Psychology Department
Martha Roberts is a PhD student in the Psychology Department. Martha was a Teaching Assistant in Psych 292 (Basic Data Analysis) last winter. She is presently a Teaching Assistant in PSYCH 311 (How do Babies Communicate with the World?) and she volunteers as a TA for the graduate statistics courses 645/630. Because of her knowledge and interest in teaching methods, her dedication to students, and her commitment to teaching excellence, Martha was assigned as a second TA to PSYCH 311 when the enrolment rose from 20 to 73. To address the issue of group meetings, Martha learned and implemented the Blackboard software to create “chat rooms” for each of the 12 groups and for each section. In the graduate statistics course, Martha provided tutorial help for the students in class, gave lectures, assembled learning materials, and ran tutorials on the innovative topic of Randomization Tests.
Students report that Martha “always makes students feel like their questions are valid, and she really cares about us and how we do.” She is very approachable, well prepared, calm, friendly, patient, and teaches at a level appropriate to the class. The students appreciate her thorough knowledge of statistics and how she always provides clear and concise explanations for concepts. Martha also supervises the Cognitive Psychology lab. In her lab role, she shows students how things done in the lab are applicable to various areas of research and to the understanding of psychological phenomena.
Martha is currently a TA Developer for the Teaching Resources and Continuing Education (TRACE) Office and is a participant in the Certificate for University Teaching. The Certificate program is offered jointly by the TRACE Office and the Graduate Studies Office.