My name is Faye Darmanin and I am a psychology graduate from Malta who is currently working as a primary school teacher and an assistant to an educational psychologist. I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to spend a month interning at the Cognition Development and Learning (CDL) Lab through the Erasmus+ traineeship programme. This exchange provided me with experience that I would not have otherwise gained through my current work.
My internship at the CDL Lab has provided me with valuable insights into cognitive science and expanded my research skills. It gave me an in-depth look into psychological research, and was a significant shift from the academic work I was used to. Prior to this internship, my only hands-on research experience was writing my undergraduate dissertation, which was a very small qualitative project. At the lab, I had the opportunity to contribute to large-scale studies and gained a better sense of the complexity involved in research that has practical, real-world applications.
One of my main responsibilities during the internship was creating parent resources, specifically writing lay summaries of research articles. This was an important task as it ensures that research findings will be accessible to a non-academic audience, particularly parents who would benefit from a better understanding of the studies' implications for child development. Communicating research in simpler terms also helped to enhance my writing skills enabling me to break down complex ideas into clear and concise explanations, which is a crucial skill for any researcher.
Another project I worked on involved coding papers for a meta-analysis on ADHD and mental health. This work required a lot of attention to detail, as coding for meta-analyses involves organising and analysing vast amounts of data. Through this process, I became more familiar with how researchers synthesise findings across multiple studies to uncover broader trends and patterns in the data. One of the most interesting projects I worked on was a project investigating children's perceptions of science and scientists. For this study children were asked to draw a picture of a scientist, and I coded their drawings based on factors such as gender, ethnicity, and various other visual indicators. It was interesting to see how children visualise scientists and the impact that societal stereotypes may have on these perceptions.
This internship provided me with invaluable skills and connections that I will carry forward into my future academic and professional career. It broadened my understanding of large-scale research projects, helped me refine my writing skills, and offered me practical experience in coding and data organisation. Overall, my time at CDL Lab was a formative experience that solidified my interest in psychological research, enhanced my skills in coding, data analysis, and science communication, and gave me the confidence to pursue further research opportunities, particularly in the areas of child development and cognitive science.
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