Lunch Speaker: Nicole McNeil

We have a special guest cognitive lunch speaker for our first Cognitive Lunch of the year.

Wednesday, September 9
12:10-1:20 p.m.
Psychology Building Room 128

Nicole McNeil, head of the Cognition, Learning, and Development Lab at the University of Notre Dame, will present, "Limitations to teaching 2 + 2 = 4: Knowledge of traditional arithmetic
hinders understanding of mathematical equivalence."

Abstract:
Why do children sometimes fail to learn new information, even after substantial amounts of experience or instruction? Several prevailing accounts suggest that learning difficulties are caused by something that children lack (e.g., working-memory resources or proficiency with prerequisite skills). In contrast, others argue that difficulties are caused, at least in part, by something that children have--existing knowledge. In this talk, I will focus on children's difficulties with mathematical equivalence (i.e., the concept that the two sides of an equation are equal and interchangeable), and I will present evidence that children's existing knowledge of arithmetic contributes to these difficulties. I will discuss how this evidence informs our understanding of theoretical issues related to cognition and development, as well as practical issues related to learning and instruction in the domain of mathematics.