School name: School of Psychology, Queen’s University Belfast

Type of school: Higher Education institute

School locale (including state and country): Belfast, Northern Ireland

How many years have you taught psychology? I taught psychology and research methods/statistics at Belfast Metropolitan College from 2016 until last year. I was appointed as a Lecturer (Education) at Queen’s University Belfast in 2020.

Classes you teach: I teach Developmental psychology to first year students. I also teach mathematical cognition and thesis writing classes to final year students.

Specialization (if applicable): My PhD was in developmental psychology, specifically within the area of mathematical development.

Average class size: 120

What’s the best advice about teaching you’ve ever received? The best advice about teaching that I have ever received is simply ‘take your time’. This is a piece of advice I received when attending a teaching course as a PhD student. This really has been pivotal in helping to shape my approach to teaching ever since, and students now comment in their evaluations of my teaching that the classes don’t feel as if they are rushed.

What book or article has shaped your work as a psychology teacher? Hidalgo, G. I., Sánchez-Carracedo, F., & Romero-Portillo, D. (2021). Covid-19 emergency remote teaching opinions and academic performance of undergraduate students: Analysis of 4 students’ profiles. A case study. Mathematics, 9(17), 2147. https://doi.org/10.3390/math9172147

Briefly tell us about your favorite lecture topic or course to teach.  I enjoy teaching my final year module on numerical development. In particular, I enjoy teaching about different theories which seek to explain how children acquire numeracy skills during the early years of schooling. In developmental psychology, I also enjoy teaching about emotional development and the development of children’s delay of gratification abilities as I did work in this area during my time as a Research Assistant.

Briefly describe a favorite assignment or in-class activity. I ask students in the first class of the mathematical cognition module to contribute to a word cloud on what words come to mind when they think about numeracy. I ask them to do the same thing during the fifth class, and I post both word clouds on Canvas so that they can see their own learning development on the topic within a short space of time.

What teaching and learning techniques work best for you? I like to incorporate technology into my teaching in order to enhance student engagement during lectures. For example, asking for responses to questions via Padlet, demonstrating research to students using Qualtrics, and asking quiz questions on topics covered during the lecture using Mentimeter.

What’s your workspace like? I try to keep my office at the school as tidy as possible. It’s quite minimalist, with no ornaments or pictures! I do have a magnetic dartboard which a colleague/friend of mine bought me when I was appointed as a Lecturer. My home office is quite the opposite! I have a lot of stuff in there, including an electric drumkit for stress relief.

Three words that best describe your teaching style. These three words have been used by students in their evaluations of my teaching over the years: engaging, approachable, and organized.

What is your teaching philosophy in 8 words or fewer? Explaining difficult concepts in understandable and relatable terms.

Tell us about a teaching disaster (or embarrassment) you’ve had and how you dealt with the situation. I taught in an unfamiliar room early last year, and midway through the lecture, the microphone started to sound very robotic and made it seem like I was talking like C3P0! I changed the microphone, and then five minutes later, the same thing happened again. The students were in fits of laughter!

What about teaching do you find most enjoyable? As someone who went to university late, I particularly love to see mature students, who are going to university to try to better themselves, do well on the course. I especially love to see their development over the course of the degree programme: from being nervous about returning to education, to flourishing in their final year.

What is something your students would be surprised to learn about you? I think students would be surprised to know that am a huge fan of darts, and I play in a darts team in my spare time.

What are you currently reading for pleasure? USA 94: The World Cup that changed the game by Matthew Evans

What tech tool could you not live without? My handheld PowerPoint slide clicker – without it, I’d not be able to move when teaching!

What is your hallway chatter like? What do you talk to colleagues about most (whether or not it is related to teaching/school)? Our school is very friendly, and when I run into colleagues, we usually spend a few minutes talking about work-related issues. Different colleagues will engage in conversations about different non-work-related things such as football, food, and TV shows.