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Jo Van Herwegen

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Associate Professor in the department of Psychology and Human Development, UCL

My research focuses on improving educational outcomes, especially for students with special educational needs, using evidence from developmental psychology, educational neuroscience, and neurodiverse populations. I examine cognitive development in neurodiverse populations in order to understand what cognitive abilities and strategies relate to successful performance. I also focus on the variability, overlap as well as individual differences in these groups in order to aid the development of effective educational training programmes. To understand how cognitive abilities develop over time, as well as when and how to intervene, I study abilities from infancy onwards. Leading from my research on neurodiverse populations, I have focused my expertise on mathematical development in also typical populations and those with learning difficulties such as dyscalculia. I employ a multi-method approach, including observations, questionnaires, focus groups, interviews, systematic reviews, experimental tasks (preferential looking paradigms), standardised assessments (wisdom), and eye tracking methodologies, as a springboard to intervention studies and to obtain a rigorous understanding of development in neurodiverse populations, as well as how teachers and parents can improve learning outcomes for their children at home and in the classroom.

Experience

  • 2019–present
    Associate professor, Institute of Education, UCL's faculty of Education and Society
  • 2016–2018
    Associate professor, Kingston University
  • 2013–2015
    senior lecturer, Kingston University
  • 2010–2012
    Assistant lecturer, Kingston University

Education

  • 2010 
    King's College London, PhD
  • 2005 
    Birkbeck, University of London, MSc Cognitive neuropsychology
  • 2004 
    University of Antwerp, MA in Psycholinguistics
  • 2002 
    University of Antwerp, BA in Germanic languages: English and Dutch

Grants and Contracts

  • 2022
    Raising educational outcomes for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities: A meta-analysis
    Role:
    Principle Investigator
    Funding Source:
    Nuffield Foundation

Professional Memberships

  • European Association for Research in Learning and Instruction
  • British Psychological Society
  • British Educational Research Association