Since 2017 the Department of Early Childhood Education in the University of Western Macedonia, may curry the title "EARLI Centre for Innovative Research" (E-CIR) for the upcoming four years.

Project (brief) Description:

The focus of the proposed E-CIR "Conceptual change" is the way in which conceptual change and dual process accounts of reasoning can be usefully combined to understand mathematical cognition and improve learning. A large part of the ongoing research of the collaborating teams centers around the development of the number concept. This lies at the heart of mathematical cognition and is greatly associated with later mathematical achievement.

The future work of the collaborating team will focus on a currently insufficiently explored issue within the study of mathematical learning and development – the co-existence of both prior knowledge and newly acquired conceptions, especially when they interfere with each other. The team will also address implications of this co-existence for mathematical understanding, problem solving, and teaching.

The partners of the project

Wim Van Dooren, KU Leuven, Centre for Instructional Psychology and Technology Country,  Belgium

Stella Vosniadou, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Research, Cognitive Science Laboratory Greece

Erno Lehtinen, University of Turku, Centre for Learning Research and Department of Teacher Education, Finland

Xenia Vamvakoussi, University of Ioannina Research Centre, Department of Early Childhood Education Country, Greece

Konstantinos P. Christou, University of Western Macedonia Research, Department of Early Childhood Education, Greece

Lieven Verschaffel, KU Leuven, Centre for Instructional Psychology and Technology

Jake McMullen, University of Turku Research, Department of Education, Finland

Matthew Inglis, University of Loughborough Research Centre: Mathematics Education Centre, United Kingdom

Andreas Obersteiner, University of Education Freiburg Research Centre: Institute for Mathematics Education, Germany\