Dr Sophie Booton is a researcher working on the LiFT project. Her current work focuses on creativity and language in early to middle childhood.
The Learning for Families through Technology (LiFT) project is a collaboration between Ferrero international and the Department of Education. The project aims to examine key questions about children’s learning and how this can be supported with digital technology, with the ultimate goal of supporting more effective and equable learning, and more positive use and design of educational technologies.
Within the project, Sophie has investigated two key areas of cognitive development. One research theme has explored language development in children with and without English as an Additional Language, including knowledge of lexical ambiguity and writing, as well as examining digital tools which can support this area of development. A second research theme has addressed factors affecting children’s creativity.
Sophie’s research interests lie in childhood cognitive development, covering domain-general cognitive skills which affect children’s learning and well-being.
Before joining the Department of Education, Sophie studied for her PhD in Psychology at the University of Sheffield. Her doctoral research in collaboration with Dr Daniel Carroll focused on the impact of emotional states on children’s self-control. Prior to her PhD, Sophie gained a MEd on the Mind, Brain and Education programme at Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a BA in Experimental Psychology from the University of Oxford.
