School name: Wayne State University

Type of school: Public Research University

School locale: Detroit, Michigan, USA

Is your role mostly in-person, hybrid, online (synchronous or asynchronous)? I do all three!

How many years have you taught psychology? I taught middle school for two years, and have been teaching psychology as the instructor of record for 6 years.

Classes you teach: I teach introduction to psychology, statistics for behavioral sciences, learning and memory, and positive psychology

Specialization (if applicable): I am an Assistant Professor of Teaching and my PhD is in Personality and Social Psychology with a focus on Positive Psychology

What size classes do you teach? 50-150

What is a book, article, research, or author/researcher that you would recommend that new teachers check out? I highly recommend the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast hosted by Bonni Stachowiak. She invites wonderful guests, has incredible recommendations, and I am always left inspired!

What do you know now about teaching that you wish you knew when you were starting? I wish I knew that every semester the course will evolve and get better and it doesn’t have to happen all at once! I often get very excited and inspired by other educators and want to implement everything all at the same time, but I’ve learned that changing small thing over the course of time is most sustainable.

Briefly describe a favorite assignment or in-class activity. My favorite in-class activity is called The Brain Bracket. I time this to be around March Madness and ask students to ruthlessly pit structure of the brain against each other until we come up with a winner (surprise, surprise always the medulla). I love this activity because I get to hear students talking about importance of various structures. For the most part, they aren’t correct answers so sometimes there are productive debates. Add in some extra fun by playing ESPN-style music in the background.

What’s your dream course if you had the time and resources to teach it? I would LOVE to teach an application of positive psychology class or a development course that looks at children’s literature.

What are three words that best describe your teaching style?  Cringey humor (that’s a quote), flexible, collaborative

What’s your workspace like? I took the entire summer before my faculty position to organize and decorate my office. I felt like I landed my dream job and wanted to make it a comfortable home away from home space. Some highlights include an electric blanket, a photoshopped picture of me with the “founding fathers” of psychology, and a painting of Fiona (Cincinnati Zoo’s famous hippo—check her out).

Tell us about a teaching disaster (or embarrassment) you’ve had and how you dealt with the situation. When I was at a *former unnamed* university, I taught a small seminar in the basement of the psychology building, and during class we found an escaped (unalive) lab rat in the room. We named him Frank and referenced him several times throughout the semester.

What is something you are currently focused on improving or changing in your teaching? I am currently working on some projects that involve looking at how both psychology educators and students utilize AI. These folks have encouraged me to use some of these tools and strategies in my own teaching.

What is something your students would be surprised to learn about you? I think my students would be surprised to know that my nuclear family holds 5 citizenships (USA, Switzerland, Brazil, Lichtenstein, and Portugal)! We have a lot of passports at our house

What are you currently reading for pleasure? The Women by Kristin Hannah