Dana Miller-Cotto

Graduate Areas: Clinical

• Psychological Science - Cognitive
• Psychological Science - Developmental

Does Dr. Miller-Cotto plan to recruit a doctoral student for the next incoming class?

Research Interests

I am broadly interested in understanding the role of cognitive, developmental, and contextual factors that predict educational disparities for traditionally underserved students (e.g., low-income, Black or Latino(a), and students with learning disabilities). My research examines whether children’s early childhood experiences at home and in school promote or inhibit improvement in math and executive functions, or the ability to regulate and control actions and cognitions, and how these experiences differ based on race/ethnicity and family income. I’m also interested in understanding how and why executive functions are related to mathematics skills with the goal of designing learning interventions for students along all ability levels. 

Lab Site:

Dana Miller-Cotto, Ph.D.

PUBLICATIONS:

• Miller-Cotto, D., & Schunn, C. (2020). Mind the Gap: How a large-scale course re-design in economics reduced performance gaps. Journal of Experimental Education, 1-14.
• Miller-Cotto, D., & Auxter, A. E. (2019). Testing the ecological validity of faded worked examples in algebra. Educational Psychology, 41, 191-205.
• Barbieri, C. A., Miller-Cotto, D., & Booth, J. L. (2019). Lessening the load of misconceptions: Design-based principles for algebra learning. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 28, 1-37.
• Miller-Cotto, D., & Byrnes, J. P. (2020). What's the best way to characterize the relationship between working memory and achievement?: An initial examination of competing theories. Journal of Educational Psychology. 
• Byrnes, J.P., Wang, A.H., Miller-Cotto, D. (2019). Children as mediators of their own cognitive development in kindergarten. Cognitive Development, 50, 80-97.
• Byrnes, J.P., Miller-Cotto, D., & Wang, A. (2018). Children as mediators of their own cognitive development: The case of learning science in kindergarten and first grade. Journal of Cognition and Development, 19, 248-277.
• Byrnes, J. P., & Miller-Cotto, D. (2016). The growth of mathematics and reading skills in segregated and diverse schools: An opportunity-propensity analysis of a national database. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 46, 34-51.