Tanya M. Paes, Ph.D.
Projects
Evaluation of an e-book intervention program for children who are dual language learners (English/Spanish)
Funding: $1,698,222 from the Heising-Simons Foundation
My Role: Co-Investigator. I have been involved in survey design, pilot testing of the e-book, and designing the randomized control trial
Impact: The e-book is culturally appropriate and co-developed with the consumer (English/Spanish speaking families) to ensure that is user-friendly and best supports the development of their children’s math language skills
Promoting preschoolers’ math language through picture books and play activities
Funding: $1,399,800 from the Institute of Education Sciences
My Role: Project Manager. I have been involved in product development of the picture books, developing the protocol for the teachers to read the pictures books and follow up with relevant play activities, and mentoring of the research assistants involved in the development of the teacher professional development videos
Impact: Math language (i.e., concepts such as more, few, less, many) is not only one of the strongest predictors of children’s math development, but it also is a better indicator of later risk for difficulties with math than what the children’s math skills are upon entry into preschool. The books are commercially available for purchase on Amazon
Evaluation of Indiana’s preschool program for families with low-incomes
Funding: $1,193,243 from the State of Indiana
My Role: Data Manager. I have been involved in merging, cleaning, and managing the data, conducting quantitative analyses in Stata, and developing state reports for school/district administrators
Impact: In 2020-2021, children in the Indiana preschool program performed 11.80 points and 9.39 points better in math and English language arts respectively than those children in the comparison group. This is particularly important given that the children attending the Indiana preschool program are most in need of intervention as they are from low socioeconomic backgrounds
Evaluation of a blocks play intervention program on children’s math skills
Funding: $1,347,369 from the National Science Foundation
My Role: Team Manager. I have been involved in narrowing down the child-directed measures and training the team of research assistants who collected the data
Impact: There is a critical need to identify how block play could potentially support the development of preschoolers’ math skills, particularly for those most in need of intervention such as children from low socioeconomic backgrounds
Evaluation of a pretend play intervention on children’s self-regulation and language skills
Funding: Over $12,000 from the University of Cambridge, Newnham College, American Education Research Association, British Education Research Association, Canada-UK Foundation, Society for Research in Child Development, Playtrack Conference, and the Boston University Conference on Language Development to conduct and evaluate the intervention and/or disseminate the results globally
My Role: Primary Investigator. I have been involved in international research, product development, project management, team management, concept testing, prototype testing, recruitment, usability testing, survey design, quantitative data analyses in R, and scientific writing
Impact: The intervention, which was conducted in the UK, supported the development of one aspect of children’s language skills, phonological awareness, which is key as teachers would like to know how to support the development of children’s language skills, especially those of English Language Learners
Evaluation of a program conducted by Peeple, a UK based charity, to support the home learning environment
My Role: Primary Investigator. I have been involved in international research, recruitment, field studies, interviews, survey design, qualitative data analyses, and scientific writing
Impact: Parents would benefit from programs that provide them with practical suggestions about how to incorporate play in the home, and provide them with information about how various types of play could support the development of children’s cognitive and social skills
Validation of online measures of children’s language and vocabulary skills
My Role: Project Manager for the two-site project. I have been involved in recruitment and remote testing of the language and vocabulary measures and provided feedback on the prototype that was being tested
Impact: Through virtual testing, we will be able to reach more participants in a timely manner, and we will be able to recruit more hard-to-reach-populations than with in-person testing which ensures their voice is represented in the research
Postdoc workshop series
Funding: $950 from the National Postdoctoral Association, the Center for Early Learning, and the Purdue Postdoctoral Association
My Role: Developed and launched the seven-part workshop series, and procured funding for the project
Impact: Attended by 100+ postdocs across all three sites of Purdue University and they gained a better understanding of career diversity, and the importance of developing the mentoring relationship; skills that are beneficial in the short- and long-term
