School Name: Union College

Type of school: Small liberal arts college

School locale: Schenectady, New York, United States

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

How many years taught Psychology: Over 25 in both Psychology and Human Development Departments

Classes you currently teach: Developmental Psychology, Educational Psychology, Adolescent Development, Upper-Level Seminar on Child and Families

Classes you've previously taught: Statistics, Child and Family Policy

Specialization: Developmental/Educational

What size classes do you teach? 15-40 students. Smaller for seminars. Typical size of course is 25-30 students.

What is the best advice about teaching you’ve received? Teaching is about developing relationships. I learned this from my father who was an accounting professor and was deeply beloved by his students. I watched how he tutored his students, helped them to get jobs, and was even the godparent for some of his students’ children. Getting to know my students and letting them get to know me has been the most rewarding part of teaching and critical for student success.

What is a book, article, research, or author/researcher that you would recommend that new teachers check out? I recommend new teachers familiarize themselves with the research on the causes of student disengagement and how to create more engaging classrooms. I am a big fan of James Lang’s work and recommend two of his books, Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning and Distracted: Why Students Can’t Focus and What to do About It?  My book, Eight Myths of Student Engagement: Creating Classrooms of Deep Learning is also a resource for new teachers.

What do you wish you knew about teaching when you were starting? Less is more. In my early years of teaching, I focused primarily on transmitting information to students. I was spending so much time on lecture preparation and was not getting the motivational and cognitive gains I had hoped for students. They were bored and only had a surface understanding of content. Now, I teach less content in greater depth and in a way in which students are more active in co-creating this knowledge. As a result of these changes, my classrooms are more engaging, students understand content more deeply, and it takes me much less time to prepare.

Briefly tell us about your favorite lecture topic or course to teach: In educational psychology, my favorite topic to teach is metacognitive learning strategies. Many of my students are using ineffective study strategies and tell me that they wish that material on study strategies and metacognition was offered to all students and that they had learned these strategies earlier in their educational career.

Briefly describe a favorite assignment or in-class activity: In several of my courses, I have students conduct interviews with individuals at different stages of the lifespan and connect these interviews to course content. My students have interviewed siblings, parents, friends, teachers, and/or grandparents. I have enjoyed seeing how effectively these interviews help them to see content in action as well as get to know their family and friends more deeply.  

What are three words that best describe your teaching style? Relational, student-centered, and engaging. My goal is to develop relationships with each of my students and get to know them as individuals in so they can grow as both learners and as people. I aim to create a student-centered classroom where my students are expected to be active participants in learning and take greater ownership of their educational experiences. Finally, I try to include both the academic and social features of engaging classrooms in my own teaching.

Tell us about a teaching "win" you've had and the context in which it happened: In my developmental psychology course last year, I asked students at the beginning of the term to set two goals related to participation and two goals related to their writing and reflect on their effectiveness in meeting these goals throughout the term. I was surprised by how positively students responded to the goal setting and reflection activities, how easy it was to implement these activities in the classroom, and how much both their participation and writing improved.

What is something you are currently focused on improving or changing in your teaching? Like many faculty, I am trying to figure out what is AIs appropriate role in the classroom. I have been reflecting on how can I integrate these tools in my courses in a way that can support student learning but not offload student thinking. This year, I changed the language in my syllabus and some assignments to try to better achieve this balance.

What is something your students would be surprised to learn about you?  I think students would be surprised that, even after over 25 years of teaching, I still get nervous before the first day of classes. I also think they would be surprised by how much I learn from them and how happy I am when they achieve success.