Bethany Rittle-Johnson
Professor, Psychology & Human Development
Anita S. and Antonio M. Gotto Chair in Child Development
Professor Rittle-Johnson's research focuses on understanding how knowledge change occurs. Her specific interests are in how children learn problem-solving procedures and key concepts in mathematics. For example, what roles do comparison or generating explanations have in promoting learning of concepts and procedures? What early math knowledge supports later math knowledge? This research bridges between psychological theory and educational practice, and Professor Rittle-Johnson also collaborates with teachers and educational researchers to apply and test her research in educational settings.
in a 2015 interview
Sample Research Projects:
Representative Publications
*student (graduate or undergraduate); ^post-doc
Douglas, A. -A.^, Msall, C.*, Logan, F*., & Rittle-Johnson, B. (2024). The Impact of Light-Touch Information-Based Interventions on the Home Math Environment. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 94,
Douglas, A.-A.*, Rittle-Johnson, B., Adler, R.*, Mendez, A.*, Haymond, C., Brandon, J.*, & Durkin, K. (2024). “He’s probably the only teacher I’ve actually learned from”: Marginalized Students’ Experiences and Views of High School Mathematics. American Educational Research Journal.
Rittle-Johnson, B. Adler, R.* & Durkin, K. (in press). Predicting marginalized students’ mathematics achievement in high school. Journal of Cognition and Development.
Ban, J.*, Msall, C.,* Douglas, A.^, Rittle-Johnson, B., Laski, E. (2024). Knowing What They Know: Preschool Teachers’ Knowledge of Math Skills Preschoolers’ Know and its Relation to Their Instruction. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 246, .
Adler, R.*, Rittle-Johnson, B., Hickendorff, M., & Durkin, K. (2024). A Longitudinal Examination of the Relations Between Motivation, Math Achievement, and STEM Career Aspirations Among Black Students. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 76.
Douglas^, A.-A., & Rittle-Johnson, B. (2024). Parental early math support: The role of parental knowledge about early math development. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 66, 124–134.
Adler, R.*, Xu. D.* & Rittle-Johnson, B. (2023 online first). What Counts as STEM, and Does it Matter. British Journal of Educational Psychology.
Select recent:
Rittle-Johnson, B, Farran, D. & Durkin, K. (2021). Marginalized students’ perspectives on instructional strategies in middle-school mathematics classrooms. Journal of Experimental Education, 89, 569-586,
Rittle-Johnson, B., Star, J. R., & Durkin, K. (2020). How can cognitive science research help improve education? The case of comparing multiple strategies to improve mathematics learning and teaching. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 29, 599–609.
Zippert, E.^, Douglas, A.,* & Rittle-Johnson, B. (2020). Finding patterns in objects and numbers: Repeating patterning in pre-K predicts kindergarten mathematics knowledge. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 200,