About

Here’s the revised version with that update incorporated cleanly:

Hello, and welcome to my portfolio. I’m Heather Thach, a Ph.D. candidate in Information Science and Learning Technologies at the University of Missouri, where I also completed a Graduate Certificate in User Experience and Usability. I earned my M.Ed. in Learning, Design, and Technology from the University of Georgia in 2019.

My research focuses on executive function and self-regulation in academic contexts, particularly among neurodivergent learners. I examine how cognitive load, task demands, and motivation shape learners’ strategies and decisions, especially when interacting with emerging technologies like generative AI. Grounded in cognitive psychology, I view technology as a form of cognitive scaffolding that
can either support or hinder regulation depending on its design and use.
My work integrates executive function, cognitive load, and motivation theories to inform more inclusive and accessible learning environments.

View CV

“The more radical the person is, the more fully he or she enters into reality so that, knowing it better, he or she can transform it. This individual is not afraid to confront, to listen, to see the world unveiled. This person is not afraid to meet the people or to enter into a dialogue with them. This person does not consider himself or herself the proprietor of history or of all people, or the liberator of the oppressed; but he or she does commit himself or herself, within history, to fight at their side.”

- Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed