Teaching

Below is a brief description of the courses Dr. Henkel regularly teaches.

Statistics for Behavioral Sciences (PSYC 2810)

Statistics is a tool that researchers use to describe and analyze their data. Topics include ways to summarize and describe data numerically and graphically, and ways to test research hypotheses using z tests, t tests, ANOVAs, correlation, regression, and nonparametric procedures such as chi square.

Research Methods in Psychology (PSYC 2820)

In this 4-credit lab class, students learn how to read, evaluate, design, conduct, analyze, and report psychological research. Students further develop their scientific and quantitative reasoning skills through hands-on exercises and projects they design and run.

Cognitive Psychology (PSYC 2510)

This course examines how people think -- how they pay attention to things, how they perceive the outside world, how they learn and remember, and how they reason, solve problems, and use language. We explore how the brain produces these various cognitive processes, and we learn the application of principles from cognition into our everyday lives. It is valuable for psychology and neuroscience majors as well as for students majoring in areas in which better understanding how people think would be valuable --e.g., education, nursing, business, biology, and law.

False Memories Senior Seminar (PSYC 4510)

Most of the time, our memories serve us quite well. However, many of the strategies and mechanisms that help us remember accurately much of the time can also lead to errors. This course examines various types of memory distortions and what they can tell us about the mechanisms of memory, and it examines memory in applied settings, including the reliability of eyewitness recollections, children’s suggestibility, and clinical issues such as repression and dissociation from a cognitive perspective.

Psychology and the Law (PSYC 1220)

This course explores the relationship between psychological and brain sciences and the legal system. The courses' interdisciplinary approach examines how the legal system functions and the accuracy of its assumptions about human behavior. We consider how theory and research from the main subfields in psychology – cognitive, social/cultural, developmental/ lifespan, clinical psychology, and neuroscience – inform the legal system and impact justice. The course has a strong emphasis on the role of race, gender, mental health, and intellectual and developmental neurodiversity in the legal system because the impact of these variables on the legal system is pervasive and because of the societal importance and consequences for justice.

Internship in Applied Psychology (PSYC 4981/4982)

In this experiential learning class, as an intern you will work 8-10 hours per week (120-150 hours over the semester) at an internship site, under the direction of an onsite supervisor. Internship sites include a wide range of settings in which psychology is relevant, from clinical sites, to education, to social services, legal settings, businesses, nonprofits, and more. You will be actively engaged in working at the site, exploring, observing, and doing various activities while applying and integrating your knowledge of psychology to your work there. You will reflect on your experiences in written assignments to further develop and deepen your understanding and learning.

Supervised Research (PSYC 3950)

This course provides research experience for a small group of students who will serve as research assistants in my Memory & Cognition Lab. Rather then expecting students to be able to conduct independent research on novel topics, I mentor and supervise students so that they can get a better idea of how actual research is conducted. We cover many different aspects of research in cognition – from memory errors and distortions, to how people make choices, to age-related changes in cognition. Students register for 3 credits for this. If you are interested, please contact me at lhenkel@fairfield.edu We have a weekly lab meeting, and the remaining lab hours (for testing subjects, developing materials, coding data, etc.) will be set around your schedule. Some students use this as a springboard for an independent research project; others take it just to get some hands on research experience. Wherever your future may take you, research experience is invaluable in any area of psychology. Permission of instructor is necessary to register.

Independent Research (PSYC 4950)

In this course ,an individual student designs, runs, analyzes, and reports on a full research project. I will work closely with you every step of the way either building off of a project you worked on in Supervised Research or on a project that you develop on your own. Permission of instructor is necessary to register. If you are interested, please contact me at lhenkel@fairfield.edu

Psychology Teaching Practicuum (PSYC 3980)

In this elective course, the student serves as a teaching intern (TI) for my Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (PSYC 2810) course. The TIs are responsible for running the weekly lab sections during which students learn how to run SPSS and complete structure exercises. This is an excellent opportunity to see the classroom and the dynamics of learning from the other side. You not only will refine your understanding of statistics, you will learn about what you can do as a teacher to help people learn. If you are interested, please contact me at lhenkel@fairfield.edu

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