Ron Hopkins

Biography

Ron Hopkins is a graduate student in the Human Development area of Educational Psychology. His academic background is primarily in the historical, theoretical, and philosophical foundations of human reasoning. Throughout his undergraduate and graduate career at the University of West Georgia he served as the Research Coordinator for the psychology department’s Research Laboratory. He trained undergraduates on research methods and provided in-class demonstrations of EEG equipment for psychology classes. While earning his Master’s degree in Psychology, he worked as a graduate assistant in the Distance and Distributed Education department, training and assisting faculty members in developing online courses.

Education

A. in Psychology, University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA.

Research Interests

Ron is interested in mathematical cognition, particularly how students come to associate meaning to the symbols and rules of symbol manipulation necessary for mathematics. He is especially interested in how these associations influence reasoning and how these associations change over time. This involves trying to understand the nature of processes underlying symbolic meaning and mathematical knowledge in the hopes of developing methods for identifying problems and designing effective interventions.

Presentations

• “Situated Mathematical Cognition and Epistemology in Algebraic Reasoning: Implications for Young Learners”   Student Psychology Annual Research Conference University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA: April, 2014 “Ethical Epistemic Methodology in the Social Sciences” Midwinter ConferenceAPA Division 24, Atlanta, GA: March, 2014
• “What is the Cognitive Science of Mathematics?” Invited Presentation for Foundations of Neuroscience CourseUniversity of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA: November, 2013
• “Semiotics, Semantics, and The Linguistic Turn in Philosophy”   Invited Presentation for Language and Culture CourseUniversity of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA: October, 2013
• “From Zero to Infinity: Paradoxical Cognitive Metaphors and Number Theory” Student Psychology Annual Research Conference University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA: April, 2013
• “The Convenient Relativist: The Question of Plastic Epistemology” North Georgia Student Philosophy Conference Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA: December, 2012
• “Thought and Identity: Cognition, Education, Society and Authenticity” Student Psychology Annual Research Conference University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA: April, 2012
• “Learning Orientations: Changing Educational Perspectives” Student Psychology Annual Research Conference University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA: April, 2011