As an academic, I approach teaching with a commitment to accessibility, engagement, and empowering students with the confidence to use knowledge beyond the classroom. These three principles shape every aspect of my pedagogy, from the way I design my syllabi to the way I interact with students on a personal level. These principles reflect my commitment to inclusive, rigorous, and future-oriented education, one that equips students not only to succeed academically but also to contribute meaningfully to scientific and societal progress.
My work with the Psychological Science Accelerator (PSA), a global collaborative research network, deeply informs my teaching. The PSA has shown me the importance of community-driven learning, ethical practice, and the inclusion of diverse voices in knowledge creation. These values directly translate into my classroom, which I structure as a community of individuals learning, growing, and supporting one another.
Accessibility as Daily Practice
In higher education, students come from diverse academic and personal backgrounds, accessibility is essential for unlocking their full potential. Accessibility is more than a teaching philosophy; it is something I strive to implement in every course I teach. I remove structural and cognitive barriers by designing materials and learning environments that are clear, inclusive, and adaptable to student needs. This includes providing printed packets with fill-in-the-blank notes to support focused engagement during lectures, sharing recorded lectures so students can review key content at their own pace, ensuring in-class lectures only use accessible videos, and offering options on modality of exam taking to accommodate students who commute or face other logistical challenges.
Beyond instructional materials, I am committed to building authentic relationships with students that support their academic and personal well-being. One student noted, “Ms. Lewis would check up on us and even emailed to check in when we missed class. That helped me a lot.” I strive to ensure every student feels seen, heard, and valued. Whether by offering deadline extensions without stigma, sharing mental health resources, or simply checking in after class, I make clear that support is always accessible, and that there is no shame in seeking or using it.
Engagement as Intellectual Partnership
Engagement is at the heart of my classroom structure. I view learning as a fundamentally social process, students learn best not by passively absorbing facts, but by actively discussing, questioning, and applying ideas. I design each class session with multiple opportunities for students to talk with one another and with me, through small group work, structured peer discussions, classroom simulations or experiments, and collaborative debates.
As one student put it: “The first day we started the social psychology unit, she had us learn differently, it was almost like an experiment on us, but it helped me learn and be more engaged.” I embrace creativity and curiosity in the classroom, often incorporating review games, case studies, and real-world examples to make abstract concepts feel tangible. As one student shared, “Savannah did a great job at keeping us engaged by providing practical examples we could apply to our knowledge and lives.” The result is a lively, participatory classroom where students do not just attend but invest in the pursuit of knowledge.
These approaches are inspired by my work with the PSA, where I have seen how collaborative knowledge, especially when it includes diverse student populations, produces richer, more robust understanding. I treat my students as colleagues-in-training, guiding them to ask deeper questions, evaluate their assumptions, and engage with diverse perspectives by emphasizing engagement over lecture and collective exploration over memorization.
Confidence to Apply Knowledge Beyond the Classroom
The ultimate purpose of teaching is not just to prepare students for a test, but to help them develop the confidence and skills to use what they have learned long after the course ends. I assess student learning by the questions they ask, the risks they are willing to take intellectually, and the way they begin to connect course material to their lives.
In academia, we often teach students outside our immediate field of study, which makes it essential to increase their intrinsic motivation to engage with course content. To that end, I design examples and assessments that emphasize real-world application, critical thinking, and intellectual flexibility. I encourage students to form their own evidence-based opinions and to remain open to refining those views as they encounter new ideas, perspectives, and evidence.
Each exam I administer includes short-answer questions that require students to apply psychological principles to everyday life. For example, students might reflect on how compliance techniques show up in daily interactions, how stress and well-being concepts can help them cope with life’s challenges, or how social psychology constructs relate to their field of study. I have also asked students to describe how they implemented a mnemonic technique to study for the exam. My goal is for students to leave the course not only with a grasp of psychological theories, but with the confidence to use those concepts to navigate complexity, support others, and continue growing as thinkers and citizens.
I tailor my mentorship to individual needs: some students benefit from direct support and check-ins; others thrive with more independence. I see my role not as the center of the classroom, but as a resource, a guide, and a partner in students’ academic journeys. I strive to help them discover and refine their voices, not simply echo mine.
In sum, I teach to ignite intellectual curiosity, lower unnecessary barriers, and build students’ capacity to lead, question, and apply. Through accessible resources, dynamic engagement, and thoughtful mentorship, I aim to support the development of rigorous, reflective scholars who carry their learning far beyond our time together in the classroom.