- crockete@southwestern.edu
- 512.863.1547
- Olin 122
Erin Crockett
Professor of Psychology
Expertise
Relationship Sciences, Health, Human Development
My primary objectives as an instructor are threefold. First, at the most basic level, I aim to create a stimulating and interactive classroom. Second, I constantly work to transmit to students the genuine excitement I have for the subject matter. Third, I aim to effectively illustrate how and why important concepts and theories are applicable to students’ lives and larger communities. To accomplish these goals, I rely on five basic principles.
(1) Enthusiasm and creativity are critical. I feel the more exciting and interesting the classroom, the more likely students will want to come to class and attend to lecture. As such, I try to keep lectures upbeat by incorporating humor and relevant examples. I also use hands-on exercises and class demonstrations to explain critical principles. These exercises vary my teaching methods and keep students’ attention. Additionally, I incorporate class discussions and group work to encourage active thinking. My goal is to engage students across different learning styles, and ultimately make them enthusiastic about the material.
(2) Professors are mentors. I take the role of mentoring students very seriously. I aim to get to know the students in my classes, recognizing and encouraging their strengths and offering ideas to help them improve upon their weaknesses. Because of this goal, I dedicate considerable time to meeting with students. Any time a student performs poorly on a test or paper, I invite them to my office hours to explore ways to improve. If a student is really struggling to grasp course material, I might meet with the student weekly to review concepts. I always communicate that I respect students as individuals outside of their performance in my class. Although my goal is for them to be the best students they can be, I never want a student to feel that their performance in my class is indicative of their worth as a person.
(3) Information must be made relevant. I strive to prepare students to apply class principles in both local and global contexts. I achieve this through two related foci. First, I work to illuminate for students the relevance of psychological constructs in everyday, familiar contexts. For example, in my Introduction to Psychology course, my students keep a memory journal and record the instances and surrounding circumstances of times they forget things throughout the week. Students then write a paper using research on memory to identify patterns in forgetfulness. Second, I create awareness of cultural diversity and differences in psychological constructs across social contexts. For instance, in my Health Psychology course I have students choose a country and then design a health intervention specific to the needs in that country. The intervention must be supported by research and culturally sensitive to their specific community. I find making information relevant to different communities prepares students to be more active global citizens.
(4) Depth of learning above breadth. Although I strive to maintain an engaging and enthusiastic classroom, I do not sacrifice depth in learning. That is, I do not shy away from more difficult nuances and concepts, nor do I settle for surface understanding of complex ideas. Instead, I aim to present material as clearly as possible, and dedicate significant efforts equipping students to understand concepts so thoroughly that they could teach the ideas to someone else. It is my goal that students will be able to apply class material to novel circumstances and, more recently, to connect information they are learning in my class to information they are learning in other classes. In addition to mastering content, I invest considerable time and energy to helping students develop skills (including their writing, public speaking, and critical thinking), knowing that these skills often stay with students long after they have forgotten course content.
(5) Teaching occurs both in and outside a classroom. I feel collaborating with students in independent research provides a unique opportunity for student development beyond what can be accomplished in a classroom. In my experience, independent research peaks students’ interest by allowing them to pursue ideas and questions important to them. As such, I welcome opportunities to mentor students in the research process. From these experiences I have seen students gain skills necessary to critically evaluate empirical research findings and to contribute to the knowledge base in our discipline.
Education
Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin
M.A., The University of Texas at Austin 2007
B. A., Southwestern University 2005
Honors & Awards
- 2010 The University of Texas at Austin Dissertation Award
- 2010 The University of Texas at Austin Professional Development Award
- 2009 The University of Texas at Austin Graduate School Continuing Fellowship
- 2009 The University of Texas at Austin Professional Development Award
- 2008 The University of Texas at Austin Graduate School Continuing Fellowship
- 2008 The University of Texas at Austin Professional Development Award
- 2006 National Science Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship, Honorable Mention
- 2005 The University of Texas at Austin Research Internship Fellowship
- 2005 The University of Texas at Austin Departmental Scholarship
- 2004 Southwestern Psychological Association Award for Undergraduate Research
- 2004 Psychology Department Top Student Award, Honorable Mention
- 2001 Southwestern University Presidential Scholar
Affiliations
- International Association for Relationship Research (IARR)
- National Council on Family Relations (NCFR)
- Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP)
- Phi Beta Kappa
- Psi Chi, National Honor Society in Psychology
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