Zoe is a Developmental Psychologist interested in how young children learn from the world around them. 

Their research has included investigations into early language acquisition such as how children learn words from shared reading interactions, and resulted in evidence which informs the design of early education materials. For example, the effects of different book formats, illustrations and reading styles on language and literacy acquisition using a variety of experimental methods. Other research has investigated parent-child shared reading interactions with different book formats, and home learning for children across a range of ages.

Zoe is also interested in understanding the effects of different media types on emergent literacy skills and considering the role of the body and environmental conditions in children's learning. This work includes experimental methods, such as eye tracking.

Zoe's research has also included community projects with home educating families in the South of England, and investigations into how learning environments (including online learning) support the timely acquisition of literacy skills, broader "life skills" and wellbeing.

Current projects investigate the role of nature (both indoors and outdoors) in improving different types of learning. Some of these projects are in partnership with local charities (e.g., Moulsecoomb Forest Garden) and schools (Moulsecoomb Primary School).

Zoe is a keen advocate of Open Scholarship (Open Science), and shares resources, code and analyses where possible on the Open Science Framework.  Zoe currently leads Brighton's ReproducibiliTea journal club for Open Science Advocates and is local network lead for the UK Reproducibility Network.

I love to supervise projects, and would be interested in supervising projects relating to learning and the development of communication skills (e.g., early gesture/language development/pre-literacy and literacy acquisition), shared reading, particularly including technology related. I am also interested in learning in the home, outdoors or other non-school contexts, and in particular where nature, or aspects of nature are involved in education or learning settings.

I am an expert in, and keen to help students adopt Open Scholarship/Research practices wherever possible (code/data sharing, pre-registering research plans etc). Very happy to discuss project ideas informally.