Emma Geller

Dr. Geller received her Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2016. Her primary research interest is the science of learning and instruction, and her work investigates how students develop deep understanding of concepts in math and science. Past and current projects focus on questions such as: (1) How do questions help people learn? (2) What is the role of surprise and confusion in addressing students' misconceptions? (3) How do engagement and cognitive load interact to support or hinder effective learning from videos? At UCSD, Dr. Geller brings her excitement for learning and instruction to the classroom, where she teaches most of the research methods courses in the department, including PSYC 70, 71, 111A, and 111B. She is passionate about helping students develop a deep understanding of core concepts in psychological research methods and statistics, and loves getting know new student-scientists every quarter!

• Cui, L., Geller, E. H., & Stigler, J.W. (in preparation). Using comparison and variation in statistics word problems to support learning of deep structure.
• Geller, E. H., Son, J. Y., & Stigler, J. W. (2017) Conceptual explanations and understanding fraction comparisons. Learning and Instruction, 52: 122-129.
• Stigler, J. W., Geller, E. H., & Givvin, K. B. (2015) Zaption: A platform to support teaching, and learning about teaching, with video. Journal of e-Learning and Knowledge Society, 11(2): 13-25.

Updated April 2018