Emily Slusser, PhD

Child & Adolescent Development Professor Emily Slusser

Professor & Head of Communications, Early Childhood Institute

Dr. Slusser began her career in child development as the program coordinator for an early education program where she developed intervention strategies for preschool children with limited educational resources. Since that time, Dr. Slusser has established a research program that explores children’s early cognitive representations of number and the later development of symbolic math concepts. She is particularly interested in learning how cognitive representational resources drive language learning and how language, in turn, supports further conceptual development.

Education

  • Ph.D., Cognitive Science, University of California, Irvine, 2010
  • M.A., Cognitive Science, University of California, Irvine, 2008
  • B.A., Psychology, University of California, Irvine, 2003

Recent Publications

  • Slusser, E. & Cravalho, P. (2020). Size vs. number: Assigning number words to discrete and continuous quantities. In F. Sella (Chair), Learning to count: new insights on the acquisition of symbolic numerical knowledge. Proceedings of the Mathematical Cognition and Learning Society, Dublin, Ireland.
  • Thai, B.* & Slusser, E. (2020) Early Children Education and quality care: The parents' perspective. Proceedings of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA.

  • Hosseini, D.* & Slusser, E. (2020) Digital literacy and the Common Core: What does instruction look like in early elementary classrooms? Proceedings of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA.

  • Early Childhood Institute (2020). Support for each and every child from the start: A call for affordable, high-quality care and education for babies and toddlers across the state. Published by CalMatters. Prepared by Slusser, E., Fusaro, M., & Golloher, A. (equal contributors).
  • Zax, A. *, Williams, K. *, Patalano, A. L., Slusser, E., Cordes, S., & Barth, H. (2019). What do biased estimates tell us about cognitive processing? Spatial judgments as proportion estimation. Journal of Cognition and Development,
    20, 702-728.
  • Early Childhood Initiative (2019). Response to Governor Newsom’s Budget Proposal. Prepared by Slusser, E., Fusaro, M., & Golloher, A. (equal contributors).

  • Barth, H., Zax, A.*, & Slusser, E. (2019). Partitioning and proportion estimation in children’s numerical judgments. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology.

Recent Presentations

  • Fusaro, M., Golloher, A. & Slusser, E. (2020). Supporting the Early Childhood workforce: Findings from a Social Network Analysis and Training Needs Assessment. Poster presented at the AERA Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA. http://tinyurl.com/rv2krud
  • Molina, A., Montano, A., Cravalho, P. & Slusser, E. (2020). Developing Understanding of Number and Quantity: The Role of Executive Functioning. Poster to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Western Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA.
  • Woodley, L., Doan, J., De Leon, G., Slusser, E., & Cravalho, P. (2020). Size, Quantity, or Numerosity: What Dimension are Children Attending to as they Learn Number Words? Poster to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Western Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA.
  • Fusaro, M., Golloher, A., Chavez, K., & Slusser, E. (2020). Supporting the Early Childhood Workforce: Findings from a Social Network Analysis and Training Needs Assessment. Poster to be presented at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA.
  • Hosseini, D. & Slusser, E. (2020). Digital Literacy and the Common Core: What Does Instruction Look Like in Early Elementary Classrooms? Poster to be presented at the American Educational Research Association Annual
    Meeting, San Francisco, CA.
  • Thai, B. & Slusser, E. (2020). Early Children Education and Quality Care: The Parents' Perspective. Poster to be presented at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA.
  • Douglas, S. & Slusser, E. (2020). Schooling Alone? An Investigation into Online Learning Environments. Paper presented at the Critical Questions in Education Annual Meeting. Seattle, WA.
  • Branca, S. & Slusser, E. (2020). Understanding Student Expectations and Experiences in Large Classes. Paper presented at the Teaching for Active and Engaged Learning, Lilly Conference. San Diego, CA.

Noteworthy Grants and Awards

  • Level Up Multidisciplinary Collaborations Grant (PI) – San José State University ($10,000) Taking Early Childhood Research to the Next Level: Building Capacity for Collaboration 2021

  • Program Evaluation Contract (Co-PI) – San Jose Public Libraries ($9,900) Evaluation of SJPL Virtual Programming Standards 2020-2021

  • Service Learning Grant (Co-PI) – SJSU’s Center for Community Learning and Leadership Service Learning in Inclusive ECE Settings
  • Santa Clara County Office of Education Local Planning Council "Early Childhood STEM: Training and Ambassador Program" 2019-2020
  • Assigned Time Award (1st cycle recipient) – San José State University
    Exploring and Supporting Children’s Early Understanding of Number and Math 2018-2023
  • David & Lucile Packard Foundation ($150,000) "Lurie College of Education Early Educator Preparation Program" 2017

Online Resources

Areas of Research Interest

  • Conceptual Development
  • Early Childhood Education
  • Intuition and Core Knowledge
  • Language and Cognition
  • Math and Number Concepts
  • Numerical Estimation
  • Proportional Judgement

Recommended Reading