Geetha Ramani is an Associate Professor of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology. Before coming to the University of Maryland in 2008, Dr. Ramani received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh and worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Cognitive Development at Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Ramani's research focuses on understanding how children's social interactions influence their cognitive development, mainly in the areas of mathematics and problem solving. Specifically, Dr. Ramani examines how children learn early math and problem-solving skills through play and informal learning activities, such as playing with games and blocks. She also investigates how parent-child interactions, parental beliefs, and the early home environment can contribute to children's development in these areas. Dr. Ramani is also interested in the development and correlates of peer cooperation in young children. Together, Dr. Ramani's work focuses on the benefits and unique processes of learning through cooperation and joint play with adults and peers, and their importance for educational practices with young children. Dr. Ramani runs the Early Childhood Interaction Laboratory at the University of Maryland: http://www.education.umd.edu/HDQM/labs/Ramani/
Book
Wentzel, K., & Ramani, G. B. (Eds.) (2016). Handbook of social influences in school contexts: Social-emotional, motivation, and cognitive outcomes. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Publishers.
Select Chapters
Scalise, N. R., Gladstone, J. R., & Ramani, G. B. (2019). Motivation and mathematics in early childhood.In O. Saracho (Ed.), Contemporary perspectives on research on motivation in early childhood education, (pp. 101-129). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Ramani, G. B., Daubert, E. N., & Scalise, N. R. (2019). Role of play and games in building children’s foundational numerical knowledge. In D. C. Geary, D. B. Berch, & K. Mann Koepke (Eds.), Cognitive foundations for improving mathematical learning. Mathematical cognition and learning series, Vol 5 (pp. 69-90). San Diego, CA: Elsevier Academic Press.
Ramani, G. B. (2017). When world unite: Role of social interactions in children’s mathematical development. In P. Lemair (Ed.) Cognitive Development from a Strategy Perspective: A Festschrift For Robert Siegler (pp. 61-77). New York, NY: Routledge.
Ramani, G. B., Zippert, E., & Daubert, E. (2016). The influence of same- and cross-age peers on children’s literacy and mathematical development. In K. Wentzel & G. B. Ramani (Eds.), Handbook of social influences in school contexts: Social-emotional, motivation, and cognitive outcomes (pp. 96-112). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Publishers.
Select Journal Articles
Eason, S. H. & Ramani, G. B. (2020). Parent-child math talk about fractions during formal learning and guided play activities. Child Development, 9I(2), 546-562. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13199
Ramani, G. B. & Scalise, N. (2020). It's more than just fun and games: Play-based mathematics activities for Head Start families. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 50(3), 78-89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2018.07.011
Scalise, N., Daubert, E. N., & Ramani, G. B. (2020). Benefits of playing numerical card games on Head Start children's mathematical skills. The Journal of Experimental Education, 88(2), 200-220.
Daubert, E. N. & Ramani, G. B. (2019). Math and memory in bilingual preschoolers: The relations between bilingualism, working memory, and numerical knowledge. Journal of Cognition and Development, 20(3), 314-333. https://doi.org/10.1080/15248372.2019.1565536
Ramani, G. B., Daubert, E. N., Lin, G. C., Kamarsu, S., Wodzinski, A., & Jaeggi, S. M. (2019). Racing dragons and remembering aliens: Benefits of playing number and working memory games on kindergartners’ numerical knowledge. Developmental Science. Advanced online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12908
Zippert, E., Eason, S. H., Marshall, S., & Ramani, G. B. (2019). Preschool children’s math exploration during play with peers. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 65, 101072. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2019.101072
Zippert, E. L., Daubert, E. N., Scalise, N., Noreen, G., & Ramani, G. B. (2019). “Tap space number three”: Promoting math talk during parent-child tablet play. Developmental Psychology, 55(8), 1605-1614. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/dev0000769
Daubert, E. N., Ramani, G. B., Rowe, M. L., Eason, S. H., & Leech, K. A. (2018). Sum thing to talk about: Caregiver-preschooler math talk in low-income families from the United States. Bordon, Journal of Education. Special Issue: Mathematics and the Science of Mathematics Education: Evidence from Difference Nations, 70(3), 115-130.
Eason, S. H., & Ramani, G. B. (2017). Parental scaffolding and children’s executive function: Working memory and planning as moderators during joint problem solving. Infant and Child Development, 26(2), 1-24.
Ramani, G. B., Jaeggi, S. M., Daubert, E., & Buschkuehl, M. (2017). Domain-general and domain-specific training to improve kindergarten children’s mathematics. Journal of Numerical Cognition, 3(2), 468-495.
Scalise, N., Daubert, E. N., & Ramani, G. B. (2017). Narrowing the early mathematics gap: A play-based intervention to promote Head Start preschoolers' number skills. Journal of Numerical Cognition, 3(3), 559-581.
Zippert, E. & Ramani, G. B. (2017). Parents’ estimations of preschoolers’ number skills relate to at-home number-related activity engagement. Infant and Child Development, 26(2), 1-24.
2019 Graduate Faculty Mentor of the Year Award, University of Maryland
2019 Excellence in Scholarship, College of Education, University of Maryland
2013 Graduate School Research and Scholarship Award, University of Maryland
2004-2005 Provost Development Fund Predoctoral Fellowship, University of Pittsburgh
2003-2004 Andrew Mellon Predoctoral Fellowship
1998 Cum Laude, Bryn Mawr College
1998 Psychology Major Honors, Bryn Mawr College