Hello! My name is Francesca Granone. I am a physicist with a PhD in material science and I am an associate professor in mathematics at the University of Stavanger, in the Early Childhood Education Department.
I am the mother of three wonderful children: one loves stars and planets, one loves arts and drawing and one has Down Syndrome and loves to show the world that nothing is impossible.
I have a close relationship with the field of practice both in Italy and Norway and
I have worked in writing proposals based on partnerships between ECEC teachers and researchers.
My interest is also related to the important mathematical competencies that children should learn in ECEC in order to better understand the world around them.
This blog is an example of this.
I am the co-leader with Professor Elin Reikerås of the DiCoTe project, “Increasing Professional Digital Competence in ECTE with a focus on enriching and supporting children’s play with coding toys.”
I am a steering member of ICSEM (International Center For Studies On Educational Methodologies) and NNDS (Norwegian Network for Down Syndrome).
I have attended courses related to specific pedagogical methods (Montessori method, Feuerstein method, methods for teaching mathematics to children with dyscalculia) in order to help children understand mathematics (typically developing children, children with learning difficulties, and children with disabilities) and I am currently attending a Special Pedagogy university course.
I have been focusing my research on three fields:
1. how to support cognitive development in children with disabilities through a mediational approach
2. technology in ECEC, with a focus on computational thinking and inclusion
3. outdoor mathematics in ECEC
The Optimistic Alternative 