Trent University Oshawa graduate Austin Sye won the Elinor Ames Award for the best student presentation in the development section at the 72nd Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) convention held at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel this year.
Ms. Sye, who graduated from Trent with her Honours Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in April, 2011, was presented with $500 and a certificate for her poster presentation entitled "Early mathematical development: Processes that lead to higher levels of understanding."
Congratulations to Ms. Sye!
“I think my presentation won because I was confident, knowledgeable in my topic and therefore able to answer many questions asked of me,” said Ms. Sye. “The poster presentation day at Trent was also excellent preparation for the CPA’s annual convention because I was able to present my thesis to psychology faculty and receive constructive criticism on my thesis and my presentation skills.”
When asked about her experience at Trent University Oshawa Thornton Road Campus, Ms. Sye said, “Trent Oshawa offered me a different, more personal experience than can be found at larger institutions. I was given the unique opportunity to develop close working relationships with both my supervisor, Dr. Michael Mueller and my second reader, Dr. Nancie Im-Bolter.”
Ms. Sye’s thesis was on early mathematical development and processes that lead to higher levels of understanding. Her study investigated how both the strategy use and working memory in four to seven year-old children are related to various measures of mathematical achievement.
Although she enjoyed researching early mathematical development, Ms. Sye hopes to pursue original research at the master’s level in clinical psychology, in the areas of eating disorders, prevention and treatment efficacy. She is also interested in the emergence of gender differences in adolescent depression.
Posted on Tuesday, October 25, 2011.