I am an educational psychologist, and my research concerns learning and cognition in different populations of school-age children. I am also interested in understanding the role of sociocultural effects, such as poverty, on children’s education and development. As a former elementary school teacher, I am deeply committed to conducting studies that have the power to inform curriculum and instruction.My recent research has focused on student learning in the academic domains of mathematics problem-solving and literacy.Education:
Ph.D., Applied Developmental & Educational Psychology, Boston College
M.Ed., Educational Psychology, University of Virginia
B.S., Psychology, The College of William and Mary
Professional Licensure in Elementary Education, The College of William and Mary
Selected Publications & Presentations:
Butler, A. (in preparation). Exploring the role of social reasoning and self-efficacy in the mathematics problem-solving performance of low- and middle-SES children.
Butler, A. (2007, October). The role of social cognition in mathematics problem-solving in low- and middle- SES children. Poster presentation at the biennial meeting of the Cognitive Development Society, Santa Fe, NM.
Butler, A. (2007, April). Individual differences in interpretive theory of mind: A comparison of gifted and non-gifted third graders’ emotion reasoning. Poster presentation at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Boston, MA.
Butler, A., Tully, M., Lobron, A., & Lucariello, J. (2007, April). Strategy learning with the “Reading Rangers”: Recruiting social cognition in literacy instruction. Poster presentation at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Boston, MA.
Courses:
Introduction to Psychology
Educational Psychology
Measurement and Assessment
Faculty Advisor: Bryant Psychology Association