Dr. Caren Walker

Biography

Caren Walker's research explores how children learn to reason about causal structures in the world. She is particularly interested in how young learners are able to acquire abstract representations that extend beyond simple observations and thinking. Her work addresses the phenomenon of 'learning to think' by investigating the nature of early mental representations and how they change over time. Walker's research focuses on a suite of activities that impose top-down constraints on human inference, such as analogy and explanation, and explores the engagement of children with imaginary worlds. She examines the development of scientific thinking and reasoning, alongside children's understanding of uncertainty, employing an interdisciplinary approach that combines insights from psychology, philosophy, education, and computational theory.

Research Interests

Experience