by Aelwen Iredale
This year, Centre has hired several new professors, and they are as eager to get to know us as we are to get to know them. So, I am here to shed some light on these new professors and welcome them to Centre’s campus.
Interview with Dr. Pallage:
Why did you come to Centre?
Because I love teaching, and I specifically looked for a college where it is teaching-centered, not highly research. But I wanted to continue my research as well without just neglecting all the stuff that I did so far because that was all hard work, so when I interviewed at Centre, I felt like it is more student-centered. During the interview…students especially interacted with me. I love being with students, love teaching, and love being in a calm, nice, welcoming, helping-each-other kind of a culture. I felt Centre has that, so that’s why, my main [decision was] “Okay, I’m going to say ‘yes’ to this offer.”
Have you taught before coming to Centre?
I was teaching in Sri Lanka…but then they were like, “Okay, if you’re going to continue in this route, you need a PhD, otherwise you cannot go get promoted, obviously.” So then I applied for [my] Master’s in [the] US. Then I was teaching as a [Graduate Assistant]. [Then] I went for [my] PhD and, again, teaching as a GA, but because I was at Central Michigan University where we get to teach our own classes [and we] take two research classes where we have to actually read “teaching in college” related research. We [had] to do two internships with an actual professor. During that experience, I was polishing myself a lot, especially trying to be empathetic. I was a very strict person before, actually, very strict. I had to change [the] way that I did things [and] how I looked at my students, obviously. So, if you guys had me, like, five years ago, I would have been [a] very strict person.
What has your teaching experience at Centre been? Is it very different from teaching in other places?
Previously, in Sri Lanka, I was teaching really big classes [with] more than [a] hundred students in front of me. While doing my Master’s and PhD, I had smaller classes, like, 30s, 40s kind of. So, then, coming to Centre, I noticed, small classes sizes. I love that because I get to see what are you guys writing. I don’t have to wait until you make [a] mistake on the exam. And I found very enthusiastic students asking very good questions, very valid questions, [and] tak[ing] the constructive criticism very well. When I say, “Hey, guys, this is not what we expect in this class, this is like a 200-level” you guys [took] that feedback and chang[ed] how you write your answers. I was so impressed by that, that “oh my God, they listened to me, and they want to improve, and they’re coming to my office hour” You guys are so motivating, coming to office hours. In other colleges [where] I taught, it was very hard to get the students to come into the office hours, but I know that you guys are coming in here. I love that because in the class you get only sixty minutes, there’s a limit to what you can cover, but if you’re in my office, we can go, like, step-by-step. I love students coming here.
Do you have any observations about Centre?
I really love how you guys interact outside of class. With the Math Lunches I was like, “Are they even coming to these?” But we had like a full, I think, 30-40 people there. That was really good, and I don’t usually see that among undergraduates. If you are a grad student, you kind of have to attend the seminars, but undergraduates very rarely come to math related outside-class-stuff, so I was very motivated looking at you guys at the Math Lunch where your friends were presenting about their summer research. “Oh my gosh, like, they respect each other, and they care [about] what each other is doing outside of class.” Yeah, I think that’s unique. You don’t see that [at] every college. I like the culture.
What are you teaching in the spring?
My new course was finally named as “Advanced Interpolation Methods.” This is my first time in my life creating a course, so a challenge to me. I think I have very good students at Centre who have the potential to do some advanced math class where it’s going to be not only concepts but applying it to research. I want to say I’m looking forward to working with you guys as I explore my journey as a new professor here, designing a new course [where we will be] reading some research papers and trying to code using MatLab. I’m having high hopes for you guys.
My Experience:
I took Dr. Pallage’s Linear Algebra course, and I was extremely worried that I’d be hopelessly behind and perpetually confused, but, thanks to Dr. Pallage’s patience, I am not failing! Every time I went to office hours (which was frequent), she calmly explained and went through the problems and theorems I was confused with. Even in class, as soon as someone asks to go through an example again, she does not hesitate to do so. Dr. Pallage is all about communication and helping whenever needed—great qualities for a great professor.
Interview with Dr. Cope:
Why did you come to Centre?
I went to a liberal arts college as an undergrad near Philadelphia, and I absolutely loved it, so when I was on the job market, I was looking for a place to be able to teach what I want to teach. I was living in Florida at the time, but then I was also looking for a community. Florida’s a place where not a lot of people are from, and a lot of people come for school or retirement, but there’s not a lot of community there, so I was clear in my application that I was looking for a spot that I could assimilate into and belong to, so Centre was a great fit.
Have you taught before coming to Centre?
I’ve been the primary instructor in courses. I’ve taught social psychology, research methods, and statistics, but I was a graduate student at the time, so this is my first ever professor position. I’m an assistant professor now, but I have taught varying levels of psychology courses.
What has your experience at Centre been teaching wise?
It’s been really lovely. I’m teaching Psychology of Sexuality, and that’s a course that’s new to the college and new to me, so that’s been a really big learning experience but also pretty thrilling. [And] then just getting to know Centre students and how great they are, what you all are capable of, and that you want to learn and the amount of preparation that you all do for class is encouraging to me. There’s definitely a discourse of “what level are students prepared at for college?” People will say, you know, “test scores are down” [or] “reading ability is down.” But when I interact with Centre students I am filled with hope and encouragement; over the past few months I have gotten to know students who have the level of critical thinking, passion, and drive that we need to move our world forward.
What do you want students to know about you?
I love my job, and my job is to work with students in the classroom and in the lab, and that includes mentorship, so if anyone has things they want to talk about, about psychology or just professional paths, I’m very open to those discussions. I’m here for all students. I have a service initiative, and trying to foster belongingness and inclusion, that’s very important to me and my research. I value engagement in diverse types of ways from readings I assign to in-class participation. As an undergrad I wouldn’t have wanted to participate. Pretty much up until my senior year, I wasn’t a big talker, so I really focus on creating those welcoming environments and giving students a space to say their opinions and make it a rich dialogue. Also, psychology is one of those fields where we sort of touch all parts of life so students come in with their own experiences, and I think something that we do is mak[e] the familiar strange and then applying that scientific method to it. If students are like, “what’s it going to be like to have Dr. Cope,” you can probably expect that from all things.
What are you teaching in the spring?
I’m teaching Social Psychology, which is Psych 360, and then I’m teaching Psych 210, which is the advanced research methods section, so there’s lecture, and then there’s lab. So students will be doing their own research projects, and that’ll be fun.
My Experience:
I took Dr. Cope’s Survey of Psychological Science course, but, although it was a gen-ed course for me, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Dr. Cope has plenty of energy and truly enjoys psychology. Her interest is infectious and made me as a student enjoy it more than I thought I would. She encourages discussions and questions, has her doors open for any help a student needs, and is generally a funny and kind person. Also, she has great style (Does this affect her teaching? Not at all, but who doesn’t love fashion?). There is a lot of content in her courses to learn, but she’s an incredibly kind and intelligent professor at Centre. Dr. Cope upholds Centre toughness standards with a friendly smile.