Psychology and the Internet
In Fall 2024, I taught an original undergraduate seminar called Psychology and the Internet, via the Columbia Teaching Scholars program.
You can view an interactive version of the syllabus here.
Certain elements of the syllabus (such as some course topics and policies) were intentionally kept open to incorporate student input and so were changed once the semester began. You can view the original version of the syllabus, without student input, here. Alternatively, you can view a rough draft I made as part of the Columbia CTL Innovative Course Design Seminar (ICDS), with annotations.
The course focuses on the intersection between Psychology research and the Internet. The first half of the course explores how the Internet can serve as a new tool/methodology/data source to ask classic psychology questions. The midterm assignment asks students to create a programming tutorial that explains how to access and work with one type of Internet data (i.e. social media, Reddit, search). The second half of the course focuses on new psychological questions that arise in an environment that is as complex and novel as the Internet. The final assignment asks students to write an op-ed suggesting a new regulation for the Internet, based on psychological theories.
Research Methods: Data Science, Justice, and Social Change
In Fall 2025, I adapted an upper-level seminar into a Psychology research methods course focused on secondary data analysis in service of social policy.
You can view an interactive version of the syllabus here.
**You can view the coding tutorials and homework assignments here.
This course provides the rigorous data science training and core content knowledge students need to use data science to effect policy changes that promote a more just society. To explore these topics, students engage in in-class discussions on the intersections between psychology and justice. Students also conduct their own research project by analyzing a found dataset, with a focus on justice-oriented outcomes. The course also emphasizes collaborating with community and government organizations to propose data- and psychology-informed solutions that center on those most impacted by failures of the justice system.