Dr Camilla Gilmore, a Reader in Mathematical Cognition, was nominated by a colleague for her ground-breaking research in mathematical cognition in adults and children. Her work focuses on understanding why some people find mathematics easy while others struggle and what this means for education.
The EPS Prize Lecturer is awarded to those who have contributed to experimental psychology in their early career.
The application to be named EPS Prize Lecturer requires the nominee to:
- be held in high esteem and considered influential in their field
- be regarded as an authority, nationally and internationally
- have provided ‘distinguished, independent and original contributions to experimental psychology’
Dr Gilmore’s research looks at how individuals think about and learn mathematical ideas and concepts. She looks across age groups, studying how young children learn what numbers are and how to count, how schoolchildren learn the conceptual and procedural aspects of arithmetic, and how adults process basic numerical information.
To date, her research has received £1.9 million in funding, including a Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship from the Royal Society.
Last year she wrote and published the first introductory textbook in mathematical cognition.
On being awarded the prize, Dr Gilmore said: “I’m delighted and honoured to have received this award from the Experimental Psychology Society.
“Research is a team effort and this prize reflects the effort of many fantastic research collaborations.”
Not only has Dr Gilmore achieved a great deal early in her career, she has also mentored others. She has supervised more than 20 early-career researchers, with many going on to win notable awards.
Dr Gilmore will give her EPS lecture in July 2020 at the Experimental Psychology Society meeting in Swansea. She will be talking about her recent work that looks at how preschool children learn number concepts.
Talking about the award, Dr Gilmore said: “We still have so much to understand about the challenges of early number development and how to support children’s mathematics learning and I’m really pleased that this prize draws attention to this important area of research.”