Biography

Hi! I am Irene Shang Li, a third-year doctoral student in Psychological Sciences at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University. Advised by Bethany Rittle-Johnson at the Childern’s Learning Lab, I study the development of children’s mathematical cognition. My research brings together perspectives from theoretical mathematics, instructional design, and cognitive development to understand how children acquire and use mathematical concepts. I am particularly interested in how early numeracy knowledge is represented, how these representations shape learning and reasoning, and how they inform teaching.

I earned my bachelor’s degree in Applied Mathematics and Computational Sciences from Duke University and Duke Kunshan University in 2022. Following that, I obtained my master’s degree in Education with a concentration in Social Research Methodologies from the School of Education and Information Studies, University of California, Los Angeles.

I am passionate about all things related to mathematics and mathematics education. Feel free to reach out:)