Lab News

Dr. Scalise co-authored a new publication in the Early Childhood Education Journal, along with Isabella Santiago and Dr. Canning. The article is titled, When We Were Young: Memories of Early Mathematics Experiences, they examined emerging adults’ first memories of reading and mathematics, relating to their current levels of math anxiety. Their results showed a correlation between early math experiences and the effects of it later in life. The results show the need for the need to promote positive and engaging learning environments for children. 

Undergraduate Research Assistant Adalie Baker was awarded the 2026-2027 Auvil Scholars Fellowship from the Office of Undergraduate Research. She will lead a study on children’s naptime sleep and compare differences for learning outcomes, and emotional and behavioral regulation skills. The results of this study will provide insight into children’s math learning during the school day. Congratulations, Adalie!

The Early Learning lab was thrilled to welcome some of the WSU Children’s Center preschoolers to our new lab space in August 2025! Our visitors got to talk about what math means to them, play math games with big dice, legos, and puzzles, and enjoy some tasty snacks. Thanks for visiting, preschool friends!

The Early Learning lab has moved! Thanks to the hard work of Adalie Baker in summer 2025, we transitioned from our old space in Wilson-Short to a new and improved space in Johnson Tower. Stop by 607 Johnson Tower to say hi and check out our new space!

This summer Dr. Scalise was honored to “present” our work on the Interest and Choice study at the 2025 Mathematical Cognition and Learning Society meeting in Hong Kong. Although she wasn’t able to attend in person, her colleagues generously shared a recording of her talk (and even included her in the group photos of the presenters!).

In May 2025, the Early Learning Lab continued its tradition of hosting a math booth at the Family Carnival Night at the Community Child Care Center!  We are so glad to be a part of this annual event and share fun math experiences with kids and families!

Undergraduate research assistants Adalie Baker, Kaylee Crane, and Marley Fox presented at the annual Prevention Science Graduate Student Organization (PSGSO) poster session in March 2025! They were among a small group of undergraduate researchers selected to present. Adalie and Marley shared preliminary findings from our Better Together study, while Kaylee presented on the Interest and Choice study (co-authored by Morgan Conway).

Dr. Scalise had the honor of presenting results from our Interest and Choice study at the Cognitive Development Society meeting in Pasadena, CA in 2024. This study is in progress, and co-authored by research assistants Morgan Conway and Amya Dahl. Dr. Scalise also had a blast presenting results from the Early Learning Memories study at the 2024 Mathematical Cognition and Learning Society meeting in Washington, DC. This study is co-authored by research assistant Isabella Santiago and Dr. Elizabeth Canning, an Associate Professor in the WSU Department of Psychology.

We are so proud to celebrate several current and former research assistants who have graduated from WSU this spring 2024! Huge congratulations to Katelyn Kessinger, Amya Dahl, Ava Upson, and Logan Ward. We can’t wait to see what you accomplish next!

In May 2024, the Early Learning Lab was thrilled to volunteer at the Community Child Care Center Family Carnival Night for the second year in a row! Katelyn Kessinger led the effort, showing kids that math can be fun and playful! Can’t wait for next year!

Dr. Scalise authored a new publication in the Early Childhood Education Journal, titled Early Mathematics Instruction and Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Beliefs: A Mixed-Methods Investigation. We found that early childhood education teachers varied widely in the amount of numerical talk they used during math lessons, with some evidence that teachers who felt higher self-efficacy for teaching used more advanced number talk with their students. Read more about it here.

Proud shoutout to Isabella Santiago, who presented in the 2024 Showcase for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (SURCA)! Isabella presented the results of her study on high school students’ math experiences. She was awarded the Gray Award for Social Sciences and the 2024 CAHNRS Outstanding Seniors Award for the Department of Human Development. Congratulations, Isabella!

On April 13, 2023, the Early Learning Lab team held a math booth at the Family Carnival Night hosted by the Community Child Care Center in Pullman. Children and their families played a shape tossing corn hole game and a roll and jump game with dice. Big thanks to Katelyn Kessinger for planning our activities and prizes! We loved spending time with the kids and sharing our love of fun math games!

Undergraduate Research Assistant Isabella Santiago was awarded the 2023-2024 Auvil Scholars Fellowship from the Office of Undergraduate Research. She will lead a survey study exploring undergraduate students’ experiences in their high school mathematics classrooms and associations with their current math anxiety and achievement. Congratulations, Isabella!

As of April 10, 2023, we have officially launched our online early mathematics learning and interest study! This study is for children aged 3-6 years old attending Head Start or ECEAP programs in Washington. Children will complete 8 online sessions of fun math activities from home. Please contact us with any questions at early.learninglab@wsu.edu

On April 6th, Morgan Conway and Dr. Scalise attended the 2022-2023 IGNITE Scholars Celebration Dinner. Morgan is an IGNITE Scholar, a program sponsored by the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resources Sciences (CAHNRS). The IGNITE program provides an opportunity for paid undergraduate research experiences for first-year students in a CAHNRS major. Congratulations, Morgan!

Dr. Scalise co-authored a new publication in the Journal of Numerical Cognition entitled, The Real Preschoolers of Orange County: Early Number Learning in a Diverse Group of Children. This study was led by Dr. Barbara Sarnecka at the University of California, Irvine. We found that controlling for SES, there were no negative impacts of bilingualism to preschoolers’ numerical skills. Furthermore, Spanish-English bilingual preschoolers performed equivalently well on math measures when assessed in English and Spanish. Read the full article here.