Associate Professor Sonia White

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PhD (University of Cambridge), MPhil (Educational Research) (University of Cambridge), BEd (Queensland University of Technology), BAppSci (Queensland University of Technology)

Sonia White is a Principal Research Fellow (ARC: DECRA) in the School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education. Her research interests focus on number and arithmetic development in children. Most recently Dr White has used behavioural, eye tracking and cognitive neuroscience methods to examine the different numerical processes that are the foundation of mathematics. These areas include the acquisition of Arabic digits and their semantic properties, spatial numerical associations, along with various elements of strategy application. Dr White is keen to further explore the underpinning cognitive mechanisms of arithmetic skills; with particular interest in the intuitive strategies employed by children during the first years of formal schooling. Understanding more about the development of numerical processing skills could have implications for curriculum construction, but also facilitate the design of early diagnostic and effective intervention programs for children with mathematics difficulties.

Projects (Chief investigator)

Additional information

Experience

Dr White began her career as a Secondary Mathematics Teacher in Queensland.  Following her interest in educational neuroscience, she completed postgraduate study in the Centre for Neuroscience in Education at the University of Cambridge. Her PhD thesis was entitled ‘The development of number processing skills in Years 1, 2 and 3’.  Prior to returning to QUT, Dr White was a research assistant on the European Union (Framework VI) funded project ‘Humans, The Analogy-Making Species’; this was a collaboration with seven EU member institutions. During her time at the University of Cambridge, Sonia was trained in both Electroencephalography (EEG) and Electromyography (EMG) acquisition techniques and associated analysis.  In the Faculty of Education, she completed academic supervision of undergraduate students and was a seminar leader to graduate students for a range of topics related to psychology and education. Dr White has been an invited speaker in both academic and school-based forums.  She has contributed to conference proceedings at both a national and international level, most notable include Annual Conferences for the British Association for Cognitive Neuroscience, the British Educational Research Association and the Cognitive Neuroscience Society.

Awards

Type
Academic Honours, Prestigious Awards or Prizes
Reference year
2017
Details
QUT Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence for Research (Mixed Team)
Type
Recipient of a Nationally Competitive Research Fellowship
Reference year
2016
Details
Australian Research Council - Discovery Early Career Researcher AwardDE160100830
Type
Assessor, Examiner or Supervisor Role
Reference year
2014
Details
ARC Assessor for Discovery Projects, Discovery Early Career Researcher Award and Linkage Projects.
Type
Editorial Role for an Academic Journal
Reference year
2014
Details
Associate Editor for The Australian Educational Researcher

Research Projects

Title
Improving Outcomes through Accessible Assessment and Inclusive Practices
Primary fund type
CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
Project ID
LP180100830
Start year
2019
Keywords
Title
Supporting Children's Early Mathematics Development
Primary fund type
CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
Project ID
DE160100830
Start year
2016
Keywords
Title
Which Children Develop Severely Disruptive School Behaviour?
Primary fund type
CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
Project ID
DP160100319
Start year
2016
Keywords
Title
Transitioning from VET to university: Strengthening information literacy through collaboration
Primary fund type
CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
Project ID
21286
Start year
2012
Keywords
Early Childhood; Information Literacy; Vet-University Transition

Current Supervisions

Completed Supervisions (Doctorate)

Completed Supervisions (Masters by Research)