Graduate Students

Jacob Butts

PhD Student

jakeb@uchicago.edu

My research explores conceptual development with a focus on mathematical symbols and notations. Specifically, I am interested in how linguistic input and spatial representations impact children’s understanding of mathematical concepts. Through this research, I hope to better understand the basic cognitive processes that drive learning and identify mechanisms to close achievement gaps in mathematics.

Mia Velazquez

PhD Student

miavelazquez@uchicago.edu

I am broadly interested in the underlying cognitive mechanisms of mathematical learning, and, more specifically, the relationship between spatial and numerical cognitive development. I am currently exploring how children and adults mentally represent sets of objects, and how spatial cues support numerical estimation.

Karina Kling

PhD Student

kakling@uchicago.edu

My main research interests involve the intersection of mathematics, cognitive development, and education, with specific focuses on learning and instruction of crucial early mathematics concepts like fractions and probability within the scopes of individual learners, classrooms, and educational interventions.

Jessica Waltmon

PhD Student

jessicawaltmon@uchicago.edu

I am a Ph.D. student in the University of Chicago’s Developmental Psychology Program and an Institute of Education Sciences (IES) Fellow. I am co-advised by Dr. Katherine Kinzler and Dr. Susan Levine. I graduated in 2021 with a B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Davis with Highest Honors. Broadly, my interests include 1) understanding what shapes our conception of our cognitive abilities and how this influences our behaviors; 2) investigating how this knowledge can bolster interventions in education, industry, policy, and medical fields.

Dania Carr

PhD Student

danias@uchicago.edu

I am a doctoral student and Institute of Education Sciences (IES) fellow in the Developmental Psychology program working with Dr. Susan Levine. I am interested in research that explores mathematical learning through a developmental lens. Specifically, I am interested in investigating the impact that different socio-emotional, cognitive, and linguistic factors have on children’s mathematical understanding. Through my research, I hope to be able to inform evidence-based interventions that work to close the achievement gap in mathematics.

Grace Huang

PhD Student

ysh@uchicago.edu

I am a PhD student working with Dr. Susan Levine and Dr. Lin Bian at the University of Chicago. I received my Bachelor’s degree from Northeastern University with a major in Psychology and a minor in Business Administration. During my studies at NU, I worked in Dr. John Coley’s lab where I studied “cognitive consturals”, such as essentialism, and how they affect people’s understanding and reasoning about the world. After graduating from NU, I obtained a Master’s degree in Education from Boston University. I am interested in questions related to gender stereotypes and social biases in educational settings. In my free time, I enjoy pour-over coffee, yoga, and traveling.

Tania Dhaliwal

PhD Student

taniad@uchicago.edu

I am a Ph.D. student being co-advised by Dr. Susan Levine and Dr. Katherine Kinzler. Prior to joining UChicago, I completed my undergraduate studies at Stanford University, and worked at Carnegie Mellon University and University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. In my past work, I have investigated healthy-eating growth mindsets, cross-cultural development of causal relational reasoning, associative and taxonomic priming effects on the development of word learning, perception and use of generic language, and children’s causal understanding of viral transmission. At UChicago, I am broadly interested in exploring children’s development of numerical knowledge and historical knowledge: a) how this development unfolds in diverse environments—affected by different cognitive, linguistic and sociocultural factors, and (b) how it affects our social attitudes and understanding of inequality.