Amber Ankowski
moattari
Lecturer
Primary Area: Developmental Psychology
Email: aankowski@ucla.edu
Biography:
Dr. Amber Ankowski is a developmental psychologist with expertise in language and cognitive development. She earned her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology at UCLA in 2011, and has taught for the Psychology Department since her graduation. Dr. Ankowski teaches a wide variety of courses for the department, including Introductory Psychology, Research Methods in Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Developmental Research Methods, Cognitive Development, and Language Development. She has also developed her own course in Literacy Development that is now offered as part of the UCLA course catalog.
By combining an emphasis on scientific research with engaging examples and activities, Dr. Ankowski effectively maintains a dynamic classroom environment. Her enthusiastic teaching and mentorship was rewarded with the 2024 Psychology Department Distinguished Teaching Award.
In addition to teaching, Dr. Ankowski has also written two books on the topics of cognitive and language development, including Think Like a Baby: 33 Simple Experiments You Can Do at Home to Better Understand Your Child’s Developing Mind and Bringing Up Bookmonsters: The Joyful Way to Turn Your Child Into a Fearless, Ravenous Reader. Her writing has also been featured in popular parenting publications, including Parenting Magazine and the PBS Parents website.
Dr. Ankowski is the mother of three children, who provide endless inspiration and anecdotes for her teaching and writing.