Hello! I'm Katie Cheng, a PhD student in the Stanford Graduate School of Education. I am a researcher who specializes in educational psychology, learning sciences, and technology design. My advisor is Daniel Schwartz.

In my research, I seek to understand the strategies and mindsets that learners need to learn effectively. From this lens, I design, build, and study educational technologies that empower learners. I strive to keep at the fore an equity lens, keeping in mind historically marginalized and under-served groups.

I am a member of the AAALab, which designs instruction and assessments for hard-to-measure learning mindsets and skills. Our research brings together basic cognitive science, applied classroom experience, and human-centered technology design.

I received an MSc in Computer Science from Stanford University with a specialization in Human-Computer Interaction, and a BA in Cognitive Science from UC Berkeley.

Current Projects

• Examining personalized feedback as a tool to teach learning strategies
• A classroom intervention to teach strategic resource use

Past Projects

Publications

Teaching & Mentoring

Service

• Developmental and Psychological Sciences (DAPS) Search Committee
• Developmental and Psychological Sciences (DAPS) Student Representative, 2019-2020
• Developmental and Psychological Sciences (DAPS) Student Representative, 2017-2018
• Guild Community Chair, 2015-2016

Thanks

I am indebted to the village of people who have supported me in my work.

Research support

I'm grateful for the generous support and resources provided by the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University. And, I'm grateful to the AAAlab for their support of my research.

Thank you to the amazing staff at the GSE. To Joanna Carr, Katya Kuzmina, and Kate McKinney for looking out for me along the way.

Collaborators and mentors

A huge hug and thank you to my Wieman-Schwartz research family. To my Stanford GSE colleagues and thought-partners. To my research collaborators in Singapore, Patricia Chen and Desmond Ong. To my teaching team: Laura Pickel, Jesse Harris, and Katie Remington. And to my colleagues at Hackbright Academy, the Stanford Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience Lab, the Knight Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, and the D'Esposito Cognitive Neuroscience Lab.

I am indebted to my mentors. An enormous thank you to my PhD advisor Daniel Schwartz who shaped me into the researcher that I am today. To my advisory team: Carl Wieman, James Landay, and Patricia Chen. To my industry mentor at Facebook, Jen Plebani. To my mentors at Hackbright Academy: Christian Fernandez, Cynthia Dueltgen, Lindsay Cade, and Nick Avgerinos. To my mentors at the Stanford Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience Laboratory: Vinod Menon, Lucina Uddin, and Daniel Abrams. To my mentors at the Knight Lab: Robert Knight and Kelly Buchanan. To my mentors at the D'Esposito Lab, who gave me my first taste of research: Esther Aarts and Emily Jacobs. To all of my instructors at UC Berkeley and Stanford. And to my high school teachers Keren Dawson-Bowman and April Oliver.

Loved ones

Lastly, thank you to my family and friends. You are my reasons why. Thank you for lifting me and guiding me in every step I take.