School name: Marian University

Type of school: Private, Liberal Arts Institution

School locale (including state and country): Indianapolis, Indiana, United States

Is your role mostly in-person, hybrid, online (synchronous or asynchronous)?  in-person

How many years have you taught psychology? 12 years; 4 as a doctoral teaching assistant and 8 as a full-time faculty member

Classes you teach:  Theories of Personality, Psychopathology and Interventions, Interviewing Skills, Group Counseling, Human Sexuality, and Clinical Psychology

Specialization: Clinical and Counseling

What size classes do you teach? Courses range from 35 students to 12 students in some of our skills labs. Average is around 20-24 students. 

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

I have been inspired by, “What Inclusive Instructors Do,” particularly in moments when I feel myself reaching to meet students where they are or in the moments when I am working to cultivate a new learning community or culture. There are lovely reminders about the humanness and cultural humility that are central to the learning experience. Similarly, the resources on the Division 2 webpage offered excellent models and concrete ideas as I’ve taught new courses over the years.

What’s your dream course if you had the time and resources to teach it?

I love this question! I was just having a conversation with colleagues across campus about course offerings that cultivate identity, particularly those students who hold a number of underrepresented identities. If I had an opportunity to develop and teach a course at my institution, it would be around identity development from a holistic perspective. It would be a co-taught interdisciplinary course where we have units that offer perspectives across history, culture, family, gender, sexuality, racial and ethnic identity, values, sociopolitical systems, communication, and offer students opportunities to pair each module with experiential, reflective, and discussion-related activities. On a campus where a significant number of students are first generation students, where we have a high number of heritage language speakers, international students, and students at varying stages of life, it feels like an opportunity to explore who they are within their contexts during a critically important developmental window. 

What are three words that best describe your teaching style? 

Inclusive, experiential, and curious

What’s your workspace like? 

My workspace usually looks a bit like whatever event the Psychology Club is planning or facilitating for the week! I have a round table where I often have students chatting, working on homework, or where I plan class materials for the week. There are mementos from students across the years, favorite books and a glass jar of “grounding beads,” for students who are feeling overwhelmed. A number of my boards have stickers or items around diversity, representation, allyship or an invitation for students to feel welcomed.

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

This year, I’ve been working on creating variations of core assessments to offer greater applicability and generalizability of the psychological concepts of each course, for students whose primary major or interest is not psychology. My institution has a high representation of nursing, business, and religious studies majors, all of whom can make meaningful links to the course material. I have been in conversation with student groups to develop assignments that bridge coursework through the methods of assessment, delivery of content, and current events relating to their fields. It’s been a fun learning opportunity! 

What are you currently reading for pleasure?

I tend to have a number of books in progress at any point (please don’t judge!) and at the end of the semester, the range is vast! On my nightstand right now, I’m working on: Emergent Strategy, Pleasure Activism, The Lost Bookshop, and an assortment of fun holiday fiction that cycles through my Kindle!