Wang Wins Award for Research, Scholarship in Learning Technologies

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The American Educational Research Association (AERA) has bestowed one of its top awards to X. Christine Wang, assistant professor of learning and instruction in the University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education.

Wang has received the 2007 AERA Division C Jan Hawkins Award for Early Career Contributions to Humanistic Research and Scholarship in Learning Technologies.

The award recognizes scholars who are engaged in research, combined with practice and advocacy, that explores and demonstrates new ways to think about technologies in contexts of learning and education, and uses innovative research techniques to understand the impact of those technologies. Jan Hawkins (1952-99) was a developmental psychologist with a cognitive, cultural and social-interactionist orientation who was known for her humanistic conceptions of using technology in K-12 learning environments.

Wang joined the UB faculty in 2003. Her primary research interests include young children's learning and collaboration in technology-rich environments, sociocultural research and early childhood education in international contexts. She also is interested in qualitative research methods, especially in the use of video ethnography.

Wang is associate editor of Early Education and Development. She was selected to be co-guest editor of the 2006 special issue on early education and development of "Technology in Early Childhood Education." She currently is guest-editing a special issue of Childhood Education entitled "Reexamining Diversity Issues in Early Childhood Education."

Wang has helped to develop several new projects that focus on integrating technology into young children's classrooms. These projects include "Peer Mentoring at Computers," "Digital Photo Journals in a K/1 Classroom" and "Scaffolding Young Children's Reflection through PowerPoint Presentations." She has published several peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, and has presented her work at national and international conferences.

She is involved in leadership roles in professional organizations such as the National Association for the Education of Young Children, Association for Childhood Education International, and Pacific Early Childhood Education Research Association. She is on the editorial boards of Early Education and Development, Early Childhood Research and Practice, and Childhood Education.

She completed bachelor's and master' degrees at Beijing Normal University and earned a doctorate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Wang lives in Buffalo.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, the largest and most comprehensive campus in the State University of New York. UB's more than 27,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.