Anna Shusterman

Map Use in Williams Syndrome: Patterns of Sparing and Vulnerability in Spatial Cognition

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Live Poster Session:  https://wesleyan.zoom.us/j/93621248579 Abstract: Williams Syndrome (WS) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder resulting in a unique profile of cognitive abilities, in which spatial cognition is impaired while language and communication remain intact. The present study examines WS patients’ sensitivity to core features of Euclidean geometry through a map-reading task. Participants were presented with 4 … Read more

Assessing the Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic on University Students

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Live Poster Session: Zoom Link Abstract: The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic affected the lives of university students, with specific respect paid to those who identify as “Students of Color”. Through two studies, the ways in which the pandemic affected their lives were examined. The first … Read more

Assessing the Relationships Among Children’s Experiences in Nature, Executive Functioning, and Well-being: An Exploratory Study

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Live Poster Session: Zoom Link Abstract: Despite evidence suggesting that nature is beneficial for health and cognitive function in both adults and children, the specific relationships among children’s experiences in nature and their executive functioning and well-being outcomes remain ambiguous. The purpose of the current study is to a) assess the relationships among children’s experiences … Read more

Bringing Research into Practice in a Play-Based Math Curriculum

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Live Poster Session: Zoom Link Abstract: Previous research suggests that numeracy skills predict later academic achievement (Duncan et al., 2007), yet not all children get the early support they need to develop these skills. Children enter preschool with significant individual variation in mathematical knowledge, and these differences are associated with factors such as socioeconomic background, parent engagement in math activities at home, and parents’ math ability (Elliott et al., 2017; Gunderson & Levine, … Read more