Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Honors Program

Mailing Address: Campus Box 2345, Elon University, Elon, NC, 27244-2010

Office: Long 204 E and Lindner 200H

Contact Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler

I am a developmental psychologist with a particular interest in understanding how social and cultural practices support young children’s development. In particular, I study ways in which young children learn by interacting with others in their family and community. My current research projects investigate ways that young children learn mathematics through everyday activities at home, such as playing games and cooking with parents and siblings. I am also interested in the study of academic mentoring and high-impact engaged learning practices on college campuses.

Education:
Postdoctoral Fellowship in Early Intervention, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Ph.D.    Developmental Psychology, North Carolina State University                            
M.S.     Developmental Psychology, North Carolina State University
B.A.      Psychology (honors) and French (cum laude), Wake Forest University     

Courses Taught:
Early Childhood
Childhood in Cultural Context
Family Stories
Lifespan Development
Psychology in Cultural Context
Mentoring and supervision of undergraduate research projects

Professional interests and service:
Director of Honors Program, 2008-present
Chair, Honors Advisory Committee, 2008-present
Undergraduate Research Coordinator for Psychology Department, 2004-present
National Councilor for the Council for Undergraduate Research, Psychology Division, 2007-2010
Consulting editor, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 1997-present

Research Interests and Selected Publications:
Social and cultural contexts of development.  Specific topics include parental guidance of young children’s learning at home; preschoolers’ emergent numeracy; mentoring in academic contexts

Vandermaas-Peeler, M., Ferretti*, L., & Loving*, S. (in press) Playing the Ladybug Game again:  Parent guidance of young children’s numeracy activities.  Early Child Development and Care, 1 – 19, Online First article.

Vandermaas-Peeler, M., Boomgarden*, E.,Finn*, L., & Pittard*, C. (2012).  Parental support of numeracy
during a cooking activity with four-year-olds. International Journal of Early Years Education, 20 (1), 78-93.

Vandermaas-Peeler, M., Sassine*, B., Price*, C. & Brilhart*, C.  (2012) Mothers' and fathers' guidance behaviors
during shared reading.  Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 12 (4).

Vandermaas-Peeler, M., Nelson*, J., Ferretti*, L., & Finn*, L.  (2011).  Developing expertise:  An apprenticeship
model of mentoring undergraduate research across cohorts.  Perspectives on Undergraduate Research Mentoring, 1.1, 1 – 10.

Vandermaas-Peeler, M., Nelson*, J., Bumpass*, C. & Sassine*, B. (2009).  Social contexts of development:
Parent-child interactions during reading and play.  Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 9 (3), 295-317.

Vandermaas-Peeler, M., Nelson*, J., Bumpass*, C. & Sassine*, B. (2009).  Numeracy-related exchanges in joint
storybook reading and play.  International Journal of Early Years Education, 17 (1), 67-84.

Vandermaas-Peeler, M., Nelson*, J., von der Heide*, M., & Kelly*, E. (2009). Parental guidance with
four-year-olds in literacy and play activities at home. In D. Kuschner (Ed.), From children to Red Hatters®: Diverse images and issues of Play. Play & Culture Studies, Volume 8. (pp. 93-112). Lanham, MD: University Press of America.

Vandermaas-Peeler, M. (2008).  Parental guidance of numeracy development in early childhood.  In Saracho, O.
& Spodak, B. (Eds.).  Contemporary Perspectives on Mathematics in Early Childhood Education, 277-290.  Information Age Publishing:  Charlotte, NC.

Vandermaas-Peeler, M., Nelson*, J. & Bumpass*, C. (2007).  “Quarters are what you put into the bubble gum
machine.”  Numeracy interactions during parent-child play.  Early childhood research and practice, 9, http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v9n1/vandermaas.html.

Vandermaas-Peeler, M., Way*, E., & Umpleby*, J. (2003).  Parental guidance in a cooking activity with
preschoolers.  Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 24 (1), 75-89. 

Vandermaas-Peeler, M. (2002).  Cultural variations in parental support of children’s play.  Online
Readings in Psychology and Culture (Unit 11). Retrieved from http://orpc.iaccp.org.

*Undergraduate co-authors