Teaching

Social Psychology

Social Psychology is one of the most enjoyable courses to teach because it exposes students to the science behind many of the most important aspects of their lives: relationships, belonging, identity, helping, harming, attitudes, and even discrimination. In this course, students learn to identify the basic theoretical and methodological approaches used by social psychologists and apply them to their lives and societal problems.

Fundamentals of Conflict Transformation

In Fundamentals of Conflict Transformation, students learn how to transform conflict rooted in social biases like prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination. The course begins with the psychology of diversity and inclusion and challenges students to think about how power, privilege, and oppression shape the world we live in. Students complete a capstone project in which they identify a source of conflict and use what they’ve learned in the course to develop solutions.

Harry Potter and the Science of Psychology

Students learn faster and retain information better when new information is connected to known ideas and concepts. In this course, students are challenged to connect the principles, theories, and research of psychological science to the world of Harry Potter. Topics covered include prejudice, stereotyping, group processes, personality, moral reasoning, child development, cross-cultural psychology, self-fulfilling prophecies, learning/memory/cognition, power, and leadership.