Research Areas

One of the key issues in developmental research is about domain-general and domain-specific determinants of the nature of cognitive development, which touches some of the deepest problems of psychology. One such problem is what develops: changes in cognitive structure or changes in local content knowledge. Another problem concerns the relationship between structural and functional aspects of the cognitive system. One line of Ni's research addresses these questions.

Classroom instruction is the primary source for children to learn new skills and knowledge and to open up new developmental possibilities. Ni's research examines prior experience and knowledge that children bring to the number acquisition tasks and its effects on children's later number concept acquisitions. The research also examines how teachers' pedagogical representations of learning tasks, as well as assessment tasks, affect student learning and how the teacher choices are influenced by their subject matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge.