Prior to moving to WA, she was a professor of geology at Mesa Community College and completed her Ph.D. in Science Education examining affective factors that influence student persistence in introductory geoscience courses, particularly focusing on student motivation and use of self-regulatory strategies at two-year colleges. Kaatje was a part of the Geoscience Affective Research NETwork project GARNET and was able to observe many introductory geology courses across the country as part of that research in an effort to better understand how classroom instruction impacts student learning and affect. Kaatje has participated in and facilitated many Cutting Edge, Integrate and other NAGT-supported workshops over the past 10+ years.