Abby Ngwako

Dr. Abby Ngwako has been teaching undergraduate students since 2007. With a background in special education and school psychology, she is well-equipped to educate diverse learners, regardless of their learning styles or previous educational experiences.
Currently, Dr. Ngwako is an Academic Support Specialist for the Undergraduate Team at the Office of Academic Support and Instructional Services (OASIS) at Walden University. She also contributes as a faculty member for the School of Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Studies (SIUS).
Her primary research interests include the effective use of technology to enhance student learning, particularly through personalized, data-driven instruction that fosters continuous dialogue between teachers and students. Dr. Ngwako’s dissertation explored the impact of students’ perceptions of adaptive learning systems on their academic self-efficacy. This quantitative correlational study examined the relationship between academic self-efficacy in college students and their perceptions of courses utilizing adaptive learning systems (ALSs).
Additionally, Dr. Ngwako’s master’s thesis focused on resilience and cultural expectations, identifying “true grit” as a key characteristic of success across various fields. She is interested in further researching whether grit can be taught in undergraduate programs to help students succeed, and what traits or strategies contribute to developing this resilience. She also aims to explore how cultivating grit during college can benefit students in their future careers, potentially identifying specific characteristics necessary for success.
Professionally, Dr. Ngwako has extensive experience in supporting and encouraging students in online courses and developing academic resources to aid student success, particularly for first-year students. She leverages her professional experiences to make concepts, methodologies, and pedagogies relevant and comprehensible.
Among her notable achievements, Dr. Ngwako was a finalist for Distinguished Faculty of the Year at Colorado Technical University in 2019 and is an honorary member of Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology, at Keiser University. In 2021, she presented a poster titled “Perception of Adaptive Learning Systems and Self-Efficacy in Higher Education” at the Association for Psychological Science (APS) Virtual Convention and Poster Showcase.