Dr. Robert Siegler is a preeminent scholar in cognitive development and a leading authority on children's mathematical thinking, currently serving as the Schiff Foundations Professor of Psychology and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. After receiving his Ph.D. in psychology from SUNY Stony Brook in 1974, he established a distinguished 44-year career at Carnegie Mellon University where he collaborated closely with Nobel laureate Herbert A. Simon. His transition to Columbia University in 2018 represented a significant milestone in his career, bringing his expertise to one of the world's foremost institutions for educational research. Dr. Siegler has consistently demonstrated academic excellence through prestigious appointments including the Teresa Heinz Chair in Cognitive Psychology during his tenure at Carnegie Mellon and his current endowed professorship at Columbia.
Dr. Siegler's transformative research has fundamentally reshaped our understanding of cognitive development through his pioneering overlapping waves model, introduced in 1996, which revolutionized the field's conceptualization of developmental change in children's problem-solving strategies. His extensive empirical work examining numerical cognition has revealed critical insights into how children represent numbers and develop mathematical understanding across domains including whole number arithmetic and fractions, with particular attention to the challenges faced by children from low-income backgrounds. His research demonstrating that specific numerical board games produce significant learning gains has generated practical applications that educators worldwide have implemented to improve mathematical proficiency. These theoretical frameworks and empirical findings have directly informed educational policy through his service on the National Mathematics Advisory Panel and his leadership in developing the U.S. Department of Education's Fractions Practice Guide.
Beyond his research contributions, Dr. Siegler has established significant international collaborations through the Siegler Center for Innovative Learning at Beijing Normal University, fostering research partnerships between China and the United States to advance educational innovation. His scholarly influence extends through more than 250 publications including 13 authored books and 6 edited volumes that have been translated into numerous languages including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and multiple European languages. As a thought leader, he has shaped the field through editorial roles including service as associate editor of Developmental Psychology and frequent keynote addresses at major international conferences spanning five continents. Dr. Siegler continues to advance cognitive development science through his current research on the cognitive foundations of mathematical learning, maintaining his pivotal role in bridging theoretical understanding with practical educational applications to improve children's mathematical proficiency worldwide.
