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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

Contact Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler

I am a developmental psychologist with a strong interest in children’s social and cognitive development in sociocultural context. In particular, I study ways in which young children learn and interact with others in their family and community. My current research projects are observational studies of children’s interactions with parents and siblings in everyday activities at home, such as cooking, play and storybook reading. These activity contexts provide an interesting way to study early literacy, numeracy, family storytelling, and much more. I received my B.A. from Wake Forest University, and my Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from North Carolina State University. I also completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center in Chapel Hill, NC. I’ve been at Elon University since 1995. I teach a variety of courses on lifespan development and culture, and I also serve as the Director of the Honors Program.

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:

Lifespan Development

Childhood in Cultural Context

Senior Seminar and Honors seminar:  Cultural context of human development

General Studies Seminar:  Lifespan and literature

Mentoring and supervision of undergraduate research projects

Professional interests and service:

Director of Honors Program, 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:

Early child development in sociocultural context.  Specific topics include:

Parental guidance of children’s learning; play, literacy and numeracy with preschoolers; early intervention and education; guided participation and mentoring

Study abroad and students’ academic, cultural and personal growth; Study abroad and risk behaviors

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

Smith, G.E., & Vandermaas-Peeler, M. (2009). Taking Psychology Abroad: Resources for Designing Your Study Abroad Course. Office of Teaching Resources in Psychology (http://teachpsych.org/otrp), Society for the Teaching of Psychology (Division 2) of the American Psychological Association.

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.
 
Fair, C., Vandermaas-Peeler, M., Beaudry, R. & Dew, J. (2005). “I learned how little kids think”: Third-graders’ scaffolding of craft activities with preschoolers. Early Child Development and Care, 175 (3), 229-241.
 
Fair, C., King, C. & Vandermaas-Peeler, M. (2004). A cognitive apprenticeship model of  
undergraduate research in human services. Human Services Education, 24 (1), 61-68.
 
Flouhouse, K., Schorsch, J. & Vandermaas-Peeler, M. (2004). Influence of teacher-child attachment on complexity of play and social competence. Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research, 9 (1), 39-44.
 
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., Way, E., & Umpleby, J. (2002). Guided participation in a cooking activity over time. Early Child Care and Development, 172 (6), 547-554.
 
Vandermaas-Peeler, M. (2002). Cultural variations in parental support of children’s play. In W.J. Lonner, D. L. Dinnel, S. A. Hayes, & D. N. Sattler (Eds.), OnLine Readings in Psychology and Culture, Western Washington University, Department of Psychology, Center for Cross-Cultural Research Web site: http://www.wwu.edu/~culture.