Teaching Experience
I have been lucky to teach, in some capacity, at K-state since my 2nd year of graduate school. I started with Experimental Methods Lab sections, which I taught for 4 semesters. After enrolling in and completing the Teaching Apprenticeship Program, I was hired as a Graduate Instructor in my 4th year where I have been teaching my own courses since.
"Taylor was very helpful and responsive to questions, especially after the move to online classes"
"Professor Simonson expressed passion for the material and desire for us to learn. She was a well accessible with our transition to online. Overall a very effective and understanding professor."
PSYCH 351
Experimental Methods Laboratory
Course Description: Application of experimental design and data analysis emphasized in the psychological literature, procedures, and reporting of research findings.
Taught: Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Spring 2020
PSYCH 110
General Psychology
Course Description: This course offers an orientation to psychology as the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. Key concepts are covered through a series of lectures, discussions, and assignments related to the principles of learning, memory, social/personality, abnormal behavior, and the physiology of behavior. Students are required to apply course materials to their own lives to make meaningful connections that will increase long-term retention for content.
Taught: Spring 2020, Fall 2020
"Taylor does a great job of being sure the material is understood. She provides us with a lot of great examples and is always willing to answer any and all questions. In our classroom, if anyone would ask a question she didn’t know the answer to, she would research after class and bring it to the next class. This truly made us feel as if she cared about our learning."
"I really enjoyed your class. I was not looking forward to it at the beginning of the semester, but I really did learn a lot. I loved the energy you brought to class everyday. You were excited to teach the subject which made for a better class room environment."
"Thank you so much for teaching this course! Your enthusiasm for the topic and your knowledge made this class really fun and exactly what I hoped for when I enrolled! I appreciate the feedback you provided and the ways in which you related the class content to real-life scenarios. This was definitely one of my favorite classes I've taken thus far, I hope to be in another one of your classes in the future!"
"Thank you so much for being so understanding. You were my favorite teacher this semester and you helped me with whatever I needed. Your expectations were clear and concise. Thank you for being so welcoming and friendly. Coming to your class was exciting. Good luck with your future endeavors."
PSYCH 545
Consumer Psychology
Course Description: This course is an examination of what consumers choose to buy and why. Specifically, we explore a range of key theories in topics such as learning, memory, consumer attitudes, brand loyalty, evaluations of decision making, and the ethical consumption of social media and internet. The goal of this course is to teach along the intersection of existing psychological processes and environmental stimuli that evoke purchasing decisions based on research findings. Students are regularly engaged in active discussion, critical thinking assignments, and lectures that break down key concepts to help make in-class activities more engaging. This course gives students a chance to actively apply course content they are learning in lectures to the real world and see the influence of their environment on their own consumption behaviors.
Taught: Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023
PSYCH 625
Human Factors
Course Description: An examination of the roles that behavioral factors have in the design and operation of machines and equipment. We explore a range of topics from types of displays, designs, ergonomics, cognitive load, performance, and methods of evaluation for designs. The key points of this course examine and revolve around how behavior can influence the design of aspects in our real-world environments. Students are regularly engaged in course discussion, critical thinking assignments about how materials relate to their lives, and lectures that break down key concepts to help make the related activities more engaging. Through this course, students are often sent into their own workspaces, home lives, and/or vehicles that they drive/ride in to evaluate how those environments are in line with the course material. Additionally, students are required to make suggestions on improving interactions with an array of environments that would benefit themselves and others.
Taught: Fall 2021, Fall 2022
"I really did enjoy having you as an instructor. You made it apparent that you are here to help us and you came through on that."
"I really enjoyed having you as a teacher and appreciate all the help with grad apps and general future plans advice. Although I will probably be back next semester as well."
DAS 195
Psychology of Prejudice
Background: This course is taught as a CAT (connecting across topics) community course, which is meant to 1) create community for first semester students, 2) create interdisciplinary connections, 3) apply learning, and 4) communicate effectively. CAT community courses are taught specifically for first-semester students to help them engage with the university in a meaningful way.
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Course Description: Strives to engage students with similar academic interests in a smaller special topics class. The Psychology of Prejudice course will examine stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination broadly, including etiologies, purposes, forms of expression, theoretical models of explanation, correlates, and mechanisms for change. Further, some class time will be devoted to more general discussions of strategies for maximizing your opportunities for success in college.
Taught: Fall 2022
I'm really going to miss this class! The in-depth conversations we've had about sensitive topics has really stuck with me and it's something that I'll carry with me for the rest of my life.
The weekly wins. They were a good ice breaker and a great way of elevating the mood before class started, which could
handle some heavy topics.
PSYCH 538
Cross-Cultural Psychology
Course Description: Cross-cultural psychology attempts to address the role of culture in theories of psychology. The course is designed to point out limitations of psychological research as well as explore other cultures. Topics include persuasion, conflict resolution, interpersonal attraction, and learning. In a multicultural nation and a world that technology ensures is daily becoming more global, cross-cultural psychology provides a basis for improving functioning, understanding, and harmony.
Taught: Winter Intercession 2022
Evaluation information is not yet released