Kaitlyn E. May- Doctor of Philosophy
- Research Manager at Accelerate Learning
Kaitlyn E. May
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Research Manager at Accelerate Learning
About
30
Publications
7,680
Reads
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360
Citations
Introduction
My research focuses on cognitive development in young children, with an emphasis on how they learn STEM concepts and how we can best evaluate that learning. I’m especially interested in bridging research and practice through effective science communication—ensuring that what we learn from research directly informs curriculum design, instruction, and policy.
Current institution
Accelerate Learning
Current position
- Research Manager
Additional affiliations
May 2019 - present
Position
- Research Assistant
Description
- Research on the neurobiology of social, cognitive and affective processes in both typical and atypical development, primarily autism using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) techniques to measure brain structures.
August 2018 - present
Position
- Research Assistant
Description
- Research on children's language development along with several other issues related to cognitive development more broadly.
May 2018 - present
Position
- Research Assistant
Description
- Research on monolingual and bilingual language development, self-regulation, and the development of interventions to improve child outcomes.
Education
August 2017 - May 2022
August 2017 - August 2022
Field of study
- Educational Psychology, Concentration in Educational Neuroscience, Specialization in Quantitative Statistics
August 2013 - May 2017
Publications
Publications (30)
The current report focuses on evidence that the Math Nation program is effective at raising 10th grade student achievement on the math Kentucky Summative Assessment (KSA) exam in Kentucky. Specifically, this report indicates that schools that use Math Nation have significantly more students achieving the Distinguished proficiency level compared to...
This meta-analysis examined the impact of Math Nation curriculum on student standardized test scores across 13 evaluation studies from multiple states. The random-effects model revealed a low overall effect size, indicating minimal impact on student performance. Subgroup analyses by state and grade also showed no significant moderators, suggesting...
This report provides early evidence that Math Nation may help improve math achievement for various student groups in Kentucky. While the differences in scores were not always statistically significant, the trends are encouraging. With continued use and better integration of the program, we expect to see even more significant improvements in the fut...
This report provides evidence that schools that used Math Nation in the 2022-2023 school year had higher math achievement in 6th-8th grade. Schools that used Math Nation had significantly higher scores and significantly higher percentages of students achieving Level 5 proficiency. Specifically, Math Nation schools scored 2.90 points higher and had...
The current report focuses on evidence that the Math Nation program is effective at raising student achievement on the SAT. We use a post-facto quasi-experimental design (QED) with a matched control group to evaluate potential associations between Math Nation usage and SAT math achievement for 11th graders in Michigan. QEDs with a matching attempt...
In 2024, the Accelerate Learning (ALI) research team conducted numerous research
activities across all ALI’s products. These include:
• 12 efficacy studies (including 2 meta-analyses)
• 4 product use studies
• 6 case studies
• 7 customer advisory board activities and customer surveys
• 3 dissemination
• 16 grants and upcoming projects
In total, th...
Children with autism often have difficulty with Theory of Mind (ToM), the ability to infer mental states, and pragmatic skills, the contextual use of language. Neuroimaging research suggests ToM and pragmatic skills overlap, as the ability to understand another's mental state is a prerequisite to interpersonal communication. To our knowledge, no st...
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by difficulties in theory of mind (ToM) and social communication. Studying structural and functional correlates of ToM in the brain and how autistic and nonautistic groups differ in terms of these correlates can help with diagnosis and understanding the biological mechanisms of ASD. In this study, we...
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by difficulties in theory of mind (ToM) and social communication. Studying structural and functional correlates of ToM in the brain, and how autistic and nonautistic groups differ in terms of these correlates can help with diagnosis and understanding biological mechanisms of ASD. In this study, we inv...
In October 2022, Accelerate Learning Inc. launched a statewide, supplementary math program, Math Nation, for Louisiana. While the first year of the program requires significant recruiting and onboarding work, we seek to understand the impact of the program on the 2023 Algebra 1 Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (LEAP). The current report is...
In 2023, the Accelerate Learning (ALI) research team conducted numerous research activities across all of ALI’s products, demonstrating evidence of effectiveness. Activities are organized by efficacy studies (9), product use studies (3), case studies (4), customer advisory board activities and support surveys (8), dissemination (4), as well as gran...
Sentences that have more than one possible meaning are said to be syntactically ambiguous (SA). Because the correct interpretation of these sentences can be unclear, resolving SA sentences can be cognitively demanding for children, particularly with regards to inhibitory control (IC). In this study we provide three lines of evidence supporting the...
In this article, we will describe a big summary (called a meta-analysis) of 16 brain mapping studies in people with autism spectrum disorder. People with autism often have difficulty with activities like decision-making, planning, and switching between tasks, which are called executive function (EF) activities. We found that certain parts of the br...
The phenotype of a complex disorder like autism spectrum disorder
(ASD) is diverse and multidimensional, with substantial heterogeneity in its symptomatology. This makes it challenging to generate an overarching theoretical model that can explain the core and extended symptoms of ASD. Unpacking the defining features of ASD (deficits in social commu...
Linked in pdf is an animation video presentation of the project. Video was presented at the 2021 Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Southeastern Regionals virtual conference.
There is substantial research on children’s evaluations of transgressors, but less is known about the extent to which children view actions toward recipients as indicative of a recipient’s personality or deserved outcomes. We examined the extent to which 3‐ to 5‐year‐olds, relative to an adult comparison group, judged the recipients of negative beh...
Children and adults completed two experiments examining the association between social actions and character judgments. In Experiment 1, participants saw actors perform acts that varied by valence (negative or positive) and social domain (moral or conventional) and judged both the acts and the actors. Findings show that both children and adults dif...
Despite decades of research, the brain basis of aberrant face processing in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) remains a topic of debate. The mid-fusiform sulcus (MFS), a minor feature of the ventral occipitotemporal cortex, provides new directions for studying face processing. The MFS closely aligns with face-selective cortical patches and other struc...
Linked in pdf is the video presentation shown at the 2020 University of Alabama Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Virtual Competition.
Higher cognitive functions in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are characterized by impairments in executive functions (EF). While some research attributes this to an overreliance of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), others demonstrate poor recruitment of the PFC in individuals with ASD. In order to assess the emerging consensus across neuroimaging studie...
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by impairments in executive function (EF)(Hill, 2004). While some research attributes this to an overreliance of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), others demonstrate poor recruitment of the PFC in individuals with ASD (Gilbert et al., 2008). In order to assess the emerging consensus across neuroimaging stu...
Linked in pdf is an animation video presentation of the project. Video was presented at the 2020 Cognitive Neuroscience virtual conference.
Linked in pdf is a video of a 3MT style research talk entitled "Neurofunctional Indices of Executive Functioning in Autism Spectrum Disorder" at the Southeastern Universities Graduate Research Symposium (SURG).
Children judge in-group members more favorably than out-group members. They also judge moral transgressions as more serious and more worthy of punishment than conventional transgressions. Here we asked whether children’s judgments of moral and conventional transgressions vary by the group membership of the transgressor (in-group, neutral, out-group...
Children sometimes have trouble resolving syntactically ambiguous (SA) sentences. For example, the sentence "Put the frog on the napkin in the box" can be challenging because the phrase "on the napkin" could refer to the frog or to the box (Trueswell et al., 1999). Successful resolution of SA sentences depends on several factors, including inhibiti...
Recent studies demonstrate strong, concurrent relationships between language and EF, particularly during early childhood. However, the literature remains controversial with respect to this relationship. Whereas some studies cite a bidirectional relationship, others suggest that EF is predictive of language gains, while others suggest that it is lan...
The future of our community is in the hands of today's parents. Parents and guardians are more than caretakers-- they are lifelong teachers, instrumental in their children's social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development. Parent-child relationships that are warm, open, and communicative are associated with higher self-esteem, lower depressi...
Media multitasking, using two or more medias concurrently, prevails among adolescents and emerging adults. The inherent mental habits of media multitasking—dividing attention, switching attention, and maintaining multiple trains of thought— have significant implications and consequences for students’ academic performance. The goal of this review is...
This is a video abstract of the following paper. The video abstract was published on the website and social media accounts of The International Journal of Technology in Higher Education.
May, K. E., & Elder, A. (2018). Efficient, helpful, or distracting?: A literature review of media multitasking in relation to academic performance. International...
Questions
Question (1)
I am currently conducting a study in which we need to establish group membership in preschoolers. The study will be conducted virtually via Zoom because of COVID. Because of this, many of the traditional group paradigms will not work (e.g., colored shirts, stickers). What are methods to establish group membership on an online study with preschoolers? Some ideas I have are matching characters by gender or obtaining the child's favorite food, school, or favorite color to establish membership ("This [puppet] also likes pizza as their favorite food. You guys are the pizza team!").
