Dr. Robert Siegler
EDCI 6304
Jeff Blackman
Who is he?
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Teresa Heinz Professor of Cognitive Psychology
at Carnegie Mellon University
Researches children’s thinking
Over 200 articles
Five books
National Academy of Education (2010)
Headed the Fractions Practice Guide Panel for
the U.S. Department of Education (2009 – 2010)
American Psychological Association's
Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award
(2005)
Background
Born in Chicago (1949)
 Original interests: History and Economics
 University of Illinois
 Grad School and PhD at SUNY
Stonybrook
 1974 – Carnegie Mellon University
(Assistant Professor)
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Why you should care
If you are a parent…
 If you are a teacher…
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Siegler vs. Piaget
Overlapping Waves Model
Board Games!
What other board games?
“Monopoly …requires a lot of mental addition.”
“Versions of Dominos in which the attachment requires the displayed
number of dots or that plus a multiple of 5 (e.g., if two dots are showing,
the dot that attaches could have 2, 7, or 12) seems like another good
choice.”
--Bob Siegler
Questions?
Photo Credits
Slide 1: Picture of Robert Siegler. From the Robert Siegler home page at
http://www.psy.cmu.edu/~siegler/index.html
Slide 4: Picture 1 from Developing effective fractions instruction for kindergarten through 8th grade: A practice guide Retrieved from whatworks.ed.gov/publications/practiceguides
Slide 4: Picture 2 – Microsoft Office Clipart
Slide 5: Piaget - from http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/jean-piaget
Slide 5: Siegler – from http://www.psy.cmu.edu/~siegler/AmPsychBio.pdf
Slide 6: Overlapping Waves Model - from http://www.psy.cmu.edu/~siegler/AmerPsy05.pdf
Slide 7: Number game - from http://www.psy.cmu.edu/~siegler/sieg-cdper09.pdf
Slide 7: Dominoes – from Microsoft Clipart
Slide 8: Monopoly – from http://www.hasbro.com/monopoly/en_US/shop/details.cfm?R=8EE05CCF-6D40-10148BF0-9EFBF894F9D4:en_US
Slide 8: Chutes and Ladders – from http://www.hasbro.com/shop/details.cfm?R=8EC0A8E0-6D40-1014-8BF09EFBF894F9D4:en_US
References
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Carnegie Mellon University (nd). Robert S. Siegler. Retrieved July 16, 2012, from
http://www.psy.cmu.edu/~siegler/
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Carnegie Mellon University, & Siegler, R. S. (2012, June 7). Early Knowledge of Fractions and Long Division
Predicts Long-Term Math Success [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YSj0mmjwBM&feature=player_embedded
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Siegler, R. S. (2005). Autobiographical Sketch. American Psychologist, 60(8), 767-769.
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Siegler, R., Carpenter, T., Fennell, F., Geary, D., Lewis, J., Okamoto, Y., Thompson, L., & Wray, J. (2010). Developing
effective fractions instruction for kindergarten through 8th grade: A practice guide (NCEE #2010-4039). Washington,
DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S.
Department of Education. Retrieved from whatworks.ed.gov/ publications/practiceguides.
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Siegler, R. S. (2005). Children's Learning. American Psychologist, 60, 769-778.
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Watson, Malcolm. "Theories of Human Development." The Great Courses. Chantilly,VA. 2002. MP3
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Siegler, R. S.(2009). Improving the numerical understanding of children from low-income families. Child Development
Perspectives, 3, 118-124.
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Siegler, Robert S. "Modern Learning Theories and Mathematics." STEM Summit. Irvine, CA. Feb. 2010. Web. 19
July 2012. <http://www.slideshare.net/stemsummit/modern-learning-theories-and-mathematics-education-robertsiegler>.