School name:  University of Illinois Springfield

Type of school:  Small (<5000 total enrollment), public, teaching-focused, rural-serving university

School locale (including state and country):  Springfield, IL, USA

Is your role mostly in-person, hybrid, online (synchronous or asynchronous)?  I teach both in-person and online asynchronous courses.

How many years have you taught psychology?  I have been teaching full-time since 2020.

Classes you teach:  Research Methods in Psychology, Psychology of Addiction, Applied Behavior Analysis, Psychology of Pseudoscience, Psychology of Motivation, Principles of Psychology

Specialization (if applicable): Behavior analysis, Teaching

What size classes do you teach?  25 to 30 people maximum

What is a book, article, research, or author/researcher that you would recommend that new teachers check out? 

Teach Students How to Learn by Saundra Yancy McGuire, Specifications Grading by Linda Nilson, and Fuentes et al. (2021) in Teaching of Psychology. All are fantastic resources that encourage us to think carefully about course design (what we are teaching, how we are teaching, why we make the choices we make, and what the impacts may be on ourselves and our students). Teach Students How to Learn and Specifications Grading both encouraged me to critically reflect on giving students learning tools, supports, and autonomy in addition to whatever content I am helping them learn. Fuentes et al. has been foundational in my own journey to teach from a social justice, equity-minded, and strengths-based approach.

What do you know now about teaching that you wish you knew when you were starting?

It will take semesters, if not years, to feel that a class you teach is solid. You will be tweaking constantly – that’s okay but remember to tweak and avoid an overhaul. And make sure you are comparing all of your classes, their schedules, and your other responsibilities simultaneously rather than in isolation! It can be easy in your early career to forget that you are teaching each class in the context of other tasks and your life outside of work.

Briefly describe a favorite assignment or in-class activity.  

My favorite kinds of in-class activities are small-group activities where the students are given a practical problem to solve using class material and their own perspectives. For example, in my Psychology of Motivation course, we cover Expectancy Value Theory, which is a broad theory about motivation in achievement-related scenarios. First, we discuss research studies that have developed EVT-based interventions and review questionnaires that show how they measured key constructs in those studies. In a separate meeting, I divide them into groups, give them markers and paper with a sticky back (think a big Post-it), and ask them to draft an idea for an EVT-based intervention for an introduction to psychology class. They discuss what they want to focus on and how they would use EVT to inform their ideas. At the conclusion, they do a short “poster session” where they review each other’s ideas and ask each other questions. Ultimately, I think it helps them to practice using abstract ideas and concepts at a level that makes sense and fits into their day-to-day lives. Plus, it’s fun for me to hear them bounce ideas off of each other, share how their individual perspectives shape their ideas, and tackle some of that loneliness that college students sometimes feel.

What are three words that best describe your teaching style? 

Engaging, Compassionate, Organized

What is your teaching philosophy in 8 words or fewer?

Learning is reciprocal: We learn with each other.

What’s your workspace like? 

I like to have color in my office! There is art by Anna Alvarado and short inspirational quotes on the walls. There’s also a small Costa Rican flag on the wall to represent half of my heritage. A reed diffuser provides a gentle scent. Every workspace should have chocolate, so I keep some tucked away in my desk. J

Tell us about a teaching “win” you’ve had and the context in which it happened.

One of my favorite classes to teach is focused on addiction. A teaching “win” that I am thrilled to have almost every semester that I teach the course are final reflective papers that show students have taken a more empathetic and informed view on addiction. A portion of the students begin the semester with views that bend towards a tougher, more moralistic stance, and most of them will exit the course stating they are glad to be more knowledgeable about the variables that underlie problematic substance use and behavioral addictions, how we can effectively help people seeking assistance for those conditions, and where larger systems contribute to these social issues as opposed to simply individual behavior.

What is something you are currently focused on improving or changing in your teaching?

I am currently working on improving both my attitude towards and classroom integration of artificial intelligence (AI) like ChatGPT. There are many challenging issues that instructors need to be aware of, but I also believe there is a space for this technology and it’s important that we engage with it with our students so we can learn together. A specific example: I am considering how to engage with AI to help students understand research methods and study design. I think AI could provide useful food-for-thought when students are developing a research question (e.g., probing for potential confounds and methodological considerations).

What is something your students would be surprised to learn about you?

In undergrad, I got a minor in Soil and Water Science. I took an elective class called, “World of Water,” fell in love with the topic, and took enough classes to earn the minor. It has nothing to do with my research or teaching interests at the moment!

What are you currently reading for pleasure?

I am currently reading Sam Quinones’s The Least of Us, which is a deep dive into the combined fentanyl-opioid-stimulant crisis that we face in the USA. He weaves together personal stories with politics and industry scandals to paint a troubling picture of the state of things, but one in which redemption and recovery are possible. He calls on us to do better to help those who are struggling. It’s not something I would say is “pleasurable” in that it makes me happy, but it is something I am reading only for myself!