Published on March 03, 2023

Emberly Haughton Receives Trawick-Smith Research Award

Emberly Haughton has been named the fourth recipient of the Jeffrey and Nancy Trawick-Smith Early Childhood Undergraduate Research Award, which supports students who are conducting scientific, empirical studies on young children within the Center for Early Childhood Education that “will yield practical knowledge in early education and development and, thus, promote the well-being of young children and their families.” The fund was created by the Trawick-Smiths to provide opportunities for undergraduates to gain research knowledge and skills by assisting with research and travel expenses to present at national conferences.

Haughton, an Eastern student majoring in developmental psychology and early childhood education, will use the award to conduct a mixed-methods study on math reasoning by bilingual and monolingual preschoolers. Under the mentorship of Dr. Sudha Swaminathan, Haughton will evaluate preschoolers' math abilities and reasoning during assessments and play-based experiences. Her goal is to identify distinct metacognitive processing strategies used by bilingual learners and to determine appropriate supportive teaching strategies.

"I hope that this study and its results will inspire and inform teachers, caregivers, and parents to support bilingual children with activities suitable for their mathematical development," Haughton states. "My own professional goal is to help children who are in my future classroom to feel confident, comfortable, and to have as many opportunities to succeed as possible."