Teaching

My teaching is grounded in clarity, presence, and genuine connection with students. I bring energy, interactivity, and a strong sense of care to every class session. Whether I’m teaching introductory psychology or upper‑division courses, my goal is to help students think critically, communicate clearly, and apply psychological principles to real‑world situations.

I have taught eighteen different courses over the past twenty‑plus years, across four countries and a wide range of institutions. Although much of my teaching has been in introductory, biological, and cognitive psychology, I have also taught personality, social, and cultural psychology, as well as graduate‑level courses in biological psychology and research methods. Over time, I’ve become a “generalist” by circumstance — and I’m grateful for it. It has made me flexible, adaptable, and able to meet students wherever they are.

My instruction is research‑informed and hands‑on. I blend current scientific discoveries with foundational knowledge, and I use demonstrations, simple in‑class experiments, debates, and interactive polling to make concepts tangible. Dialogue is central to my teaching; I pause often to invite questions, comments, and discussion, helping students integrate new material with their existing understanding.

Technology is an important part of my teaching, but always in service of learning. I lecture using a tablet and stylus, allowing me to move freely through the classroom while annotating slides in real time. I post outlines in advance so students can prepare, and I use tools like Socrative to quickly assess understanding and guide the pace of instruction.

Having lived and taught in four countries, I bring a multicultural lens to every course I teach. I incorporate cultural competency into my classes — even in biological psychology — and I gently challenge assumptions related to age, gender, ethnicity, social class, and culture. My goal is to help students see psychology as a discipline that applies to diverse lives and experiences.

Above all, I want my students to experience “aha” moments — those flashes of insight that make learning meaningful. I strive to keep them engaged, curious, and immersed in the subject matter. I continue to be guided by the words of Charles L. Brewer, Professor Emeritus at Furman University:
“If you are not passionate about what you are doing, your students will not be passionate about what you want them to do.”
This maxim has shaped my teaching since my first day in the classroom, and it continues to guide the way I connect with and care for my students.

Selected Teaching Contributions

  • Designed and developed new courses, including Seminar in Cognitive Neuroscience.
  • Served as Faculty Coordinator for multi‑section courses such as Introduction to Psychology.
  • Taught eighteen different courses across four countries at both undergraduate and graduate levels.
  • Integrated technology into instruction, including tablet‑based lecturing and real‑time assessment tools such as Socrative.

Courses Taught

  • Introduction to Psychology
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Physiological Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Personality Psychology
  • Cultural Psychology
  • Learning and Memory
  • Sensation and Perception
  • Research Methods
  • Statistics
  • Biological Psychology (graduate)
  • Research Methods (graduate)
  • Seminar in Cognitive Neuroscience