dr. Smith-Chant is a developmental psychologist at Trent University in Peterborough. Much of Dr. Smith-Chant’s recent research has focused on the development of mathematical cognition in children with spina bifida.
Dr. Sheri-Lynn Skwarchuk, Ph. D.
University of Winnipeg
Dr. Skwarchuk is a developmental psychologist at the University of Winnipeg in the Education Program. Her research and teaching interests are in the area of mathematical cognition, assessment and educational psychology. She is interested in the development of children’s number word vocabularies, and the relation between number production abilities, place value and mathematical competence. She is working toward understanding the relation between informal home mathematical preschool experiences and their later impact on formalized mathematical training in school. Dr. Skwarchuk has worked as a school psychologist and as an early childhood educator. She brings her practical experiences working with children having mathematical difficulties and related learning issues to the team.
Dr. Deepthi Kamawar, Ph.D.
Carleton University
Dr. Kamawar is a developmental psychologist. She is cross-appointed to the Cognitive Science and Psychology programs. Her research interests are in the area of children’s cognitive development and their ability to deal with representations. The research has focused on children’s ability understand that people’s minds represent the world in particular ways (which may or may not be correct), and it is on the basis of these representations that we predict or explain behaviour ( known as Theory of Mind).
Lisa Fast, M.Sc.
Carleton University
Lisa Fast was the Research Coordinator for Count Me In, designing, implementing and managing all of the measures, data collection and initial analysis. She designed and implemented the Java computer application used for the study and participated in all aspects of the research work, including publications. Lisa still participates in the project, although she has joined Neo Insight as a Customer Experience Specialist.
Count Me In Research Team Members
Ozlem Cankaya, B.Sc., M.A.
Carleton University
Ozlem Cankaya is a doctoral student at the Institute of Cognitive Science. She is interested in cognitive development in young children, particularly with respect to early literacy skills. Her areas of interest include: Mathematical cognition, working memory, reading comprehension. Ozlem has been involved in the CMI project since 2009 focusing on the link between magnitude representation and estimation ability in young children.
Dr. Marcie Penner-Wilger, Ph.D.
Franklin & Marshall College
Marcie Penner-Wilger has been a contributing Count Me In research team member since 2003. Marcie is interested in the precursors to mathematical skill, especially individual differences in pathways to success. In 2005, Marcie received a Canada Graduate Scholarship from NSERC. Canada Graduate Scholarships are awarded to Canada’s top ranked Ph.D. candidates.
Dr. Aryn Pyke, Ph.D.
Carleton University
Aryn is currently a Post-doctoral Fellow in the Psychology depertment at Psychology Department at
Carnegie Mellon Univeristy.
Dr. Tina Shanahan, Ph.D.
Carleton University
Tina Shanahan is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Psychology at Carleton University. After working as a school psychologist for many years, she decided to continue her education. Her research interests are in the development of children’s arithmetic knowledge.
Carla Sowinski, M.A.
Carleton University
Carla Sowinski is a Ph.D. student supervised by Dr. Jo-Anne LeFevre. She has been involving in the Count Me In project since 2007. To date, Carla has focused on the relations between parents’ reports of home numeracy experiences and children’s numeracy outcomes. In her Master’s thesis research, she also looked at mothers’ academic expectations and attitudes towards math as predictors of reported frequencies of home numeracy activities. Carla is also interested in the role that the childcare environment may play in children’s numeracy development. She has worked on a project sponsored by the Canadian Council on Learning that surveyed members of the Canadian Child Care Federation, asking child care practitioners about their academic expectations, attitudes, beliefs, and frequencies that they engage in numeracy activities with the children in their care. In future, Carla would like to conduct an intervention study with children in the Ottawa area to test the Pathways Model developed by the Count Me In Team. She also plans to analyze some recent data collected from parents in relation to children’s vocabulary, quantitative awareness, attention and numeracy outcomes.
Corrie Vendetti, M.A.
Carleton University
Corrie Vendetti is a Ph.D. student at Carleton University, studying under the supervision of Dr. Deepthi Kamawar. Corrie is interested in the developmental relations between Executive Function and other cognitive accomplishments that develop over the
Rebecca Watchorn, M.A.
University of Alberta
Becky is a Ph.D. student in Developmental Science at the University of Alberta. She studies mathematical and cognitive development. Her research focuses on how children learn certain concepts in math, such as equivalence and inversion, and how they relate these concepst to the symbolcs we use to represent math. Her Master’s thesis was based on the Inversion data from the CMI study.
