I have three goals as an educator. First, to encourage students to think critically about the plethora of factors influencing their world – factors ranging from individual characteristics and interpersonal relationships to community norms and public policy. Second, to foster a learning environment where students engage actively in their education and gain confidence to speak up and share their own experiences through productive and respectful dialogue. Third, to instill within students a mindset of inclusion and action, where they consider the role of concepts such as cultural orientation, privilege, and power in shaping social problems and develop skills to address such issues and promote social change. These three goals are exemplified across all of my courses.
I've developed new interdisciplinary courses which address the intersections between gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, nationality, and other identities. I’ve worked with faculty in Venezuela and Mexico to integrate cross-cultural modules in my Health Psychology and Social Psychology courses. I've partnered with local organizations to embed project-based learning in several courses to give students the opportunity to engage first-hand with the community and apply course content to real-world problems.
I believe that learning doesn’t occur in a vacuum, but should rather be situated in the social, environmental, cultural, and historical contexts of the content itself. I want to instill in my students the ability to think holistically: to see the whole as well as the parts. To do this, I build a foundation of theory and utilize scaffolding from other courses, current research and policy, and social issues to make course content relevant to students across a range of majors, interests, and professional aspirations. Fostering student development and personal growth through participatory methods which blend independent critical thinking with collaborative projects and group discussion is key in my teaching style. Students learn not just from me, as their professor, but from their peers and the diverse array of perspectives and lived experiences these classmates represent. Through these approaches, I encourage students to engage with how theories and content relate to the diversity of lived experiences and the world beyond the classroom through an informed concern of contemporary social issues.
I encourage my students to acknowledge the contributions of well-known researchers and theorists while considering the social, cultural, and historical environments in which such contributions were made. Highlighting the roles of historically overlooked researchers and theorists – such as women and persons of color – in contributing to our knowledge base is central to introducing students to diverse perspectives. Through course discussion and debates which push students to think beyond their own experiences by developing empathy and an appreciation and respect for others, I’m able to engage students in dialogue about issues such as multiculturalism, diversity, and privilege in ways which meet them where there are and foster an openness to new ideas. By focusing course discussion and activities around not simply learning content but also critical thinking and discourse strategies, and an increased awareness of privilege and diversity, I hope students leave my classroom as inquisitive, socially-conscious persons with the ability to challenge the status quo and the empathy to engage in difficult dialogue.
In turn, each of my experiences as an educator have shaped how I view learning and my pedagogy. I value mutual learning and collaboration with the students in my classes, with colleagues, and across institutions and professional networks. A hallmark of my approach to teaching is an openness to continue learning and pursuing training and opportunities to grow as an educator. By reminding myself to never stop learning and developing pedagogically, I ensure the best possible learning environment for my students.