Research Areas
In our lab, we aim to understand the factors that impact each child’s learning and development in a particular context. We examine how the language in children's scaffolded social interactions and conversations with caregivers, teachers, and technological devices during early childhood shapes their early learning and contributes to the development of school readiness skills for all learners. Using a strengths-based approach, we aim to develop new pedagogical approaches to early education and evidenced-based interventions that build on the cultural practices of families to foster the 21st century skills children need to succeed in the workforce today.
Our research takes place in schools, daycares, and after-school programs, and we also have opportunities for families to participate in research in our lab via Zoom. Our studies include children, families, and educators from diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
How Do Caregiver-Child Conversations and Scaffolded Social Interactions Impact Children’s Early Learning?
Our lab primarily focuses on how the language in children’s conversations and shared storybook reading interactions with adults impacts their early learning, persistence, beliefs about intelligence – and contributes to the development of their school readiness more broadly speaking. Some of our studies explore how storybooks can be an effective, strengths-based tool for encouraging adult-child scientific talk and fostering children’s critical thinking and scientific skills.
How Do Children Learn From and Evaluate Information from Technological Sources and Media?
Children today are growing up in a digital world and are exposed to and and actively use technological sources such as the internet, social robots and smart speakers (e.g., Apple’s Siri or Amazon’s Alexa) to acquire new knowledge. In our lab, we examine how children learn from and evaluate information provided by such devices. One of our studies asks whether children decide to direct a question to a smart speaker or the child’s classroom teacher.
How Does the Language Used In Teacher-Child Conversations and School Curricula Shape Children's Early STEM Learning?
From an early age, children ask a LOT of scientific questions to learn new information! In fact, children’s question-asking behavior is a significant 21st century empirical reasoning skill and is a core component of “scientific inquiry.” Scientific inquiry has become the foundation of STEM education during K-12 schooling. Inquiry-based learning draws on children’s intrinsic motivation to learn about the world by guiding them to identify gaps in their knowledge, encouraging them to ask questions, explore, construct explanations, and collaborate with others, offering a developmentally appropriate way to engage children in STEM activities. In some studies, we explore how classrooms emphasizing such scientific inquiry-based practices may shape teacher-child scientific conversations and critical thinking skills during the preschool and early elementary school years. We want to know how the language in children’s conversations with teachers in the classroom context may provide the foundation for children’s later motivation, engagement, interest and learning in STEM!
Current Studies
Our Current Focus
Caregiver-Child Scientific Storybook Reading Study
We are looking for 4-, 5-, 6- and 7-year-old children to participate in a short study with their caregivers. One of our studies is a two-time commitment entirely completed over Zoom. During the first session (about 15 minutes), caregivers and children will read a fun book then they will get the chance to play with a science together. About a week later, children will play another game to see what they remember about the book. It will be a great opportunity for caregivers and children to play together and learn more about science, and we hope to use our results to inform parents and educators about how to best promote children's scientific learning! You will receive a $10 gift card after completing your second session. Please sign up here.
Learning from Smart Speakers: Children’s Scientific Questions Study
We are interested in how children decide to direct science questions to technological devices such as smart speakers versus adults! We are looking for children between the ages of 5-7-year-olds to participate.This study is a one-time commitment (about 20 minutes) entirely completed over Zoom. In the study, we introduce your child to some characters, ask them questions about them, and then invite them to play a game. You will receive a $10 gift card after completing your session. Please sign up here.
Contact us for more information about our research.
Publications
How does caregiver-child conversation during a
scientific storybook reading impact children’s mindset beliefs and persistence?
Haber, A.S., Kumar, S., Leech, K., & Corriveau, K. (2024). How does caregiver-child conversation during a
scientific storybook reading impact children’s mindset beliefs and persistence? Child Development. DOI:
10.1111/cdev.14107
Teachers’ scientific questions differ by child gender in
the preschool classroom
Kumar, S.C.,* Haber, A.S.*, & Corriveau, K.H. (2024). Teachers’ scientific questions differ by child gender in
the preschool classroom. Mind, Brain, and Education. 18: 57-61. DOI: 10.1111/mbe.12400
[*First authorship shared].
Social robots as social learning partners: Exploring children’s early understanding and learning from social robots.
Haber, A.S., & Corriveau, K.H. (2023). Social robots as social learning partners: Exploring children’s early understanding and learning from social robots. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 46, E36.
“Why can’t I see my friends and family?”: Children's questions and parental explanations about Coronavirus.
Haber, A.S., Kumar, S., Puttre, H., Dashoush, N. & Corriveau, K.H. (2022). “Why can’t I see my friends and family?”: Children's questions and parental explanations about Coronavirus. Mind, Brain, and Education. DOI: 10.1002/MBE.12309.
Putting social cognitive mechanisms back into Cumulative Technological Culture: Social interactions serve as a mechanism for children's early knowledge acquisition.
Haber, A.S. & Corriveau, K.H. (2020). Putting social cognitive mechanisms back into Cumulative Technological Culture: Social interactions serve as a mechanism for children's early knowledge acquisition. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X20000084.
Embedding explanations into storybooks impacts children's scientific discourse and learning.
Leech, K.A., Haber, A.S., + Jalkh, Y., & Corriveau, K.H. (2020). Embedding explanations into storybooks impacts children's scientific discourse and learning. Frontiers in Psychology. 11:1016. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01016.
“How will you construct a pathway system?”: Microanalysis of teacher-child scientific conversations.
Haber, A.S., Puttre, H., Ghossainy, M.E., Corriveau, K.H. (2021). “How will you construct a pathway system?”: Microanalysis of teacher-child scientific conversations. Journal of Childhood, Education & Society. 2(3), 338–363. DOI: 10.37291/2717638X.202123117.
Questions and explanations in the classroom: Examining variation in early childhood teachers’ responses to children’s scientific questions.
Haber, A.S., Leech, K., Benton D., Dashoush, N., & Corriveau, K. H. (2021). Questions and explanations in the classroom: Examining variation in early childhood teachers’ responses to children’s scientific questions. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 57, 121–132. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2021.05.008.
On the malleability of selective trust.
Leech, K.A.*, Haber, A.S.*,, Arunachalam, S., Kurkil, K. & Corriveau, K.H. (2019). On the malleability of selective trust. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 183, 65-74. DOI: 10. 1016/j.jecp.2019.01.013. [*First Authorship Shared].
Fostering children's reasoning about disagreements through an inquiry-based curriculum.
Haber, A.S., Sobel, D.M., & Weisberg, D.S. (2019). Fostering children's reasoning about disagreements through an inquiry-based curriculum. Journal of Cognition and Development, 20(4), 592-610. DOI: 10. 1080/15248372.2019.1639713.