Dana Miller-Cotto, Ph.D.
Pronunciation: DAY-nuh mil-er k-OH-t-oh
Picture of Dana Miller-Cotto (March, 2024)
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Welcome! I am currently an Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education (Learning Sciences and Human Development Cluster) in the Berkeley School of Education (BSE) at University of California, Berkeley. Prior to joining the BSE, I was an Assistant Professor of Psychological Sciences at Kent State University.
My research aims to improve instruction and learning environments for children to learn and thrive, regardless of where they come from. My research and scholarly work have focused on understanding underlying cognitive processes that explain individual differences in early mathematics learning (kindergarten to third grade). My primary line of research focuses on the role of executive functions - a set of core cognitive processes that regulate our thoughts, behaviors, and emotions - in how children learn mathematics, to use this information to design effective learning materials based on cognitive science. Within this topic, my work 1) tests prominent theories of working memory, a component of executive functions, within the context of early math learning and 2) designs learning materials that support students’ working memory skills. A significant portion of my research focuses on individual differences in math performance for minoritized students, particularly Black and Latine students living in poverty, who generally demonstrate lower performance in mathematics in the U.S. Embedded in this work is the goal of ensuring that minoritized students' cultural traditions, values, and perspectives are valued in their educational opportunities. |
More recently, I've began examining the potential role of varying cultural values across groups of children, and the limitations of common executive function tasks when assessing children from minoritized communities. For example, many executive function assessments are conducted by an (unfamiliar) adult with a child, an interaction that is uncommon and unlikely in cultures where children and adults don’t interact in these ways, which may affect performance on executive function asks. This is one of several assumptions of assessment this line of research seeks to examine.
I will be reviewing applications for PhD students to begin in Fall 2025 at UC Berkeley (applications are due in December 2024). Please contact me directly at [email protected] if you have additional questions about ongoing projects. If you have interest in working with me specifically, please note this in your application letter and explain how our interests align.
Relatedly, I strongly advocate for undergraduate research experiences and welcome opportunities to work with undergraduates in my research. If you are an undergraduate student who hopes to gain research experiences with me, please send me an email indicating your interest.
Relatedly, I strongly advocate for undergraduate research experiences and welcome opportunities to work with undergraduates in my research. If you are an undergraduate student who hopes to gain research experiences with me, please send me an email indicating your interest.
"I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein’s brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops".
- Stephen Jay Gould, Historian of Science