Better Typeface = Better Learning?

New Jersey native Caterina Belle Azzarello-Nichols earned an M.A. from the University of Northern Colorado’s Educational Psychology program. Continuing in the program as a doctoral student, she’s conducting research in mathematics readability and student educational dispositions.

“My research looks at how math anxiety or math self-efficacy impact font choice and how that could affect reading performance and speed,” she explained. “A three-year study of typography set me up for what I’m doing, why and how I’m doing it. I have a minor in applied statistics and research methods; I can make sure my designs and methods are valid, so my results are meaningful. I also have aligned myself with people who do this type of research.”

She utilizes an online test to determine students’ fastest reading font. Besides increasing reading speed, changing fonts could help improve student performance. It’s relevant, Azzarello-Nichols said, because the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) field faces a shortage of qualified professionals.

“We’re looking at reading and comprehension across STEM disciplines, which is a novel aspect of readability — prior research focused on literature materials. This potentially could help revolutionize educational readership, especially as education moves toward more digital materials,” she said.

In addition to her research, Azzarello-Nichols collaborates and mentors with other students and faculty at UNC, does interdisciplinary research and bibliography management for an international readability consortium and teaches yoga. Her life as a busy graduate student also includes serving as the Educational Psychology Committee president and the department’s graduate student representative. A lengthy list of presentations, publications, honors and awards on her resume give testament to her growing expertise. It seems she’s sailing through graduate school.

But it hasn’t been easy.

Azzarello-Nichols is a first-generation student and first-generation American. During her graduate studies, her parents became seriously ill and died. Despite the challenges, her dedication and desire to help others kept her going.

Molly Jameson, a professor of Psychological Sciences in the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, recalled Azzarello-Nichols’ initial learning about mathematical dispositions (interest in and appreciation for mathematics), anxiety and self-efficacy.

“Starting there is partly what led to her interest in font readability. Our work on National Science Foundation-funded research exploring mathematical dispositions in pre-service elementary school teachers opened her eyes to the complexity of learning,” she said.

Jameson believes Azzarello-Nichols’ research could be hugely impactful.

“Her research is about identifying and removing barriers to help diversify STEM. If we can present material in students’ preferred font and make it individualized learning, those students might learn more in that STEM class, feel more confident and then make choices like minoring, majoring or entering a career in that discipline,” Jameson said.

Assistant Professor Joanna Lewis, also in Psychological Sciences, described Azzarello-Nichols as strong, intelligent and curious. The two stay in contact through daily emails and text messages.

“Our first paper showed there was some transfer of concepts of English and comprehension to mathematics. Beyond reading a passage, for example, we’re saying font choice can improve student performance in actual calculations,” Lewis said, noting the research could influence how textbook publishers offer materials to students.

Azzarello-Nichols said Lewis and Jameson have rigorous expectations.

“They expect very highly of me, which pushes me to work hard, present the best material and be the best student and version of myself I can. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it because I can see the results of that hard work,” she said.

One result is the paper, “Format Readability Enhancing in Basic Mathematical Operations,” published last year in the Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting. She was the lead author, and the paper was co-written and supervised by Lewis.

Azzarello-Nichols aims to work in the typography niche of UX/UI (user experience and user interface). She hopes to gain citizenship in Italy and may move to Europe after graduating.

“I’ve proven myself as a comprehensive researcher in mixed methods, so I can research pretty much anything if given the situation,” she said.