About

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

My research examines executive function and self-regulation in academic contexts, with a particular focus on neurodivergent learners. I study how cognitive load, task demands, and motivational processes shape learners’ decisions and strategies, especially when engaging emerging technologies such as generative AI.

Grounded in cognitive psychology, I approach technology not as an end in itself, but as a form of cognitive scaffolding—one that can either support or complicate regulation depending on how it is designed and used. Across my work, I integrate theory from executive function research, cognitive load theory, and motivation science to inform the design of 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