Teaching & mentoring

My Teaching Philosophy

I distinctly remember a moment during an advanced undergraduate social psychology class when I felt truly inspired. My class was discussing the assigned readings and our teacher wasn't satisfied with our responses. She kept probing the class for more information and pushing us to critically evaluate the material. In this moment, I realized how important critical thinking skills were in designing and critiquing empirical research. This moment changed my perspective about the research process and was the first step on my road to becoming a scientific thinker.

As my own experience illustrates, the role of a professor is an amazingly important one – teachers are entrusted with educating people who are eager to learn, open to new ways of thinking, and navigating potential career paths. Accordingly, I aspire to motivate a new generation of scientific thinkers who have a lifelong love of learning. There are 3 principles that guide my teaching and help me achieve my goals: (1) critical thinking skills are essential to scientific reasoning, (2) connections between course material and students’ personal lives are vital to creating an enduring interest in class content, and (3) active student participation is a key component of establishing a deep and meaningful understanding of the course material. To learn more about each principle and how I enact them in my classroom, you can read my full teaching philosophy here.

Classes I Teach at UD

PSYC207: Research Methods

  • This undergraduate class provides students with an introduction to research methods in psychological science

  • You can read a recent copy of the syllabus here

  • Lecture recordings and other course materials will be shared publicly soon

PSYC867: Professional Development

  • This graduate class helps students learn skills that will help them succeed in their future career, whether that is an academic or non-academic job

  • We discuss time management strategies, goal setting, and impostor syndrome and burnout, among other topics

  • You can read a recent copy of the syllabus here

  • Course materials will be shared publicly soon

PSYC867: Stress and the Periphery

  • This graduate seminar covers key readings about the interplay between stress and perhiperal physiological processes. We focus on the cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, and immune systems.

  • Class is heavily structured around discussion of the readings, with some occasional lecture about peripheral physiology included

  • You can read a recent copy of the syllabus here

PSYC878: Hierarchical Linear Modeling

  • This graduate level statistics class is about the basics of hierarchical linear modeling (HLM)

  • The course is very applied, and includes continual practice analyzing data after learning about new concepts

  • You can read a recent copy of the syllabus here

  • Course materials will be shared publicly soon

My Mentorship Philosophy

My mentorship style has been influenced by official and unofficial advising roles. I strive to tailor my mentorship style to the needs of each student. For example, one of my former graduate students had very strong methodological and statistical skills and could work relatively independently. My research meetings with this student were more hands-off, and typically involved me providing suggestions and additional topics for consideration. I make it clear that the final decision was up to this student, because they were ready to take on that responsibility. On the other hand, my newer students typically need more hands-on guidance, including me teaching them about specific statistics during our meetings and providing relatively clear direction about next steps.

I also tailor my mentorship style to each student’s career goals, which we regularly discuss throughout their graduate career. For instance, if a students is pursuing a research based job in academia, we would spend a lot of time discussing that student’s study ideas and papers. If a student is interested in a more teaching focused job, we would instead focus on getting undergraduate students involved in their studies, and figuring out which teaching workshops and conferences to attend.

As a final note, I strongly believe in teaching and mentoring beyond the confines of my classroom and my lab. I have worked with multiple undergraduate students and organizations to plan pro-inclusion events on campus, as detailed in my diversity statement. I see these events as a way to extend my reach beyond the classroom, foster an inclusive environment on campus, and provide students with a female role-model for how to become a social justice advocate.


**I created an infographic about my lab and my mentorship style for prospective grad students in 2021. If you are interested in reading it, click here.**