Dietsje Jolles

Dietsje Jolles is an Associate Professor at Leiden University's Institute of Education and Child Studies and board member of the Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition. Her interdisciplinary research bridges cognitive neuroscience, psychology, and education to study learning mechanisms and cognitive skill acquisition during late childhood and early adolescence.

Key research themes include: 1) Training and transfer of fundamental cognitive abilities (working memory, numerical skills, spatial cognition), and 2) Developmental differences in learning processes, particularly cognitive control and strategy use. Her work employs behavioral experiments, neuroimaging (fMRI), and intervention studies to inform educational practices.

Current projects funded by the Jacobs Foundation and EU Marie Curie program examine how cognitive training and instructional approaches can optimize foundational skills development during critical developmental transitions.