Philosophy

I approach teaching with the belief that I am not just teaching students, I am teaching parents, caregivers, politicians, nurses, educators, etc. I am teaching the future, as my engagement with students will shape how they interact with others beyond my classroom.

As an educator, I want to inspire my students to learn and to make them efficacious explorers and influencers of the world. This means that in my classes, students see the real-world application of course material and benefit from my commitment to growing as an instructor.

Real-world applications

Courses should have clear connections to life outside the classroom. For me, this means that students can relate to the course material on a personal level and see the content reflected in other aspects of their lives. To achieve both of these aims, I focus on increasing representation in material and having students concretely apply course material.

Students who see themselves in the course material are more likely to engage with the course. I make concerted efforts to offer diverse perspectives. I have created a series called Beyond the Pages, which aims to address issues of diversity in research and what we consider knowledges. This includes curating online articles and videos, and highlighting research that focuses on a broader understanding of course material.

Representation matters not just for students from under-represented groups. Emphasizing diversity and practicing inclusion benefit everyone and are crucial aspects of a social science pedagogy. Not only does research suggest that diversity is linked to increased creativity and productiveness, but research on prejudice reduction suggests that inter-group contact—even if it is imagined, like in course material—is effective at enhancing inter-group relations. In my classrooms and my research lab, this includes engaging students in critical thinking about why diversity matters in our research and what implications there are when it isn’t present.

Commitment to on-going growth

I aim to inspire curiosity in students by modeling curiosity as an educator. I see learning as a dynamic and reciprocal process, and believe that teaching methods should be updated and adapted based on students' evolving needs and new technologies.

To make learning a dynamic and reciprocal process, I believe in fostering positive student-teacher relationships and understanding the experiences, interests, and knowledge my students are bringing into the classroom. I have found that being open about what I don’t know and exhibiting humility leads to better student outcomes (such as self-efficacy and independence) because I can model my strategies for persevering in the face of novel situations.

I hope to inspire students by demonstrating how psychology is applicable to daily life. In addition, I look forward to modeling relentless curiosity as I continue to grow as an instructor.