Teaching Philosophy
My teaching goals are threefold:
Scientific Teaching
I want to be an open, approachable, and passionate advocate for psychological science for my students. I not only share the results of my own research, I also incorporate pedagogical scholarship into my classroom. For instance, after reading a recent paper on the benefit of daily quizzes on retention of material (Pennebaker, Gosling, & Ferrell, 2013), I instituted a "Daily Questions" component to my courses. At the beginning of each class, students answer 2 multiple-choice questions and learn the answers at the end of the class period. Daily Questions allow me to check-in on student understanding as well as motivate students to attend to course readings and lectures. I have also conducted a quasi-experimental study on the effect of a classroom exercise (using the movie Shrek to help reinforce a unit on stigma) on learning outcomes (Melchiori & Mallett, 2015), and plan to continue to empirically test unique innovations in the classroom. I also completed a formal course on best practices for incorporating technology into the classroom and in online learning environments.
I also approach student concerns from a scientific standpoint. I frequently invite questions and revisit the topic or develop testable hypotheses with students if I do not have an answer offhand. For instance, in my Prejudice class, a student commented that she did not agree with the way discrimination was operationally defined in a research article. Her comment sparked a discussion that extended to the end of the class period. We formally stated the hypothesis within the student's comment, and discussed different ways we could test her hypothesis via an experiment. When talking about the possible study design, I incorporated comments about the nature of experimental psychology in general – for example, random assignment vs. using naturally occurring groups, narrowing down our research question, and making specific predictions based on theory. The class contributed to our study design; they asked thoughtful questions and offered appropriate suggestions for our hypothetical study. My course evaluations (see the summary table below) reaffirm that my commitment to scientific education is appreciated by students.
Active Learning
I approach the classroom with enthusiasm and respect for students, and infuse active learning activities with traditional lecture and discussion in order to foster a collaborative, lively academic environment. I am most passionate about using active learning techniques to promote understanding of diversity issues within the classroom. I have published work on experiential learning techniques to approach socioeconomic diversity issues (Williams & Melchiori, 2013) and stigma (Melchiori & Mallett, 2015) within the classroom. I also employ frequent classroom exercises to address a broad range of diversity topics. For example, in my Gender class, I end my lecture on women's day-to-day experiences with sexism with an activity designed to help them learn how to strategically confront discrimination. Afterwards we discuss how they can use the research-based confrontation tactics in their own lives and on behalf of their friends and family. This activity takes students beyond merely learning about these concepts to using social psychological research to address important issues they may often face in their lives. In my upper-level Prejudice class, I take the goal of application one step further. Students design a final project that requires them to apply their new-found knowledge to a social issue. For this assignment, students must identify a "cause" (e.g., homophobia), plan and execute some sort of action (e.g., canvass with a Human Rights Commission representative), and present their project to the class. During their final presentation, students must link the action back to the social psychological research that they have read and discussed over the course of the semester. Social justice action and change, therefore, is a requirement in my classroom.
I set the stage for collaborative classroom experiences by providing a solid course structure. For example, I scaffold written assignments so that they relate and build upon one another, and papers are returned to students in a timely fashion with ample feedback. Additionally, I employ several techniques to monitor student understanding, including mid-semester evaluations and impromptu check-ins. If I notice that students struggle with a concept during lecture, I will ask them to write and submit the “muddiest point,” the topic from the readings or lecture that was the least clear for them. After reading their answers, I begin our next meeting with more detail or clarification of the “muddiest point.” Crucially, an active classroom is one where students create dialogue with one another. One way I ease students into class dialogue is through “speed discussions.” In my Social Lab course, students read a popular-press article about social psychological science (e.g., Brian Nosek's Reproducibility Project) before class. In class, each student finds a conversation partner and has a 2 minute discussion on a question or point that I provide. When the 2 minutes are up, the students move to a different conversation partner to discuss a new question. After a dozen questions, the students return to their seats and continue the conversations they started as a group.
Whole Person Mentoring
Mentorship is fundamental for professional success. I recruit students from diverse backgrounds to join my research lab, and those students bring a range of skills, interests, and confidence with them. In order to be the best advocate and mentor for my students, I try to get to know them as individuals and adapt my mentoring style accordingly. I ask them about their school and work experiences and career plans in order shape the level of guidance and involvement that will best help them achieve their goals. Once in the lab, I set clear expectations, conduct weekly research meetings, and encourage questions and honesty about their experiences as research assistants. When some students discover that research is not their passion, I refocus my mentoring to provide information on applied job opportunities and how to frame the skills they learned in the lab for the job market. For other students, I get to witness them find their “fit.” Once I know academic psychology is their goal, I gently push them to take on a leadership role in the lab. With my guidance, students may become a “team leader” in the lab and coordinate fellow undergraduate students, develop their own research projects, and present research at academic conferences.
I have enjoyed assisting dozens of undergraduate research assistants, and have been formally recognized for my mentoring efforts with a Research Mentoring Fellowship and a Provost Fellowship. I have also contributed to mentoring LUC students through LUC's Rambler Connection Program, which pairs first-year students with faculty and staff mentors. As a graduate student, I sought opportunities to mentor my junior graduate student colleagues. I coordinated bimonthly professional development lunches for graduate students in the social psychology area, where we discussed topics such as fostering academic relationships, candidacy exams, and how to publish scholarly work. On a national level, I served as the graduate student representative for the Society for the Psychological Study for Social Issues governing council, where I advocated for graduate student concerns within the organization and co-organized SPSSI's first Graduate Student Professional Development Conference. I am also a mentor for three graduate students through the Society for Personality and Social Psychology’s Mentor Match-Up program. With each opportunity, I bring my enthusiasm and commitment to individualized, whole person mentorship to the new relationships I form with aspiring professionals.
I want to be an open, approachable, and passionate advocate for psychological science for my students. I not only share the results of my own research, I also incorporate pedagogical scholarship into my classroom. For instance, after reading a recent paper on the benefit of daily quizzes on retention of material (Pennebaker, Gosling, & Ferrell, 2013), I instituted a "Daily Questions" component to my courses. At the beginning of each class, students answer 2 multiple-choice questions and learn the answers at the end of the class period. Daily Questions allow me to check-in on student understanding as well as motivate students to attend to course readings and lectures. I have also conducted a quasi-experimental study on the effect of a classroom exercise (using the movie Shrek to help reinforce a unit on stigma) on learning outcomes (Melchiori & Mallett, 2015), and plan to continue to empirically test unique innovations in the classroom. I also completed a formal course on best practices for incorporating technology into the classroom and in online learning environments.
I also approach student concerns from a scientific standpoint. I frequently invite questions and revisit the topic or develop testable hypotheses with students if I do not have an answer offhand. For instance, in my Prejudice class, a student commented that she did not agree with the way discrimination was operationally defined in a research article. Her comment sparked a discussion that extended to the end of the class period. We formally stated the hypothesis within the student's comment, and discussed different ways we could test her hypothesis via an experiment. When talking about the possible study design, I incorporated comments about the nature of experimental psychology in general – for example, random assignment vs. using naturally occurring groups, narrowing down our research question, and making specific predictions based on theory. The class contributed to our study design; they asked thoughtful questions and offered appropriate suggestions for our hypothetical study. My course evaluations (see the summary table below) reaffirm that my commitment to scientific education is appreciated by students.
Active Learning
I approach the classroom with enthusiasm and respect for students, and infuse active learning activities with traditional lecture and discussion in order to foster a collaborative, lively academic environment. I am most passionate about using active learning techniques to promote understanding of diversity issues within the classroom. I have published work on experiential learning techniques to approach socioeconomic diversity issues (Williams & Melchiori, 2013) and stigma (Melchiori & Mallett, 2015) within the classroom. I also employ frequent classroom exercises to address a broad range of diversity topics. For example, in my Gender class, I end my lecture on women's day-to-day experiences with sexism with an activity designed to help them learn how to strategically confront discrimination. Afterwards we discuss how they can use the research-based confrontation tactics in their own lives and on behalf of their friends and family. This activity takes students beyond merely learning about these concepts to using social psychological research to address important issues they may often face in their lives. In my upper-level Prejudice class, I take the goal of application one step further. Students design a final project that requires them to apply their new-found knowledge to a social issue. For this assignment, students must identify a "cause" (e.g., homophobia), plan and execute some sort of action (e.g., canvass with a Human Rights Commission representative), and present their project to the class. During their final presentation, students must link the action back to the social psychological research that they have read and discussed over the course of the semester. Social justice action and change, therefore, is a requirement in my classroom.
I set the stage for collaborative classroom experiences by providing a solid course structure. For example, I scaffold written assignments so that they relate and build upon one another, and papers are returned to students in a timely fashion with ample feedback. Additionally, I employ several techniques to monitor student understanding, including mid-semester evaluations and impromptu check-ins. If I notice that students struggle with a concept during lecture, I will ask them to write and submit the “muddiest point,” the topic from the readings or lecture that was the least clear for them. After reading their answers, I begin our next meeting with more detail or clarification of the “muddiest point.” Crucially, an active classroom is one where students create dialogue with one another. One way I ease students into class dialogue is through “speed discussions.” In my Social Lab course, students read a popular-press article about social psychological science (e.g., Brian Nosek's Reproducibility Project) before class. In class, each student finds a conversation partner and has a 2 minute discussion on a question or point that I provide. When the 2 minutes are up, the students move to a different conversation partner to discuss a new question. After a dozen questions, the students return to their seats and continue the conversations they started as a group.
Whole Person Mentoring
Mentorship is fundamental for professional success. I recruit students from diverse backgrounds to join my research lab, and those students bring a range of skills, interests, and confidence with them. In order to be the best advocate and mentor for my students, I try to get to know them as individuals and adapt my mentoring style accordingly. I ask them about their school and work experiences and career plans in order shape the level of guidance and involvement that will best help them achieve their goals. Once in the lab, I set clear expectations, conduct weekly research meetings, and encourage questions and honesty about their experiences as research assistants. When some students discover that research is not their passion, I refocus my mentoring to provide information on applied job opportunities and how to frame the skills they learned in the lab for the job market. For other students, I get to witness them find their “fit.” Once I know academic psychology is their goal, I gently push them to take on a leadership role in the lab. With my guidance, students may become a “team leader” in the lab and coordinate fellow undergraduate students, develop their own research projects, and present research at academic conferences.
I have enjoyed assisting dozens of undergraduate research assistants, and have been formally recognized for my mentoring efforts with a Research Mentoring Fellowship and a Provost Fellowship. I have also contributed to mentoring LUC students through LUC's Rambler Connection Program, which pairs first-year students with faculty and staff mentors. As a graduate student, I sought opportunities to mentor my junior graduate student colleagues. I coordinated bimonthly professional development lunches for graduate students in the social psychology area, where we discussed topics such as fostering academic relationships, candidacy exams, and how to publish scholarly work. On a national level, I served as the graduate student representative for the Society for the Psychological Study for Social Issues governing council, where I advocated for graduate student concerns within the organization and co-organized SPSSI's first Graduate Student Professional Development Conference. I am also a mentor for three graduate students through the Society for Personality and Social Psychology’s Mentor Match-Up program. With each opportunity, I bring my enthusiasm and commitment to individualized, whole person mentorship to the new relationships I form with aspiring professionals.