Jenna Sung is a recent graduate who majored in Psychology and Education. She was awarded a Spring 2017 Independent Grant which she used to conduct research on mathematical competence in children under Dr. Stella Lourenco.
I am a senior currently participating in the honors program in the Spatial Cognition Laboratory. My advisor is Dr. Stella Lourenco and I am currently investigating the research question: Does Mental Rotation Training Enhance Mathematical Competence in Children? Spatial ability is strongly correlated with mathematic competence and plays a crucial role in children’s education (Uttal, Miller, & Newcombe, 2013), specifically STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). However, the causal links between space and math is largely unstudied limiting the practical implications of the relationship. The study tested whether there is a causal relation between spatial and mathematical abilities by implementing a novel online-at-home mental rotation training and then assessing the impact of training on children’s math performance. Results indicated that our training was successful and spatial training significantly enhanced mental rotation scores. However, we found no evidence of transfer of enhanced spatial performance to mathematical competence. These findings have important theoretical and practical implications and may impact future training studies and real-life applications.
I am a senior currently participating in the honors program in the Spatial Cognition Laboratory. My advisor is Dr. Stella Lourenco and I am currently investigating the research question: Does Mental Rotation Training Enhance Mathematical Competence in Children? Spatial ability is strongly correlated with mathematic competence and plays a crucial role in children’s education (Uttal, Miller, & Newcombe, 2013), specifically STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). However, the causal links between space and math is largely unstudied limiting the practical implications of the relationship. The study tested whether there is a causal relation between spatial and mathematical abilities by implementing a novel online-at-home mental rotation training and then assessing the impact of training on children’s math performance. Results indicated that our training was successful and spatial training significantly enhanced mental rotation scores. However, we found no evidence of transfer of enhanced spatial performance to mathematical competence. These findings have important theoretical and practical implications and may impact future training studies and real-life applications.
Participating
in this honors program, I have quite enjoyed the privilege of engaging in the
full spectrum of what it takes to explore a principled research question:
designing of the experiment, administration of experiment, participant
recruitment, data collection and management, statistical analysis, and
preparing a manuscript. The list really goes on. Looking back, I feel I have
grown so much as a researcher through this challenging and rigorous program.
However, the first few weeks of the adjusting period was hard. The level of
independence and responsibility expected of an honors student was something I
had to adjust to. It was definitely challenging to juggle so many things at once
while keeping the deadlines you have made for yourself. The honors project is a
year-long project, which means there is a long list of things to be checked off
with no short deadlines. Also, my other classwork and extracurricular
activities were not going to pause and wait for me to finish my honors thesis. The magnitude of my study overwhelmed me at
first, but I slowly learned to manage them.
The
process was definitely tough. It was probably one of the most challenging
experiences I’ve had at Emory University. However, it brought me its fair share
of joyous moments too. Once my study’s methodology had been finalized and I
started recruiting participants, I still remember the excitement of testing my
very first participant. It was only one participant and I had a long way to go,
but I was so thrilled to finally see my study take off. I also remember
struggling to write my SIRE
(Scholarly Inquiry and Research at Emory) grant proposal, the anxiety of
waiting for the results, and the exhilaration I felt after it was approved. It
was very fun to work with child participants as well. For my study the children
returned to lab for a post-test, and they would tell me stories about how they
loved the training I created. Some would even ask how they can play it even
after they are done with the experiment. It was amazing to see that my hard
work was paying off.
The honors
program at Emory University is an experience you need if you are interested in
either pursuing research or curious to know if you will like research. You will
get a better sense of what kind of research topics you gravitate towards and
get a hands-on experience in what conducting a research is really like. It is
also great if you are debating on graduate school; I for
one have grown certain of attending graduate school after completing my
undergraduate studies.
Visit the Undergraduate Research Programs website to learn more about applying for Independent Research Grants.
Visit the Undergraduate Research Programs website to learn more about applying for Independent Research Grants.
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