Our Team

Current lab members

I became a researcher of cognition and education after a former career in software development. My PhD, supervised by Naama Friedmann and Stanislas Dehaene, examined the cognitive mechanisms that process multi-digit numbers. I am still interested in this topic, as well as in the interaction between math, language and domain-general cognitive mechanisms, in math learning disorders, and in understanding the cognitive mechanisms involved in programming. I have two children and they are the best.

dotandro@mail.tau.ac.il

Dror Dotan

Principal Investigator

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I am a special education teacher, currently working with refugee students. My work with underprivileged students sparked my interest in learning difficulties and disabilities, and led me to my MA in Learning Disorders. My research examines how children process the syntax of algebraic expressions. By understanding this cognitive process, we can begin to identify difficulties and disorders that impair students' understanding of algebra.

hila4@mail.tau.ac.il

Hila Bental-Israeli

MA student

I am a special education teacher specializing in remedial teaching in English, Hebrew and mathematics. Working with children with a wide range of difficulties has taught me that quite often, skills that may be perceived as simple and obvious are actually not that simple for some children. This is how I got interested in the cognition of basic learning skills. My MA research identified central cognitive processes involved in writing multi-digit numbers, and the learning disorders arising from deficits in these processes.

zoharcohen@mail.tau.ac.il

Zohar Cohen

PhD student

I am an English teacher, teaching all kinds of students - those who are ahead, those who are behind, and those with special needs. I decided to study for a master's degree in learning disorders in order to bridge students' academic gaps and gain confidence with positive mentoring. I am interested in language, so my MA thesis examines the similarities and differences between short-term memory mechanisms for words and numbers.

hadarefody@gmail.com

Hadar Efodi-Klerman

MA student

I’m a linguist and a Hebrew teacher for adult immigrants. As such, my main interest is the verbal representation of numbers, and its similarities and differences from other (non-number) words. My research examines the interaction between linguistic and numerical syntactic systems, in order to understand the underlying processes involved in saying, reading and writing multi digit numbers.

Personal website...

handelsman@mail.tau.ac.il

Noa Handelsman

PhD candidate

I am a teacher specializing in math and learning disorders, a lecturer at the Hebrew University and several colleges, and Israel’s National Mathematics Instructor for Special Education. I led the Hebrew University’s math clinic, where I developed cognitive-based training methods for kids with learning disorders and for their teachers. My research combines math, cognition, and pedagogy: my MA (in Sarit Ashkenazi's lab) examined dyscalculia in kindergarteners, and my PhD focuses on teaching math algorithms.

vickishemesh@gmail.com

Vicki Shemesh

PhD candidate

I am a special education teacher of mathematics and language. Over the past 5 years, I have been teaching mid-school students on the autistic spectrum, who struggle with learning disorders and emotional difficulties. Seeing their challenges has taught me how genuinely difficult it can be for a child to cope with learning disorders. My MA research examines a specific working-memory mechanism (removal) and how its impairment can disrupt mental arithmetic.

ligalyariv@mail.tau.ac.il

Ligal Yariv

MA student

Lab alumni

See their MA dissertations here

I am an expert in information systems and in information technology product management. I study learning disorders because of my passion to create more effective learning environments. My MA thesis examined the cognitive processes involved in writing multi-digit numbers. I proposed a new number-writing cognitive model, centred on the number’s syntactic structure. It was a delight to be in a lab whose research can significantly contribute both to cognitive theory and to the classroom.

tamarbarash41@gmail.com

Tamar Barash

MA (2021)

I am a special education teacher of math and Hebrew for children with learning disorders. My MA thesis identified, for the first time, the different origins of poor multiplication-table knowledge. These origins include several cognitive factors, mainly in domain-general mechanisms (memory, attention), emotional factors (math anxiety), and pedagogical factors (insufficient learning). Precise assessment of the source of difficulty for each child may allow for more effective treatment.

maayanb2@mail.tau.ac.il

Maayan Boguslavsky

MA (2022)

I am a speech therapist, working with children with a wide range of difficulties, from one-year-old to adolescents. From this perspective I became interested in learning disorders and in cognitive learning mechanisms. I am curious to understand the relations between language and math abilities, which may shed light on specific mathematical difficulties. My MA thesis investigated the cognitive representation of multi-digit number syntax. On top of that, I'm Gali's mother and Adam's life partner.

brutmannadin@gmail.com

Nadin Brutman

MA (2021)

I have a BSc in Brain Sciences and Psychology. My MA thesis, in the Sagol school of Neuroscience, examined the cognitive underpinnings of programming. I showed how the ability to execute mentally pieces of code relies on working memory, and that it may also be used to improve working memory.

lihicatz@mail.tau.ac.il

Lihi Catz

MA (2023)

I have been engaged in informal education for over 10 years. I am a movement therapy instructor for senior citizens, and a math teacher for gifted children aged 7-8. My exposure to a variety of unique people with different capabilities has led me to my MA studies in Learning Disorders. My MA thesis examined how working memory and other cognitive mechanisms are involved in multidigit mental calculation.

shibolnir@gmail.com

Shibolet Nir

MA (2023)

I am a Special Education teacher, working with children with learning disorders, emotional and mental difficulties, and more. I studied learning disorders to improve my teaching skills and my ability to help my students; and I focused on math - a challenge for many students. My MA thesis showed how developing number reading skills requires a combination of explicit knowledge about number syntax and the cognitive mechanisms that support it. I hope my discoveries will help future students and teachers.

ellash27@gmail.com

Ella Shalit

MA (2022)

After working for many years with children with learning disorders, I became curious to understand how we can address these challenges better. My MA thesis explored the cognitive processes involved in solving multi-digit arithmetic problems, and showed different origins of working-memory related learning disorders. I also showed how efficient strategies can channel the cognitive process, so that people with these disorders can overcome their difficulty and perform arithmetic computations.

shira.shanny@gmail.com

Shira Shanny

MA (2020)

I work with students with a wide range of learning difficulties and learning disorders. I chose an MA in learning disorders because of my personal interest and because of my passion to help those who need guidance and learning strategies to succeed at school. My MA thesis examined a specific cognitive disorder that disrupts multi-digit arithmetic, which is exhibited in a difficulty to deactivate information in working memory.

szviran@gmail.com

Sharon Zviran-Ginat

MA (2022)