Faculty Directory

Elida V. Laski

Associate Professor

Photo of Elida V. Laski

Elida V. Laski

Ph.D.

Contact

Campion 201C

Telephone: 617-552-1446

Email: elida.laski@bc.edu

ORCID

Education

  • Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University
  • Ed.M, 艾可直播 University
  • M.S., Carnegie Mellon University
  • B.A., 艾可直播 University

Courses

Child Growth and Development
Translating Science of Learning into Practice
Advanced Topics in Cognition and Learning

Research Interests

Learning Sciences; Math Cognition

Expertise

  • Cognitive and Social Development
  • Design of Learning Experiences and Technologies
  • STEM Teaching and Learning
Curriculum Vitae

Department

CDEP Counseling, Developmental & Educational Psychology

Profile

Laski鈥檚 work uncovers the cognitive processes underlying learning, producing insights that improve instructional materials. Her expertise includes early mathematical thinking and development and the application of cognitive science, experimental designs, and small-scale intervention studies to education.

Laski is the principal investigator for 艾可直播 College鈥檚 Thinking and Learning Lab, which studies cognitive development with a primary focus on mathematical knowledge. The strategies emerging from its published research have earned attention from聽The Wall Street Journal, CBS, and the聽International Business Times.

Since 2009, she has taught in the Lynch School鈥檚 CDEP Department. Her students benefit from Laski's immersion in the latest research. She鈥檚 on the editorial boards of the聽British Journal of聽Developmental聽Psychology聽and聽Education Sciences,聽as well as a board member of the聽Mathematical and Cognition and Learning Society.聽聽Her dozens of talks and presentations testify to her deep commitment to sharing her knowledge.

In 2015, the American Psychological Association gave Laski its Outstanding Paper Award (Early Career, Division 7 鈥� Developmental Psychology). She has earned awards for her mentoring as well as 艾可直播 College鈥檚 Teaching with New Media Award.

Select Publications

  • Vasilyeva, M., Laski, E.V., Casey, B. M., Konstantopoulos, S., Ban, J., Betar, S., Cho, H., Liu, L.聽 Wang, M.聽 (2025). Recruiting spatial-numerical representations to increase arithmetic fluency in low-income students. Developmental Psychology.
  • Lu, L. , Vasilyeva, M., & Laski, E.V. (2025). Home math environment as a mediator of SES differences in early math skills: A study of Chinese families from disparate backgrounds. Developmental Psychology.聽
  • Cho, H., Vasilyeva, M., & Laski, E.V. (2024) Statistical learning and mathematics knowledge: The case of arithmetic principles. Frontiers in Developmental Psychology. doi.org/10.3389/fdpys.2024.1370028
  • Ban, J., Msall, C. 鈥�, Douglas, A. 鈥�, Rittle-Johnson, B., & Laski, E.V. (2024). Knowing what they know: Preschool teachers鈥� knowledge of early math skills and its relation to instruction. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2024.105996
  • Wang, M. 鈥�, Vasilyeva, M., & Laski, E.V. (2024). Words matter: Effect of manipulating storybook texts on parent and child math talk. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 69, 65-77. doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2024.07.002
  • Liu, L. , Vasilyeva, M., Laski, E.V. (2023). Minor changes, big differences? Effects of manipulating materials on parental math talk. Developmental Psychology. doi.org/10.1037/dev0001550聽
  • Laski, E.V. (2023). Bridging cognitive science and teaching practice: A proof of concept study of the Cognitive Instructional Technique (CIT) observation instrument. Journal of Educational and Psychological Research, 5(1), 588-594.聽
  • Laski, E.V., Ermakova, A. , Vasilyeva, M., & Halloran, K., (2021). Effects of Using One or More Manipulatives on Strategy Mastery and Generalization. Journal of Experimental Education, 91(2), 1-19. doi.org/10.1080/00220973.2021.1973358聽
  • Collins, M.聽 & Laski, E.V. (2018). Digger deeper: Shared deep structures of early literacy and mathematics involve symbolic mapping and relational reasoning. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 46, 201-212. doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2018.02.008
  • Laski, E.V., & Dulaney, A. 鈥� (2015). When prior knowledge interferes, inhibitory control matters for learning: The case of numerical magnitude representations. Journal of Educational Psychology, 107, 1035-1050. doi: 10.1037/edu0000034
  • Laski, E.V., Jor鈥檇an, J. R., Daoust, C., & Murray, A. (2015). What makes mathematics manipulatives effective? Lessons from cognitive science and Montessori education. SAGE Open, 1-8. doi: 10.1177/2158244015589588 (Translated to Greek in e-journal Montessori Pedagogy and Education, 2022)

Select Grants

  • National Science Foundation, NSF ECR-Core 24-26 PI: Bethany Rittle-Johnson at Vanderbilt University, Co-PI: Elida Laski聽Leveraging Numerical Patterns in a Modified Board Game to Improve Numeracy Knowledge in Primary School Students,聽$857碍听
  • Caplan Education Foundation 24-26 PI: Elida Laski; Co-PI: Marina Vasilyeva聽Facilitating Parent Math Talk through Games, $58,924
  • Ignite, 艾可直播 College Provost's Office 24-25 PI: Elida Laski; Co-PI: Marina Vasilyeva聽Home Math Environment: Perspectives and Practice of聽Economically Disadvantaged Families, $29,967
  • Lynch聽School聽of聽Education and Human Development,聽Collaborative Fellows聽Grant PI: Marina Vasilyeva; co-PI: Elida Laski聽Embedding Math Learning Opportunities in an聽After-School Program: A Collaboration between the African Community Education Center and 艾可直播 College, $120,000.
  • Department of Education,聽Institute of Education Sciences (IES)聽2020-2025. Recruiting Spatial-Numerical Representation to Enhance the Use of Advanced Math Strategies in Low-Income Students,聽PI: Marina Vasilyeva; co-PI: Elida Laski,聽$1.4M聽
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