GSTA Mission Statement

The Graduate Student Teaching Association (GSTA) provides psychology graduate student teachers with an array of services to hone their skills in the classroom. GSTA is an organization within APA Division 2: The Society for the Teaching of Psychology (STP). Therefore, psychology graduate student teachers who are interested in becoming a member of GSTA must first join STP, and then indicate their interest in GSTA.

A good teacher is courteous, passionate, knowledgeable, and dedicated. A good teacher also has the ability to exert influence beyond the classroom, capable of helping others to change the way in which they think about specific issues in psychology, as well as broader philosophical dilemmas that we encounter on a daily basis.

GSTA recognizes the power of employing basic psychological principles to positively change the lives of those around us, and that teaching can serve as an effective vehicle toward this end. Contributing to the body of teaching-related research, both as a producer and consumer, is another way to positively influence others.

GSTA is an avenue for graduate student teachers in psychology to integrate information relevant to their career development as future contributing members of the professoriate. Ultimately, GSTA can be a powerful tool for psychology graduate student teachers to dedicate themselves to a lifetime of improving the learning process and improving the lives of others.

Services for Graduate Student Teaching Assistants

The Graduate Student Teaching Association (GSTA) of APA Division 2: The Society for the Teaching of Psychology was organized in 2002. The GSTA works tirelessly to provide graduate student teachers with services designed to enhance their teaching effectiveness. Graduate student training programs across the country seem consistently dedicated to training graduate students to conduct high quality research and to develop effective clinical skills. However, training designed to support and enhance the classroom experiences of graduate student teachers is often lacking. Membership in the GSTA is beneficial for graduate student teachers by providing them with a variety of useful services designed to help them with both their classroom efficacy and post-graduation goals.

Graduate students who are members of APA Division 2 are automatically members of the GSTA as well. Graduate student members receive a reduced membership fee and a yearly subscription to Teaching of Psychology, the world's foremost academic journal on teaching-related issues. Graduate student members also have access to many additional services. For instance, the GSTA listserv allows graduate students to pose questions and discuss issues pertaining to the teaching of psychology. In addition, this Web site has been established that will contain helpful resources for graduate student teachers across the country. Finally, the GSTA has annual programming hours at the APA convention, and this time will be used to address topics relevant to graduate student teachers.

GSTA Steering Committee 

Updated January 2025

Chair: Alexa "Lex" Sacchi (they/them)

Alexa is a fifth year doctoral candidate in developmental psychology at the University of Toronto – St. George. Their research broadly focuses on the moral and social cognitive development of children ages 4 to 11. Alexa specifically looks at how children and adults view themselves and others changing over time. Alexa has served as a teaching assistant for several undergraduate courses including Intro to Developmental Psychology and Social Psychology and a course instructor for Developmental Lab. In the summer, Alexa runs the Summer Psychology Research Initiative (SPRINT), a free program for upper year, Ontario high school students to learn more about psychology and gain hands-on research experience.

Melissa "Mel" Ceren (she/her)

Mel is a PhD student in Educational Psychology at the CUNY Graduate Center. Her research focuses on how environmental education in community and school gardens fosters equitable access to resources, economic stability, and food security. Drawing on her background in museum education, she has taught in informal learning environments like the New York Botanical Gardens and the American Museum of Natural History, designing hands-on STEM curriculum and activities that engage diverse learners. Melissa has also served as a teaching assistant for undergraduate statistics courses and recently taught about the Farm Bill to young adults at East New York Farms and Farm School NYC. 

Josh Lovett (he/him)

Josh is a fourth-year doctoral student in the Community & Applied Developmental Psychology program at the University of Illinois Chicago. Josh attended Duke University, where he studied psychology and education. Prior to pursuing graduate studies, Josh was a Fulbright Scholar in South Korea, where he spent three years teaching ESL to a wide range of students. He is broadly interested in the social and behavioral contexts of learning, especially in the social-emotional competencies of teachers and how this impacts a variety of factors in the classroom and school ecology. He currently serves as the instructor of record for Statistical Methods for Behavioral Science. Josh is particularly interested in teaching and intends to pursue a teaching-oriented career upon graduation. 

Ashmita Mazumder (she/her)

 Ashmita is a doctoral student in social/personality psychology at the University of Toronto - Scarborough. Her work focuses on examining the relationship between daily impulsive behaviors and polysubstance use, as well as investigating the underlying factors contributing to discrepancies between self-reported and behavioral measures of impulsivity. As a teaching assistant, she has supported courses including Scientific Communication, Advanced Personality Psychology, Psychology in Context, and Psychological Assessment. She is also the editor-in-chief for an undergraduate journal- the Journal of Natural Sciences, where she aims to make the publishing process transparent and accessible, helping undergraduate students gain experience as authors, editors, and reviewers.

Nghi "Sherry" Nguyen (she/her)

Sherry is a fifth-year doctoral student at The University of Alabama. She is passionate about understanding how children learn from others and how cultural differences shape their trust in what they are taught. Her research focuses on big-picture factors, like how often families move (residential mobility) or how relationships change in a community (relational mobility). These aspects of a child’s environment can influence whether they rely more on their group or trust individuals. Sherry’s work aims to uncover how these patterns shape children’s learning and decision-making. In the classroom, Sherry is a creative and engaging teacher who loves making learning active and fun. She often asks her students to re-enact concepts through role-playing or group activities, helping them connect complex ideas to real-life situations. By creating a collaborative and interactive environment. Her passion for teaching and research comes together with her goal to make education meaningful and impactful for her students and the children at the center of her studies. 

Lindsey Rutter (she/her)

Lindsey is a doctoral student in psychology with a concentration in Scholarship of Teaching and Learning at Oregon State University. She received her M.S. in Sport and Performance Psychology from the University of Western States. Lindsey has served as a GTA and/or primary instructor for Introductory Psychology courses. She is interested in exploring student belonging in higher education settings, as well as investigating the impact of stereotype threat on academic performance for diverse groups of individuals.

GSTA Activities and Initiatives

For regular updates on GSTA activities, follow us on Facebook (groups/theGSTA), check out our Blog, or write to us at gsta@teachpsych.org.

GSTA Links

• Read more at the GSTA Corner and the GSTA Blog
• See the STP Leadership Directory for GSTA leadership
• Check out the GSTA's e-book series "How We Teach Now" geared specifically towards graduate student and novice instructors. Volume 1 is a guide to student-centered teaching and Volume 2 is a guide to transformative teaching.
  
• GSTA Policies and Procedures (Updated October 2017)

Former GSTA Members:

2024 Leadership: Lauren N. Girouard-Hallam (Chair), Alexa Sacchi (Associate Chair), Kelly Gonzalez-Stewart,  Christopher Kleva, William Rayo, 

2023 Leadership: Skye Mendes (Chair), Madeline Bruce (Associate Chair), Christopher Kleva, Morgan Franklin

2022 Leadership: William Ridgeway (Chair), Morgan Franklin, Christopher Kleva, Skye Mendes, Jackson Pelzner

2021 Leadership: Amy Maslowski (Chair), Maaly Younis (Deputy Chair), Adam Green, Laura Simon, Kelly Cuccolo, William Ridgeway

2020 Leadership: Elizabeth Che (Chair), Jessica Brodsky (Deputy Chair), Amy Maslowski (Treasurer), Adam Green (Listserv Laison), Terrill Taylor (Social Media), Maaly Younis (Social Media)

2020 Blog Editors: Hallie Jordan, Sarah Frantz, Maya Rose, Raoul Roberts, Tashiya Hunter, Laura Mason, Megan Nadzan

2019 Leadership: Elizabeth Che (Chair),  Jessica Brodsky (Deputy Chair), Sarah Frantz (Secretary), Olga Parshina (Treasurer)

2019 Blog Editors: Hallie Jordan, Sarah Frantz, Charles Raffaele, Maya Rose