Personal Summary

In addition to her role as a Professor in the Psychology Department, Dr. Koester is also Director of a new master's degree program in Intercultural Youth and Family Development. This is affiliated with the United States Peace Corps as one of its Master's International programs.

Current research interests: (1) interactions between deaf infants and their parents; (2) "intuitive parenting" strategies; (3) interactions between mothers, fathers, and young children; 4) cultural variations in parenting

Education

Ph.D., The University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1976
M.S., The University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1974
B.A., Sarah Lawrence College, 1967

Courses Taught

• Psych 240 - Child and Adolescent Development
• Psych 345 - Social Emotional Development
• Psych 400 - History and Systems of Psychology
• Psych 540 - Advanced Developmental
• Psych 649 - Seminar in Developmental Psychology
• IYFD 501 & 502 - Intercultural Aspects of Human Development I & II

Field of Study

Infant and Early Child Development, Parent-Infant Interactions, Deafness in Early Childhood, Intercultural Influences and Variations

Selected Publications

Papoušek, H., Papoušek, M. & Koester, L.S.  (1999).  Early integration of experience: The interplay of nature and culture.  In A.F. Kalverboer, M.L.Genta, and B. Hopkins (Eds.), Current issues in developmental neuropsychology. The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic.

Koester, L.S. (1999). Frühkindliche Interaktionen bei hörenden und gehörlosen Säuglingen. In T. Hellbrügge (Ed.), Kindliche Sozialisation und Sozialentwicklung. Lübeck, Germany: Hansisches Verlagskontor.

Koester, L. S., Brooks, L.R., & Traci, M.A. (2000). Tactile contact by deaf and hearing mothers during face-to-face interactions with their infants. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 5 (2), 127-139.

Koester, L.S., Papoušek, H., and Smith-Gray, S. (2000). Intuitive parenting, communication, and interaction with deaf infants. In P.E. Spencer, C.J. Erting, and M. Marschark (Eds.) The deaf child in the family and at school: Essays in honor of Kathryn P. Meadow-Orlans, (pp. 55-71).  Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Koester, L. S., & Meadow-Orlans, K.P. (2000). Responses to interactive stress by infants who are deaf or hearing. American Annals of the Deaf, 144 (5), 395-403.

Traci, M.A. & Koester, L.S. (2003). Parent-infant interactions: A transactional approach to understanding the development of deaf infants.  In M. Marschark & P. Spencer (eds.) The Oxford handbook of deaf studies, language and education. New York: Oxford University Press.

Meadow-Orlans, K.P., Spencer, P.S. & Koester, L.S. (Eds.), (2004). The world of deaf infants. New York: Oxford University Press.

Koester, L.S. & Koester, O.H. (2005). Seeing babies in a new light: The life of Hanuš Papoušek. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Specialized Skills

Developmental Psychology