Teaching Philosophy
As a social psychologist, my teaching philosophy centers around this idea that as people, we have an innate need to belong, which I facilitate by connecting with my students on an individual level and creating an inclusive classroom, and that we are motivated to find value and relevance in what we do, which I accomplish through my own and students’ examples to apply the material to our lives and the world around us.
Connecting with Others
Despite being part of a sea of faces (or a grid of black Zoom boxes), each student is more than just a student. They all have different societal roles, such as caretaker, employee, or volunteer. They all encounter different obstacles to education, whether due to diverse backgrounds, health issues, or other circumstances. But despite their differences, what binds them together beyond their student status is that they are people.
The first thing I do in every class is to memorize the names of my students and familiarize myself with their faces. In doing so, I try to get to know the person behind the name by checking in with them individually. For example, during lab sections as a teaching assistant in Research Methods and Statistics, I set time aside to go around the classroom and talk with each student as they work individually. Since not all students are comfortable raising their hands and asking for help, I proactively reach out to them first.
In addition to connecting with each student individually, I create an inclusive environment in the classroom so students can feel comfortable speaking up. For example, when I led discussions in Language and Thought, a synchronous online seminar, I welcomed diverse perspectives and created opportunities for students to discuss how their own cultural experiences relate to research findings on multilingualism. Doing so can increase students’ feeling of belonging to show that their diverse experiences are relevant and valued to the learning process.
By integrating student narratives with academic content, I aim to bridge theoretical concepts with real-world applications, enhancing engagement and critical thinking.
Finding Value
Students are more motivated to learn when they understand the relevance of the course material. Thus, when I teach, I give examples relating the material to their lives and the world around us, and I provide students with opportunities to do the same.
When I worked with Dr. Nicole Alea Albada on a series of instructional videos for introductory statistics courses, we gave real-life instances of when to use each statistical test, helping students grasp abstract concepts more concretely.
Additionally, as a teaching associate for Emotions and Social Influence, two upper division courses, I created weekly assignments with short answer responses where students directly applied the material to their lives. For instance, in one assignment, students gave examples of how they experienced different social norms. This not only reinforced key concepts but demonstrated their prevalence in our daily lives.
With psychological phenomena everywhere around us, learning about the human mind and behavior is relevant and important for everyone. As an educator, I am in the unique position of being able to connect with students to help them connect psychology to their own lives. After all, we are all people, and what we do matters.
Teaching Pedagogy Presentations
Link to website presentation: https://spark.adobe.com/page/IUwZFUbquy1AL/
Presented at the UCSB Engaging Teaching Symposium, Santa Barbara, CA, Oct 2020
Video available upon request.
Presented at the UC Psychology Teaching & Learning Conference, Santa Barbara, CA, Sept 2020
Courses Taught
Instructor of Record
Statistics for Social Science, Chaffey College, Fall 2024 — Spring 2026
Research Methods, UCSB, Summer 2021
Introductory Statistics, UCSB, Summer 2021
Social Influence, UCSB, Fall 2020
Emotions, UCSB, Summer 2020
Teaching Assistant
Research Methods, UCSB, Summer 2018, Fall 2018, Summer 2019, Fall 2019
Introductory Statistics, UCSB, Winter 2019
Social Influence, UCSB, Spring 2019
Psychology of Choice, UCSB, Winter 2020
Language and Thought, UCSB, Spring 2020
Testimonial Highlights
Statistics for Social Science, Fall 2024 — Spring 2026
I appreciated the professor’s approach to classroom participation. Everyone was always included in some way. For example, when taking attendance, asking an engaging question to add to an example question was an inclusive idea.
I loved relating the real-life applications to concepts of statistics. I personally have had a negative view of math for the majority of my academics since I didn’t feel that I would need it in the future, but in being taught how statistics are part of everyday scenarios, being taught about the principles, and root of statistics, I realized how much importance we hold in regards to statistics as a whole, and how we apply them. I also felt that it was helpful when you allowed us to choose whether we could end class with another calculation example to reinforce what we had learned, or work on our assignment for the week. You were also adaptable; you weren’t lying when you said that flexibility was built into the course too! I also think that by letting us popcorn people for answers, you allowed us as a whole class to hold each other accountable for our learning. You enabled us to bond as classmates. I felt that we grew closer throughout the semester after learning each other’s names and even in those moments when you would tell us to ask our peers questions. Those moments where we would become teachers to others, helped me learn the material even better! I also enjoyed that we were able to throw some humor around here and there as we got more comfortable with each other. It helps to ease up students, especially with a subject like statistics that many might find daunting.
The best thing I learnt during this statistics course is being able to comprehend and analyze information on a day-to-day basis. I was also impressed by how clearly the teacher explained the concepts in detail for easy comprehension of the subject. It was good that the course offered examples of how statistics is used in our daily lives rather than mathematics only. The course increased my capacity to interpret graphical information and the relationships between variables. It was great to work out practice questions after each lesson for revision purposes.
I appreciated the professor’s approach to classroom participation. Everyone was always included in some way. For example, when taking attendance, asking an engaging question to add to an example question was an inclusive idea.
Emotions, Summer 2020
While I think most classes are very interesting, I have only had a couple classes at UCSB that made me feel like I had learned something I could immediately use. This class was one of those few. The information we went over can really help a student out right then and there. I also really liked how Vinnie ended the class discussing the importance of society and helping each other, and I feel like I am walking away with something more than just the research that I learned about. That’s a rare quality for a class to have and I think it’s really great how Vinnie did that.
Vinnie was very approachable and easy to talk to! I usually came to her office hours for clarifications on my quiz scores and writing assignments, and she was really helpful. Vinnie explains each concept briefly well. In addition, she helped motivate me to improve on my quiz scores! There was one time I felt really disappointed in my score, but she encouraged me to see it as a way to look back on what I misunderstood and improve from that. In addition, she was really engaging in the discussion sessions.
One of the BEST professors I have had at UCSB. Organized, attentive, intelligent, helpful and overall very effective teaching! She was extremely responsible and always returned emails quickly with helpful tips and examples. She was dedicated to making material understanding and interesting. Her feedback was clear and improved my learning. I truly wish to have more professors like you!
Social Influence, Fall 2020
Vinnie took the responsibility to teach after the beginning of the course. This is an abrupt change for her and us but she manages everything very well. The lectures she made were interesting, understandable, and clear. She answers questions very patiently with very long answers. She was just so responsible and considerate. Vinnie even sent me an email to encourage me when I didn’t post question as usual, and I was really touched by that. Thank you for being our lecturer this quarter! I really enjoyed them.
I visited Vinnie’s office hours quite often and she gave a very welcoming atmosphere. I appreciate her for making me feel comfortable asking questions about grad school, life, and overall research lab opportunities.
Language and Thought, Spring 2020
Vinnie was super inclusive during class discussions! She always encouraged everyone to speak up and was super tactful and eloquent when addressing students with their questions or comments in class. Language is closely tied to cultural identity so it can be a touchy topic for some people when dispelling any common misconceptions about language or language ideologies.
Research Methods, Summer 2019
Vinnie was extremely helpful and made sure to give each student individual help on their proposal. This was nice because a lot of times quieter students are too shy to go to office hours.
Vinnie really tried to make us all feel comfortable and checked in with all of us multiple classes and took the time to answer each of our questions which was super awesome. She was really sweet and seemed like she really cared which was cool.
Vinnie C. Wu, Ph.D. 