Have you ever visited the Grand Canyon, Niagra Falls, or some other natural wonder? In 2014, during a trip to Arizona, I visited the Grand Canyon for the first time. The experience filled me with a profound sense of wonder and awe that is no captured in any photograph. This moment made me realize the immense impact of direct, immersive experiences. Similarly, when I explore the complexity of living organisms—whether human behavior, chimpanzees, rats, or the activity of a single neuron—I am filled with awe and inspired to ask deep questions about the mind, consciousness, or behavior. It is this sense of wonder that I strive to communicate to my students, engaging them both intellectually and experientially.
It is this sense of wonder and awe for behavioral science that I strive to communicate to my students. I aim to engage students both intellectually and experientially in my classes. My teaching philosophy is an ever-evolving journey, and I relish the challenge of refining my ideas and techniques. Standing in front of a class of eager students, ready to learn and experience the wonders of the world around them, is both rewarding and invigorating.
As a specialist in the science of learning and cognition, I recognize that learning is a continuous process and that every student comes to class with a distinct learning history and their own complex biological composition. I am cognizant that the specific details of each individual’s background and behavior may not be readily apparent. As a result, I approach teaching with an unconditional positive regard for my students and an eclectic pedagogical approach that incorporates various educational theories and techniques to cater to the diverse needs and preferences of each learner.
In some instances, I employ a humanistic or student-centered strategy (Whiting, 2021) that emphasizes students’ active participation and engagement with the subject matter while relying on their self-efficacy for resolving issues. This approach not only enhances recall of course materials (Gureckis & Markant, 2012; Prince, 2004) but also enriches the learning experience through concrete, enjoyable, hands-on activities. For example, students might collect behavioral data from live invertebrates, measure neural activity using spiker boxes, or directly experience sensory and perceptual illusions. These immersive experiences allow students to engage deeply with the material, making abstract concepts tangible and fostering a more profound understanding of behavioral science.
This student-centered approach is balanced with what could be called a knowledge-centered or teacher-led method, which includes elements of perennialist and essentialist pedagogical approaches (Ellis, 2003). Students lack experience and knowledge in the subject area and partly because of this student-centered approaches have their limitations (Wanic & Powell, 2022). Its crucial in that students receive guidance from an experienced instructor. For example, I utilize instructor-directed exercises, traditional lecture formats, and testing methods to ensure students gain a solid foundation in the subject. As the instructor, I have the authority, skills, experience, and knowledge to lead students and expose them to appropriate content including primary source materials such as journal articles and original experiment videos that have had a high impact or historical significance. Additionally, this approach utilities more familiar methods of teaching such as traditional style lectures, quizzes, exams.
Ultimately, my hope is that my students will walk away from my class with improved critical thinking and problem-solving skills, as well as a practical understanding of how psychology can enhance their daily lives. Perhaps even more importantly though, I want to instill in my students a love for the material and a sense of wonder and awe when they look out at the natural world. I want to inspire them to keep asking questions and gaining knowledge, to be life long learners.
References
Clifford, D., & Curtis, L. (2015). Motivational Interviewing in Nutrition and Fitness. The Guilford Press.
Ellis, A. (2003). Exemplars of Curriculum Theory. Taylor & Francis Group.
Gureckis, T. M., & Markant, D. B. (2012). Self-Directed Learning: A Cognitive and Computational Perspective. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 7(5), 464–481. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691612454304
Prince, M. (2004). Does active learning work? A review of the research. Journal of Engineering Education, 93(3), 223–231. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2168-9830.2004.tb00809.x
Wanic, R., & Powell, N. (2022). Student-centred education: a philosophy most unkind. Times Higher Education.
Wells, H., Jones, A., & Jones, S. C. (2014). Teaching reluctant students: using the principles and techniques of motivational interviewing to foster better student-teacher interactions. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 51(2), 175–184. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2013.778066
Whiting, J. (2021). Student-Centered Learning by Design. ABC-CLIO, LLC.
Ryan David Tuttle, M.A. 