Jaye Van Kirk is a professor of psychology at San Diego Mesa College and the 2017 winner of the Wayne Weiten Teaching Excellence Award from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (APA Div. 2).
You have a dream job as a college professor. How did that happen?
My interest in observing people stems from my dad engaging my brother and me in people watching wherever we went. My interest in psychology evolved from a high school psychology class so it has been a lifelong interest. I have always been very interested in biology so when I discovered there was a class in college called physiological psychology, it integrated both my interests. I continued my education in a doctoral program in psychobiology on neuroplasticity, learning and memory at The Ohio State University. Part of my fellowship as a graduate student was to have full responsibility to teach sections of introductory psychology. I learned that I really loved teaching. When I left graduate school, I saw my path either in research or teaching. I applied to a community college in San Diego and was called in to interview. From my first and only professional interview, I got the job. I’ve been at San Diego Mesa College for 27 amazing years. The community college offers amazing opportunities to work with students from diverse backgrounds. It has been important for me to see the role that faculty provide in helping to maintain the stability and continuity of the institution for the students. The passion that faculty have for teaching is core to community colleges.
What book do you think is a must-read for newer psychology teachers?
The resources I often recommend to new psychology teachers are from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology. It has wonderful resources for every stage of a person’s career. The teaching resources cover a spectrum of information across sub-discipline areas from classroom activities to professional development and are beneficial to faculty as well as students.
What book is a must-read for psychology students?
Because I have a strong commitment to preparing my students for the demands of the university and beyond, I encourage students to familiarize themselves with journals so that they can learn about cutting-edge science. Students are often amazed at the breadth of the discipline of psychology. I often share the APA division list with students to point out that whatever their interest, there is very likely a corresponding division and journal related to topics in that area.
What do you enjoy most about teaching?
What makes teaching rewarding and meaningful is helping students to discover their interests and reach their fullest potential. I have been involved in mentoring for a number of years as an advisor for Psi Beta (the National Honor Society in Psychology for Community College Students). Psi Beta provides faculty with an opportunity to introduce students to a range of academic and professional development opportunities in research, leadership, scholarship and community service.
What do you enjoy least about teaching?
Every job has tasks that are necessary but not often engaging. I’m always trying to improve how I assess students’ performance in the class and with that there is often paperwork that comes with maintaining records. I am always open to new and more effective strategies that other people are using and interactions with colleagues often provide great learning opportunities.
What is your favorite lesson?
Sexual development is a fascinating topic because it covers biological and psychosocial factors. Students come in with some knowledge about the process but often it is incomplete. It is exciting to introduce students to perspectives they may not have encountered before. With each stage of development, they gain an appreciation of the spectrum of human development and often some assumptions are challenged. The topics often lead to very thought provoking and engaging discussions. It has been fascinating to see the generations of students over the years become more aware of the diversity of the human experience.
What lesson or subject area do you find most challenging? For you and your students?
Topics in the physiological psychology course are both fascinating and also challenging. Explaining the action potential is always challenging because it can be so technical. I’m constantly straddling the line between my desire to provide accurate and rigorous information about the mechanisms of neural conduction and providing students the gist of what they should understand. Students often have difficulty understanding the implications of why learning about those mechanisms is core to the operations of the nervous system so I try to tie in examples of processes that they can personally relate to.
What is your perceived greatest challenge of teaching?
Keeping up with all the new developments in neuroscience. It is a rapidly changing field. It is so expansive in where it is headed covering cellular mechanisms, genetics, brain imaging, cognitive processes and so much more. When you’re in graduate school, you’re much closer to some of the cutting edge science. Today, looking at the Society for Neuroscience convention program, it is mind boggling to even understand the titles of the presentations. From my current perspective, you really appreciate the advancements of science.
What is your favorite classroom story?
There are so many for each class. All tend to involve a student returning to inform me how something they learned, something I said or did transformed their path. I have had the good fortune of maintaining long-term connections with former students over the years and it has been rewarding to see the paths that their lives have taken. It is amazing how something that you say can resonate with students. I have appreciated where my students come from as they have such diverse experiences. Some have come from very harsh and challenging backgrounds yet they see that there can be new direction for their lives.
If you had the resources and permissions, what one research question would you like to pursue?
I can’t limit myself to researching one topic. I do know that when I encounter exceptional people, I want to understand what made them that way. I’m curious to understand and learn about their experiences, brain processes, factors that supported their development, how they approach tasks and challenges, their creativity and what contributes to their resilience.
What advice do you have for newer teachers?
Share your passion for learning with your students. You have an opportunity to inspire someone to be more than they ever dreamed. Few jobs provide people with such opportunities to make those kinds of contributions to people’s lives.
Where do you see yourself in 7 years?
That’s a good question. I would love to be intellectually engaged in some way. I’m looking forward to seeing what new resources of information are available in the future. Who knows, you might find me attending some lectures at some academic institution, sitting in on courses that I wished I had taken as an undergraduate. It would be fun to immerse myself in learning things that I have always been curious about.