Teaching

PHILOSOPHY

I am probably one of the few people who became a psychologist because of rather than in spite of my undergraduate research methods and statistics course. In the course, we were tasked with creating and testing an empirical question. I designed an experiment to test the effects of various types of background music on math problem performance, and I have been hooked on the research process ever since. This sense of discovery is something I try to instill in my students now. I believe that students understand psychological principles more deeply when they learn to question how scientists reach their conclusions rather than taking the results at face value. Therefore, I guide them in making critical judgments regarding the validity of researchers’ conclusions and in uncovering personally relevant applications of the findings we discuss. Moreover, I want students to write and speak effectively in order to establish themselves as professional and confident individuals. I tailor specific activities towards these goals for every class I teach depending on the level and the course topic. I am lucky to be in a field that I love, and I look forward to teaching the next generation of scientific thinkers through my thoughtful, energetic, and student-centered approach.

Experience

University of San Diego

Cognitive Psychology (2 sections Fall 2019; 2 hybrid sections Spring 2020; 2 remote sections Fall 2020; 1 remote honors section Spring 2021; 1 section Fall 2021; 2 sections Fall 2022; 1 honors section Spring 2023; 2 sections Fall 2023; 2 sections Spring 2025; 1 honors section Spring 2025)

Cognitive Psychology Capstone (hybrid Spring 2020; remote Fall 2020; Fall 2021; Spring 2023; Spring 2024)

Research Methods (remote Spring 2021; 2 sections Spring 2022)

Psychology of Music (Spring 2022; London Summer 2022; Fall 2022; Intersession 2023; Intersession 2024; London Summer 2024; Fall 2024)

Psychological and Sociocultural Approaches to Speech Perception (Team-taught honors Spring 2024)

Introduction to Cognitive Science (Fall 2024)

Honors Thesis advisor (2020: Tara Rodrigues; 2020-2021: Stephanie Misko, Jacob Millsap; 2021-2022: Alexa Andrade, Rhiannon Novelli; 2022-2023: Samantha Eason, 2024-2025: Isabella Ramirez, Ella Spinder)

Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) advisor (Summer 2020: Hannah McIntosh, Jordaine Tran; Summer 2021: Michelle Nguyen, Teodor Zelenskyy)

McNair Summer Scholars Program advisor (Summer 2020: Kunal Patel; Summer 2022: Denise Picazo; Summer 2023: Denise Picazo, Isabella Ramirez, Summer 2024: Isabella Ramirez)

Summer Internship Award advisor (Summer 2020: Tara Rodrigues; Summer 2022: Samantha Eason; Summer 2023: Ellis Noteboom)

Pre-Undergraduate Research Experience (PURE) advisor (Summer 2022: Adriana Ventura)

Villanova University

     Instructor, Sensation & Perception (Spring 2019)

     Instructor, Psychology of Music (Spring 2018, Spring 2019)

     Lecture and Lab Instructor, The Sounds of Human Language (Fall 2017, Fall 2018)

     Instructor, Cognitive Psychology (Spring 2017)

     Lab Instructor, The Sounds of Human Language (Fall 2016, Spring 2018)

Faculty Mentor, Villanova Match Research Program for First Year Students (Spring 2019)

University of Virginia

     Instructor, Psychology of Music (Summer 2015)

     Instructor, The Relationship Between Music and Language (Spring 2015)

     Lab Instructor, Introduction to Perception (Fall 2015)    

     Lab Instructor, Research Methods and Data Analysis I (Spring 2013; Fall 2013; Head: Fall 2014; Fall 2015; Spring 2016) 

     Senior Thesis Mentor, Distinguished Majors Program for Psychology and Cognitive Science 

• •  Priyanka Salona (’12), Benjamin Korte (’13), Sophie Wohltjen (’14), Anna Gai (’15)

 Professional Development

Workshop Facilitator

• CEE: Distracted: Why Students Can’t Focus and What You Can Do About It (spring 2021 book club)

• Psychological Sciences Department: Memory and Remote Study Strategies (website)

• Psychological Sciences Department: Flourishing in Fall: Using Psychological Science to Enhance Your Remote Learning Experiences (August 2020)

• USD Trio McNair: Ford and NSF Fellowships workshop (July 2020)

• CEE: Group Work in Online and Hybrid Courses (summer 2020 community of practice)

• CEE Fabulous First Fridays: Memory Consolidation and Study Skills (March 2020)

Teaching Conference Attendance

• Lilly Conference for Evidence-Based College and University Teaching and Learning (San Diego, CA; January 6-8, 2022)

• Lilly Conference for Evidence-Based College and University Teaching and Learning: Enhancing Online, On-Site, and Hybrid Teaching and Learning (Nov 30-Dec 4, 2020)

• Managing Your Online Classroom 2020 Magna Publications Summer Enrichment course

• Temple University Annual Faculty Conference on Teaching Excellence (Jan. 10, 2019)

• Villanova University Teaching & Learning Strategies Conference (May 16, 2018)

• Lilly Conference for Evidence-Based College and University Teaching and Learning (June 1-3, 2017)

Tomorrow’s Professors Today, University of Virginia (Fall 2013-Spring 2015)

• Interdisciplinary program for graduate students interested in learning more about and developing teaching skills through self- and peer-assessment, workshop attendance, and the creation of a teaching portfolio.

Mellon Graduate Teaching Seminars for Excellence in the Humanities, University of Virginia (Fall 2014-Spring 2015)

• Interdisciplinary pedagogical preparation in humanities and humanistic social sciences for graduate students interested in discussing and comparing practices for teaching writing to undergraduates across the curriculum. 

Sample Course Syllabi