Approach to Teaching and Mentorship
As a teacher, my overarching objective is to foster students’ intellectual growth through an understanding and appreciation of social science. To achieve this general aim, several specific goals guide both my teaching and mentoring:
(1) To provide opportunities for students to practice thinking in critical and constructive ways
(2) To promote active engagement in course material through student-centered methods
(3) To cultivate an inclusive, identity-safe learning environment that encourages diverse perspective-taking
Critical thinking is a core skill for all students - regardless of their career goals. To this end, rather than merely transmitting knowledge, through a variety of activities and assignments across courses I teach students to think like scientists: question lay assumptions about human behavior, defend their arguments, and reason empirically.
“Professor Lessard facilitated discussions in such a way that the class was always encouraged to delve deeper into the topics and concepts. She is genuinely concerned about the students and is excited to see students succeed. She gently corrects and resolves confusions - a humble teacher who makes learning a joy.” —Introductory Psychology student, UCLA
The development of critical thinking skills requires that students actively engage with course material. At the most basic level, this begins by conveying my enthusiasm for the material, highlighting content with relevance for students’ everyday lives and capitalizing on technology to present engaging material both in- and out-of the classroom.
“I thought the real strengths of the instructor was bringing in outside sources to make students more excited about the subject she is teaching us. I appreciated the videos she inputted into lectures and the types of experiments to make the concept more understandable.” —Introductory Psychology student, UCLA
Active learning strategies are effective only to the degree that students feel part of a positive and inclusive learning environment. To this end, in addition to encouraging diverse perspective-taking, I strive to foster identity-safe contexts where all students feel they belong and have the social resources to succeed.
“She does a wonderful job of taking the time to address students’ specific needs and fostered a mutually respectful environment of fun from the get-go. It was an open environment and easy to contribute in discussions. She made the lab feel like a family that worked together as a team.” —Research Methods student, UCLA