Dr. Kelly Schmitt attended the 67th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association where she presented a research paper with colleague Lisa Hurwitz entitled, “Effects of Ready To Learn Early Childhood Literacy Computer Games in Middle Childhood.” This study explored if and for whom effects of learning from an educational website sustained into middle childhood, 6 years after the original evaluation. Of the original participants, 74% participated in the follow-up. There was a curvilinear relationship between children’s preschool pretest scores and middle childhood performance. The positive effects of the game were still measurable in middle childhood, but only for children with below and above average literacy skill prior to the original intervention. Their paper earned the top student-led paper award from the Children, Adolescents, and Media Division.

Dr. Schmitt completed her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, with a concentration in Quantitative Methods. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania, focusing on children’s media policies. Her teaching experience includes psychology and communications courses in traditional and online classrooms. She has also served as a Director of Research and Development at Sesame Street and Scholastic. Her research interests focus on the intersection between cognitive development and educational media and technology. Her work has been presented at numerous conferences and has been published in psychology, communication and education journals and books.