Siegler Lab at Columbia University
The Siegler Lab is dedicated to ongoing research into how theoretical understanding of mathematical development can be applied to improving children’s math learning.
Lab Members
Dr. Lauren Schiller, Postdoctoral researcher
Lauren is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Siegler Lab and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Teachers College Columbia University. She recently completed her Ph.D. at Teachers College with Dr. Siegler as her advisor. Lauren’s dissertation explored how children understand the relations among rational number notations. Previously, she completed her M.Ed. in Mind, Brain, and Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education, and her B.S. in Special and Elementary Education at Boston University. For the last few years, Lauren has managed research projects in schools across several different countries. She has also worked as a research assistant in labs at Harvard, NYU, and Teachers College related to mathematics and cognition. Lauren has been invited to facilitate professional development workshops for hundreds of teachers and present on her research in various conference settings. Prior to graduate work, Lauren implemented mathematics/reading interventions for students with disabilities and taught literacy and ethics at urban schools in Boston. Her major research interests include rational number instruction, mathematical difficulties and disabilities, teacher/student estimation ability, and young children’s number sense.
Colleen Oppenzato, Doctoral student
Colleen is a doctoral candidate at Teachers College, Columbia University in the Cognitive Science in Education program. She earned her M.A. in the same program in 2016 and holds B.A. degrees from Wesleyan University in English and Sociology. For the last several years, Colleen has worked as a research assistant in the Siegler Lab, coding and analyzing textbook data and conducting research projects in both K-12 schools and at universities. She is also currently an adjunct lecturer at City College of New York’s Center for Worker Education. Prior to graduate work, Colleen taught fifth and sixth grade general education and special education. She also worked as a math curriculum developer, assessment writer, editor and project manager for a variety of publishers. Her major research interests include children’s and adults’ understanding of rational numbers, the role of practice in improving children’s math learning, and the development of resources to help teachers enhance children’s understanding of math.
Yoojin Hahn, Doctoral student
Yoojin is a third-year student in the Cognitive Science in Education PhD program. She completed her B.A. in Psychology at Columbia University. Her major research interests include graph comprehension and extrapolation, data visualization design, and cognitive factors that predict math achievement. Yoojin is passionate about designing formal and informal learning experiences that can promote children’s mathematical and data literacy skills.
Evelyn Tsai, Master’s student
Evelyn is a second-year MA student in the Cognitive Science in Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her primary research interest is in graph comprehension, children’s data visualization literacy, and factors that influence mathematical development in children. She completed her BS at New York University in 2022, and she is originally from Taiwan.
Weijia Gao, Master’s student
Weijia is a second-year master’s student in the Developmental Psychology program at Teachers College, Columbia University. She received her B.A. in Psychology and B.A. in Communication from the University of California, Davis in 2021. Her research interests focus on the interactions between cognitive functions and environmental influences. She is particularly interested in how family and social environments shape children’s STEM development, executive functioning, socio-emotional development, and their development of resilience.
Tianyi Liu, Master’s student
Tianyi is an MA graduate student in Developmental Psychology at Teachers’ College, Columbia University. She graduated from the University of California, Davis, with a B.A. in Psychology and a B.A. in Economics. Her research interest is child language development and learning acquisition. She is passionate about how environmental factors such as contextual factors and parenting-child interaction affect children’s language development and mathematic abilities.
