Ph.D. in Educational Psychology
Univcrsity of Minnesota: Twin Cities
Teaching
PSYC394:
LAND OF EQUAL OPPORTUNITY?: APPLYING A CRITICAL PSYCHOLOGICAL LENS TO AMERICAN EDUCATION
(Instructor of Record)
Spring 2022, Spring 2023
Macalester College
Why have inequities and demographic disparities in American education remained so persistent? As a society, we stand to benefit most if we can realize every person’s potential. This requires: 1) recognizing the unique power of every student, 2) embracing their funds of knowledge and culture, and 3) finding ways to empower them to fully manifest their skills and perspectives. In this course, we will grapple with both the promise of these ideals and why they have proven so elusive, despite decades of research and reform efforts.
To better understand these differential experiences and outcomes, this course will examine a wide-range of theories rooted in almost a century of psychology and how they have been applied to the educational context, which has implicitly been charged with remediating inequality. Particular attention will be given to critical perspectives that attend to issues of power and privilege. Reading for this course will primarily be drawn from social and educational psychology (with nods to other literatures, such as sociology, depending on the week’s topic). We will investigate the implications of marginalization on both the systemic level and on the level of the student psychological experience. Balancing “classic theory” with contemporary empirical examples, students in this seminar will be given the opportunity to trace the historical and theoretical underpinnings at the heart of modern educational decision-making, as well as evaluate and critique peer-reviewed research to generate ideas for future research and educational improvement.
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Course Evaluation Average (Instructor Categories):
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4.8/5.0
EPSY1281:
APPLIED PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE
(Teaching Assistant and Instructor for the Lab Component)
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Fall 2019, Spring 2020
University of Minnesota: Twin Cities
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This course introduces students to applied psychology as a discipline and reviews fundamental principles of psychology through the lenses of applied and professional areas that are the foci of College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) majors. Specifically, through the lenses of education, we review principles of learning, memory, development, intelligence, and interventions; through the lenses of health and wellness, we review personality, how stress gets "under our skin", biological, social, and cognitive bases of psychopathology, as well as treatments; and, through the lenses of business and organizations, we review principles of motivation, sensation perception, and social behavior. Thus, these psychological principles are considered theoretically, empirically, and through examples for application, with lab discussions and projects emphasizing education, business, health and wellness. The course serves as a foundation for future coursework in education, health sciences, and psychology, and is consistent with the APA’s public education effort to demonstrate how the science and application of psychology benefits society and improves lives.
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Defining Pedagogy: Cooperative Learning
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Course Evaluation Average (Instructor Categories):
-
Fall 2019: 6.0/6.0
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Spring 2020 (Switch to Online, COVID): 5.91/6.0
What My Students Say...
Course Evaluation Comments
Spring 2022
PSYC394:
"Ashley was an amazing professor and facilitator, and provided us an open and inclusive space to discuss the content of the readings and assignments, while also attending to more personal
aspects of our lives, as students and as people."
Spring 2022
PSYC394:
" I have really enjoyed this course and it has further cemented my interest in exploring the intersections of education and psychology and provided me with a lot of useful information that I will take
with me into future jobs. As someone who can be a little quieter, I have not always loved discussion classes but this was an extremely positive experience and I got a lot more comfortable sharing my thoughts."
Spring 2022
PSYC394:
" Classes felt very equitable in that we had equal power in shaping discussions but Ashley also provided input that wasn't covered in our readings which was always very useful. Notably, from the very beginning of class, students felt comfortable sharing their opinions and thoughts and this allowed for rich discussions."
Fall 2019
EPSY1281:
"Ashley was always very good at adjusting and accommodating to our class's needs. If she realized that something wasn't working the way she planned or that something would work better and/or be more beneficial to [us] she would change her teaching style on the fly."
Spring 2022
PSYC394:
" Just a lot of appreciation for the amount of time and effort put into thinking about positionality and practicing critical thinking.
Feedback was excellent with emphasis on improvement as well as encouragement
/appreciation of parts well done. Even though there was a lot of feedback, for which I was grateful, it didn't feel daunting because it was clear in intent and instruction."
Fall 2019
EPSY1281:
"Ashley was SO helpful in guiding us to better understand the content. She was able to break it down to make it easy to understand and offered tricks to help us keep it in our memory."
Fall 2019
EPSY1281:
"She gave a lot of feedback. Constructive feedback. Ashley was the best! She's so friendly and makes class exciting to come to."
Fall 2019
EPSY1281:
"Ashley was very engaging and made sure that EVERYONE understood the material before moving on. She was also always eager to help me."
Spring 2020 (COVID-19)
EPSY1281:
"Ashley is well-prepared and hands-on. It is clear that she wants to help us succeed and is willing and excited to help us get there!"
Spring 2020 (COVID-19)
EPSY1281
"Ashley is very responsive to emails and always has a smile on her face which makes her that much easier to approach. Not to mention, she is extremely knowledgeable and is always able to answer any question that you might have. Definitely my favorite instructor at the U!"
Spring 2020 (COVID-19)
EPSY1281:
"What helped me most to be successful following the transition to online instruction was Ashley's understanding. She offered motivation to keep going when things got difficult in class (and in my life)"
Spring 2020 (COVID-19)
EPSY1281:
"After we transitioned to online, Ashley's communication was key. I was never left with any questions in this course. I felt very certain about expectations of us."