Katie Cooper

My name is Katie Cooper and I’m thrilled to be a part of the Teach@Mines team!  As a kid, I found people’s behavior to be fascinating and, at times, quite confusing.  I was intrigued by the differences in how friends thought about things in life and interacted with each other.  These and other curiosities about people led me to a psychology degree at The University of Texas, where I went from participating in some fun social experiments on campus in order to see the power of social modeling to cheering on the Longhorn football team with friends.  While in college, I explored the external, social influences of human behavior as well as the internal, biological influences including a deep dive in evolutionary psychology. During this time, I started working with students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, which inspired increasing interests in cognitive development and learning.  I then completed a postbaccalaureate internship at UCLA’s Lovaas Institute for Early Intervention.  And shortly thereafter, I studied executive functioning skills while earning a Master’s degree in Human Neuropsychology and then studied social-cognitive development while earning a Doctorate degree in Educational Psychology.

Over the past 25 years, I’ve been incredibly fortunate to work in and consult with schools near and far including in Nigeria and Panama and along the way, I have first-hand experience with how challenging it truly is to teach based on the science of learning without losing sight of the psychology of learners. I’m grateful because every day I get to learn from students, educators, principals, paraeducators, parents, and school-based mental health providers.

While I value a “work-life” balance, I definitely don’t model it.  But some of my favorite things to do are to cheer for my teenage son during his basketball games and cross-country meets, watch my elementary-age daughter complete another gymnastic feat, or run on the trail near my house in Denver.  We are a family that loves to travel so please share your travel recommendations with me!