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In this paper we focus on the development of rational number knowledge and present three research programs that illustrate the possibility of bridging research between the fields of cognitive developmental psychology and mathematics education. The first is a research program theoretically grounded in the framework theory approach to conceptual change. This program focuses on the interference of prior natural number knowledge in the development of rational number learning. The other two are the research program by Moss and colleagues that uses Case's theory of cognitive development to develop and test a curriculum for learning fractions, and the research program by Siegler and colleagues, who attempt to formulate an integrated theory of numerical development. We will discuss the similarities and differences between these approaches as a means of identifying potential meeting points between psychological and educational research on numerical cognition and in an effort to bridge research between the two fields for the benefit of rational number instruction.Keywords: number cognition, natural number bias, conceptual change, rational number development, educational implications Numerical cognition is a research area that appeals to mathematics education researchers, to cognitivedevelopmental psychologists and to neuroscientists. However, the researchers coming from these different fields approach numerical cognition in different ways in terms of theoretical perspectives, questions asked, methodologies used, and most importantly, of end goals (Berch, 2016). Thus there is great need for dialogue between psychological and educational research, particularly when it comes to implications for instruction. In With this article we contribute to this effort, arguing that some of the research that lies in the intersection of cognitive-developmental psychology and mathematics education can be fruitful for both fields and very relevant for instruction. We focus on the development of rational number knowledge and we present our research jnc.psychopen.eu | 2363-8761 program that is theoretically grounded in the framework theory approach to conceptual change (Vosniadou, Vamvakoussi, & Skopeliti, 2008;Vosniadou & Verschaffel, 2004). This research program focuses on the adverse effects of prior number knowledge in the transition from natural to rational numbers (aka the natural number bias) and the challenges it presents for students' numerical and algebraic reasoning. This phenomenon has been long noticed and studied by mathematics education researchers and has more recently attracted much attention by psychologists and neuroscientists. Apart from being a phenomenon of interest to both fields, research on the natural number bias has many important implications for instruction. We will compare our research program to two other programs that also illustrate the possibility of bridging research between psychology and mathematics education. The first is a program by Moss and colleagues who developed and tested a curriculum fo...

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