Maleka Donaldson

Maleka Donaldson is an Associate Professor of Education and Child Study at Smith College. She earned her doctorate in Human Development and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and worked on the Causal Learning Studies during her time here. Broadly, she is interested in cognitive science, neuroscience and psychology research that can deepen our understanding of how students learn in classrooms. More specifically, she is exploring the effects of making mistakes and receiving feedback from others while learning, along with the implications for classroom teaching and learning. Maleka holds an A.B. in Biology from Harvard College, and an Ed.M. in Human Development and Psychology from HGSE. Prior to her graduate studies, she worked with elementary students as a Kindergarten lead teacher, tutor, and science instructor.