People - The Thinking and Learning Lab

People in Our Lab

Principle Investigator

Elida V. Laski
Ph.D., Developmental Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University
Ed.M Early Childhood Education, Boston University

Dr. Laski received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Carnegie Mellon University in 2008. Prior to earning her Ph.D., she received a Masters degree in Early Childhood Education and worked in public schools for over 5 years, first as a kindergarten teacher, then as a Reading Recovery teacher, and later as a literacy coach for the Boston Public Schools providing professional development to teachers of children in preschool through lower elementary school.

Dr. Laski joined the faculty at Boston College’s Lynch School of Education as an assistant professor of Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology in 2009. Upon arriving at Boston College she established the Thinking and Learning Laboratory. Research in the lab focuses on understanding the role of cognitive and social factors in the development of academic concepts, particularly those related to mathematics. Her work explores the mechanisms that promote, constrain, or impede learning and how psychological learning principles can be used to develop and improve educational activities. In 2011, she was nominated for a prestigious James T. McDonnell Scholar Award. In 2013, she was selected to participate in the American Education Research Association Early Career Scholar Mentor Program.

To view her complete CV, visit her department webpage.

Interested in a doctoral program or gaining research experience, consider joining the Thinking and Learning Lab?

Send us a message for more details.

Graduate Students

Muanjing (Julia) Wang

Julia Muanjing Wang is a doctoral candidate in the Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology Program at Boston College. Julia received her BA in Psychology from New York University and an M.E. in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her work focuses on how contextual factors influence young children’s cognitive development, such as home experiences and preschool education. Her current project looks at how specific features of a self-designed storybook influence parental math input during parent-child interaction. Julia enjoys cooking, baking, and traveling in her free time, and she is a huge coffee lover!

Hyun Young (Katie) Cho

Hyunyoung, who goes by Katie, is a doctoral candidate in the Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology program at Boston College. Her main research interests are children’s cognitive development and math knowledge. She is currently studying different predictors of children’s learning of arithmetic principles, specifically examining student and task characteristics. Her home is Seoul, Korea, but she has a lot of experience living in different cities growing up! She likes to travel, look for good coffee shops, and collect stationery items.

Jiwon Ban

Jiwon, a fourth-year PhD candidate, graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 2019, with her BS in Psychology (Developmental Concentration) and a minor in Hispanic Studies. Prior to graduate school, she worked as a lab manager for two years in Dr. Robert S. Siegler’s lab at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she gained an interest in improving numerical magnitude knowledge in middle school students. Currently, her research interests are focused on how early education teachers influence children’s math learning. In addition to research, Jiwon enjoys going to Crossfit and spending time with her dog, Otis!

Kennedy Damoah

Kennedy, a second-year doctoral student, graduated with a BSc in Psychology from Worcester State University in 2019. He spent a year as a Social Worker with the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families before completing his MS degree at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in 2022. At WPI, he worked at the African Community Education as a College Corps Fellow with the Worcester Education Collaborative, providing STEM enrichment activities to elementary school students during after school programs. He’s particularly interested in investigating differences in math cognition across contexts and the factors that influence these differences to improve math learning.

Genevieve Madaus

Genevieve is earning her master’s degree in Special Education for Moderate Support Needs at Boston College. Last year, she completed her BA in Applied Psychology and Human Development with a minor in Art History from BC. She is interested in learning about specialized curriculums that help elementary students with disabilities succeed, specifically those with ASD. Genevieve loves to read and to explore local art museums!

Undergraduate Students

Merryn Cuoto
Helen Zhang

Lab Highlights