Teaching

Introduction to Psychology, Psychobiology, & Cognition

Ai Use in Course Design

Generative Ai is fairly common now, and I think it's valuable for people to know where and how it is being used in the classroom. Because Ai models routinely makes mistakes (hallucinations), I currently use generative Ai in class only to create low-stakes images. These images feature an avatar of myself and my educational pal/student surrogate (a living avocado) working together to demonstrate concepts relevant to the course.

Example: Image illustrating Encoding, Consolidation, & Retrieval

You can see more examples of images I use in class here by skimming through this for-fun quiz created from some of my favorite images from my Cognitive Psychology course.

Teaching Videos

Here is an (unsorted) playlist of videos that I use in classes or have found useful. This would mainly be useful if you were looking to find a video we watched in class.

Quick warning: If you're just skimming through the playlist. Some of the material on here is relatively graphic, including emotionally evocative images, videos of brain surgery, and discussion of material like child neglect and unethical science.

Syllabi & Student Comments

Cognitive Psychology

William & Mary, Fall 2025

Selected feedback from Anonymous In-Class Feedback Form:

"This is a really good class, I really enjoy the teaching and grading style!"
"Thank you so much for including the "describe a topic you studied but didn't get tested on" on our most recent exam!"
"Your slides are fabulous and engaging and I love all the examples we do in class."

PSYC 311 SYLLABUS Fall 2025 Ferris_vScrubbed.docx

Introduction to Psychology, Psychobiology, & Cognition

Emory University, Summer 2019

Selected feedback from Student Evaluations:

“Easy to talk to, very approachable, knowledgeable, able to adapt to time constraints very well, always stays after class to answer questions.”
"Overall, the class was a great learning experience and I would recommend it to everyone. "
"I liked the openness of this course and the ability for students to ask their questions at any point in the lectures.”"
"I liked having prep work as that primed my brain to get ready to learn about relevant topics.”

Intro Psyc_PSY 110_Summer2019_v2.docx

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