I am a Ph.D candidate in Cognitive Science at UC San Diego working with Dr. Scott Klemmer and Dr. Caren Walker. I take an interdisciplinary approach to my research, using methods and theories from psychology, computer science, and learning science to better understand creative cognition. My research focuses on developing ways to amplify exploratory thinking through scaffolding abstraction, with applications in creativity support tools and pedagogy.
Prior to starting my PhD, I graduated from UC Berkeley with Honors in Psychology and worked as a research assistant at the Stanford Cognitive & Systems Neuroscience Lab studying math cognition in children. Outside of research, I enjoy boxing, doodling cartoons, trivia and board games, and exploring new beaches and hiking trails.
C. Ailie Fraser, Tricia J. Ngoon, Mira Dontcheva, & Scott Klemmer. 2019. Replay: Contextually Presenting Learning Videos Across Software Applications. In ACM Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) Proceedings. Honorable Mention (Top 5%)
Tricia J. Ngoon*, C. Ailie Fraser*, Ariel S. Weingarten, Mira Dontcheva, & Scott Klemmer. 2018. Interactive Guidance Techniques for Improving Creative Feedback. In ACM Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) Proceedings. Honorable Mention (Top 5%) * indicates equal contribution as first-authors
Christian Battista, Tanya M. Evans, Tricia J. Ngoon, Tianwen Chen, Lang Chen, John Kochalka, & Vinod Menon. 2018. Mechanisms of Interactive Specialization and Emergence of Functional Brain Circuits Supporting Cognitive Development in Children. npj Science of Learning, 3(1).
Tanya M. Evans, John Kochalka, Tricia J. Ngoon, Sarah Wu, Shaozheing Qin, Christian Battista, & Vinod Menon. 2015. Brain Structural Integrity and Intrinsic Functional Connectivity Forecasts 6-Year Longitudinal Growth in Children’s Numerical Abilities. Journal of Neuroscience, 35(33). 11743-11750.
Tricia J. Ngoon. 2019. Overcoming Satisficing: Scaffolds for Amplifying Creativity. Graduate Student Symposium Abstract in ACM Creativity & Cognition (C&C) Proceedings.
Tricia J. Ngoon. 2019. Inventive Scaffolds Catalyze Creative Learning. Doctoral Consortium Abstract in ACM Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) Proceedings.
Tricia J. Ngoon, Joy O. Kim, Caren M. Walker, & Scott Klemmer. 2020. Amplifying Exploratory Thinking through Creativity Support Tools. To appear in .
Tricia J. Ngoon, Caren M. Walker, & Scott Klemmer. 2019. The Dark Side of Satisficing: Setting the Temperature of Creative Thinking. In ACM Creativity & Cognition (C&C) Proceedings.
Samuel Lau, Tricia J. Ngoon, Vineet Pandey, & Scott Klemmer. 2019. Experiment Reconstruction Reduces Fixation on Surface Details of Explanations. In ACM Creativity & Cognition (C&C) Proceedings.
C. Ailie Fraser, Tricia J. Ngoon, Ariel S. Weingarten, Mira Dontcheva, & Scott Klemmer. 2017. CritiqueKit: A Mixed-Initiative, Real-Time Interface for Improving Feedback. Demo in ACM User Interface Software & Technology (UIST) Companion.
Tricia J. Ngoon, Alexander Gamero-Garrido, & Scott Klemmer. 2016. Supporting Peer Instruction with Evidence-Based Online Instructional Templates. Work-in-Progress in ACM Learning at Scale (L@S) Proceedings.
Tricia J. Ngoon, Rachel Chen, Amit Deutsch, & Sean Lip. 2016. Oppia: A Community of Peer Learners to Make Conversational Learning Experiences. Demo in ACM Computer-Supported Cooperative Work & Social Computing (CSCW) Companion.
One of the most rewarding parts of being a graduate student is being able to teach and mentor promising, motivated students.
Support Cognitive Science graduate students in teaching roles and work with the Engaged Teaching Center to develop training resources for instructors.
Developed a curriculum for teaching introductory web programming concepts.
Facilitated discussions of current issues in social computing research.
Helped students conceptualize and prototype innovative startup ideas.
Lead studios and guide students through the human-centered design process to develop a mobile web application.
Lead discussions about the origins of laughter and humor from a cognitive and social perspective.
Lead discussion sessions with active learning strategies to help students review and consolidate course material.
Provide critiques in studios to help students analyze design concepts through group-based projects.
UCSD Cognitive Science
The Design Lab
Early Learning & Cognition Lab
UCSD Graduate Women in Computing