Texas Christian University, United States
scopus profile
🎓 Early Academic Pursuits
Dr. Sarah “Uma” Tauber began her academic journey with a strong foundation in both psychology and sociology, earning her B.A. from Augustana College in 2004. She continued to deepen her expertise with an M.A. in Experimental Psychology from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs in 2007, where she studied under Lori E. James. Her academic pursuits culminated in a Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from Colorado State University in 2010 under the mentorship of Matthew G. Rhodes. These early years laid the groundwork for her future focus on metacognition, memory, and self-regulated learning.
👩🏫 Professional Endeavors
Dr. Tauber has built a robust academic career, beginning with a prestigious post-doctoral fellowship at Kent State University, supported by the James S. McDonnell Foundation. Mentored by John Dunlosky, she honed her research on metacognitive processes. She joined Texas Christian University (TCU) in 2013 as an Assistant Professor and has served as an Associate Professor since 2019 in the Department of Psychology. Her commitment to teaching and mentorship is evident in her continued collaboration with undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students.
🔬 Contributions and Research Focus
At the heart of Dr. Tauber’s research is a passion for understanding self-regulated learning, metacognitive accuracy, and concept formation—all vital components of student learning and academic success. She explores how individuals monitor and control their learning, with special attention to how these processes evolve with healthy aging. Her work spans theoretical and applied dimensions, bridging cognitive psychology and educational practice to uncover strategies that foster better memory, decision-making, and learning outcomes.
🌍 Impact and Influence
Dr. Tauber’s influence extends through her editorial contributions and prolific publishing record. She co-edited The Oxford Handbook of Metamemory (2016), a cornerstone in the field. Her peer-reviewed articles, often co-authored with students, explore how learners and educators perceive strategies, how metacognitive judgments affect recall, and how educational tools like rubrics or retrieval practice shape learning. Her collaborations with other thought leaders like John Dunlosky and Rose Ariel further underscore her role in advancing research on metacognition and education.
📚 Academic Citations and Research Dissemination
Dr. Tauber’s work appears in top-tier journals like Memory & Cognition, Behavioral Sciences, Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, and Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition. She contributes regularly to special issues that highlight cutting-edge research in learning and memory, demonstrating her ongoing relevance and thought leadership in cognitive psychology. Her research not only earns citations but also sparks discussions about the best practices in teaching and assessment.
🛠️ Technical and Methodological Expertise
Dr. Tauber is adept in experimental research methods, advanced statistical analyses, and applied cognitive psychology. Her studies often incorporate real-world educational settings, using controlled experiments to test the effectiveness of study strategies, note-taking techniques, and metacognitive interventions. Her methodological rigor ensures that her findings are not only reliable but also applicable to diverse learning environments.
🧑🏫 Teaching and Mentorship
With a Zoom-based virtual office and a student-friendly lab website, Dr. Tauber remains accessible and engaged with learners at all levels. She has mentored numerous undergraduates, graduate students, and postdocs at TCU, often including them as co-authors in her publications. Her teaching emphasizes critical thinking and scientific inquiry, empowering students to become independent researchers and thoughtful practitioners.
🌟 Legacy and Future Contributions
Dr. Tauber's legacy is grounded in her dual commitment to rigorous science and meaningful educational impact. As cognitive psychology continues to intersect with educational technology and lifelong learning, her insights on self-regulation and metacognition remain increasingly relevant. Looking forward, her work is poised to influence not only classroom practices but also broader health and aging interventions, demonstrating the far-reaching applications of her research.
Publication Top Notes
Title: Students and faculty consider high ratings, but not daily quizzes, when interpreting student evaluations of teaching
Authors: Rivers, M. L., Babineau, A. L., Neely, K. P., & Tauber, S. K.
Journal: Teaching of Psychology
Year: 2025
Title: Point value on scoring rubrics influence self-regulated learning for STEM material
Authors: Shumaker, M. D., Rivers, M. L., & Tauber, S. K.
Journal: Behavioral Sciences
Year: 2025
Title: Students’, teachers’ and parents’ knowledge about and perceptions of learning strategies
Authors: Witherby, A. E., Babineau, A. L., & Tauber, S. K.
Journal: Behavioral Sciences (Special Issue on Educational Applications of Cognitive Psychology)
Year: 2025
Title: Teaching older adults to use retrieval practice improves their self-regulated learning
Authors: Ariel, R., Babineau, A. L., & Tauber, S. K.
Journal: Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition
Year: 2024
Title: Students’ decisions to switch between categories or stay within them are related to practice classification performance
Authors: Babineau, A. L., & Tauber, S. K.
Journal: Memory & Cognition
Year: 2023