Martha Alibali

Phone: 262-0837
Email: mwalibali@facstaff.wisc.edu
Office: Room 520

Professor
Ph.D. 1994, University of Chicago

 

My research investigates children's mathematical reasoning and how it changes over time.  I focus on the change processes that take place when children learn new concepts and problem-solving strategies, and when they express and communicate their knowledge in gestures and in speech.  Current projects examine the transition from arithmetic to algebraic reasoning, the function of spontaneous gesture in thinking and speaking, and the nature of mathematical reasoning in children with language impairments.  My overarching goal is to contribute to a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of knowledge change in children's cognitive development. A second major goal is to elucidate the role of spontaneous gestures in thinking and knowledge change.


 
  Cognitive Development & Communication Lab

REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS

Siegler, R. S. & Alibali, M. W. (2005). Children's thinking (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Alibali, M. W. (2005). Mechanisms of change in the development of mathematical reasoning. In R. V. Kail (Ed.), Advances in Child Development and Behavior (Vol. 33). New York: Academic Press.

McNeil, N. M. & Alibali, M. W. (2004). You'll see what you mean: Students encode equations based on their knowledge of arithmetic. Cognitive Science, 28, 451-466.

Alibali, M. W., Heath, D. C., & Myers, H. J. (2001). Effects of visibility between speaker and listener on gesture production: Some gestures are meant to be seen. Journal of Memory and Language, 44, 169-188.

Evans, J. L., Alibali, M. W., & McNeil, N. M. (2001). Divergence of embodied knowledge and verbal expression: Evidence from gesture and speech in children with Specific Language Impairment. Language and Cognitive Processes, 16, 309-331.

Alibali, M. W., Kita, S., & Young, A. (2000). Gesture and the process of speech production: We think, therefore we gesture. Language and Cognitive Processes, 15, 593-613.

Alibali, M.W., Bassok, M., Solomon, K.O., Syc, S.E., & Goldin-Meadow, S. (1999).  Illuminating mental representations through speech and gesture.  Psychological Science, 10, 327-333.

Rittle-Johnson, B., & Alibali, M.W. (1999).  Conceptual and procedural knowledge of mathematics:  Does one lead to the other? Journal of Educational Psychology, 91, 175-189.

Alibali, M.W. (1999).  How children change their minds:  Strategy change can be gradual or abrupt.  Developmental Psychology, 35, 127-145.

Alibali, M.W., Flevares, L., & Goldin-Meadow, S. (1997).  Assessing knowledge conveyed in gesture:  Do teachers have the upper hand? Journal of Educational Psychology, 89, 183-193.

Alibali, M.W., & Goldin-Meadow, S. (1993).  Gesture-speech mismatch and mechanisms of learning:  What the hands reveal about a child's state of mind.  Cognitive Psychology, 25, 468-523.