Exploring the Mind: A Deep Dive into the World of Psychology

By: Erin Watt with Nancy Fenton 

Each Summer, CTD works hard to provide students with unique and challenging enrichment courses that are sure to spark interest and excitement that stay with students beyond when courses end. This summer is no exception. In anticipation for the start of the summer program at CTD, we reached out to one of our instructors, Nancy Fenton, who is teaching Pre-Med: Psychology and Behavioral Medicine and Honors Psychology. We wanted to learn more about these psychology courses and how Nancy has brought her passion for psychology into the classroom.

How did you get into psychology? What inspired you?

I have always been passionate about psychology and how people think, and why they behave the way they do. My undergraduate degree was in history and secondary education, but after teaching for a few years, I was inspired to pursue a master's degree in psychology to build stronger student-teacher relationships that improved student engagement and performance. I love how psychological research applies to so many of my students' interests, including medicine, healthcare, engineering, business, education, criminal justice, and sports.

What is it like working with CTD students?

CTD students continually surprise me with their combination of passion and perseverance – what psychologist Angela Duckworth calls grit. Because grit is a skill, it is rewarding to see how it grows through involvement with challenging courses.

Speaking of challenging courses, could you tell us more about the psychology courses that you are teaching this summer at CTD?

At CTD, I have the privilege of teaching two courses in the field. In Honors Psychology, students explore the practical applications of psychology to a wide range of career paths, including medicine, economics, business, engineering, journalism, law, education, and the arts. The course emphasizes thinking critically and provides opportunities to conduct experiments to demonstrate psychological phenomena, including many related to memory and learning. Students explore diverse topics, including memory, language, bystander intervention, emotion, visual perception, love, altruism, aggression, mental illness, treatment, human strengths, and personality. Students enjoy conducting research that demonstrates the most effective ways to improve learning and memory and exploring their signature strengths in the unit on positive psychology. Honors Psychology is a foundation for students interested in AP® Psychology and other courses in the behavioral sciences.

I am also excited to teach Pre-Med: Psychology and Behavioral Medicine to help students connect psychology, medicine, and health. I was inspired to create this course for students looking toward future health careers. The medical field has become increasingly connected to psychology, which is directly reflected in the fact that ¼ of the content of the medical school admission exam is based on psychology and sociology. For students considering a career in health care or medicine, this class provides additional insight into this increasingly interdisciplinary field. The class allows students to explore how psychology can improve health and well-being and is especially beneficial for students with interests in biology, medicine, or public policy. Through case studies and interactive projects, students investigate topics related to health, fitness, sleep, injury and violence prevention, combating prejudice and microaggressions, and addressing health disparities. Students discover the psychological factors that impact health and how research in behavioral medicine can better inform government policies. This course takes a global and multicultural perspective and makes connections relevant to each student's personal experience. The varied case studies projects challenge students to apply what they learn to address real-world problems.   

What is your favorite assignment from this course, and why?

I love exposing students to positive psychology through the signature strengths activity. Students take the Youth VIA Survey of Character Strengths developed at the University of Pennsylvania that identifies which of the 24-character values are their strongest. Students spend one week applying their top three strengths in as many ways as possible to increase happiness and well-being. During the week, they concentrate on finding opportunities to engage in intentional behaviors and thought processes that build on their natural strengths, preferences, and talents. Students choose from a list of activities or generate their own ideas, keep track of them in a strength training log, and evaluate the experience in a written response. The activities students choose to engage in for the assignment continually surprise me, and evaluations of the project are positive and enthusiastic.

What is a tech tool that you can't live without?

There are so many amazing tools that make teaching and learning more engaging. The main tool that I could not live without is a classroom management system (e.g., Schoology, Canvas). It allows me to organize materials for students, including materials from class, additional formatives, and enrichment materials. I also love working with Google Docs, Google Slides, and Google Forms because they allow for effective collaboration and feedback. I also enjoy using Padlet and Canva for student projects.

Pre-Med: Psychology and Behavioral Medicine and Honors Psychology are offered through CTD’s Accelerated Summer Online program. To learn more, please visit the Accelerated Summer Online page.