These grants are designed to support the development of research programs by newer faculty in FASS. Awardees will be required to use the funds to prepare and submit a formal application as the Principal Investigator (Applicant) for a major external grant, preferably to a Tri-Agency (SSHRC, NSERC, or CIHR) program, within two years of receiving the Award.
Here is the summary of her application:
Fair Shares: How Kids Think about Numbers and Equality
Foundational number knowledge is crucial for later academic success, particularly in mathematics. Importantly, mathematics learning is hierarchical and builds on prior knowledge, including basic mathematical processes, such as comparing quantities and numbers, and recognizing patterns. This proposal focuses on exploring the development of number knowledge in the early years, and specifically how young children engage with numerical quantity during everyday activities like sharing. Young children may say they want to share equally with a friend, but lack the numerical knowledge and skills needed to be able to make equal sets of objects. The objective is to develop and pilot tasks that examine how young children’s developing number knowledge influences their sharing behaviour. The proposal builds on ongoing research, including a case study on a toddler’s acquisition of number words, an undergraduate thesis exploring the development of quantity representations, and an international multi-laboratory collaboration called Many Numbers. Findings from this research will contribute to our understanding of how early experiences shape the cognitive development of numerical concepts. This work will support the development of an NSERC Discovery Grant application in fall 2025. Funds will support two student research assistantships in Summer 2025 to conduct literature reviews, longitudinal data collection, and pilot studies of novel methods.
Congratulations Rebecca!!!