Since earning my Ph.D., I have had the opportunity to teach a variety of courses including psychology of women, research methods in behavioral science and laboratory, psychology thesis, laboratory in gender development, and introduction to psychology (both in a hybrid-online format and a traditional classroom environment).
I also provide personalized educational experiences for students within my Gender Development Laboratory. Students are individually mentored in all aspects of the research process, including data collection in local school settings, analyzing data to answer relevant questions, and preparing manuscripts for formal dissemination. I also supervise students' internship placements in a variety of community settings.
I also developed an exclusive affiliation between Monmouth University and Six Flags Great Adventure Wild Safari. As part of this affiliation, Six Flags Safari has agreed to allow students access to their animal facilities. Students are co-taught by me and the Six Flags Animal Trainers. While on-site, students are presented with psychological principles that are relevant to the psychology of animal behavior, animal training, and learning, memory, and cognitions. Students are then be able to watch demonstrations of these principles with a selection of the 1300 different animals that SFS houses, including river otters, sea lions, giraffes and elephants. After watching the demonstrations, students have supervised hands-on access to the animals, and are given the chance to work with these animals with the goal of gaining a deeper understanding of the psychological concepts. Additionally, information about animal training as a viable career is covered in the course. Students receive experiences in both animal training and in public speaking via educational outreach events. Students will also be asked to broadly apply what they have learned to other settings, such as in the care and teaching of children.
Teaching Related Scholarship
Dinella, L. M., Peranteau, J., & Rochette, A. (2013). Sea lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my! Creating applied learning opportunities via creative collaborations. Presented at the annual Eastern Teaching of Psychology conference, Staunton, VA.
Ciarocco, N. J., Dinella, L. M., & Lewandowski, G. W., Jr. (2011). Strategies for making psychology self-relevant in and out of the classroom. In R. Miller & B. Rycek (Eds.), Promoting student engagement: Volume I: Programs, techniques and opportunities [E-book]. Society for the Teaching of Psychology. http://teachpsych.org/resources/e-books/pse2011/vol1/36.%20Self-relevance.pdf
Dinella, L.M. & Lewandowski, G. W. (2011). Increasing the self-relevance of psychology: Using the Twilight Saga to teach family therapy concepts. Presented at the annual meetings of the National Institute on Teaching Psychology, St. Pete.
Dinella, L.M. (2009, June). On-line technologies and self-relevance in the classroom. Symposium conducted at the Eastern Teaching of Psychology conference, Staunton, VA.
GRANTS
Dinella, L. M., & Ciarocco, N.J. (2013). Grant in support of the Atlantic Coast Teaching of Psychology Conference. Society for the Teaching of Psychology's Small Grants—Promoting Partnership Program. Ciarocco, N. J., & Dinella, L. M. (2012). Grant in support of the 2013 Atlantic Coast Teaching of Psychology Conference. Society for the Teaching of Psychology's Master Teacher Speaker Program.
Dinella, L. M., Ciarocco, N. & Lewandowski, G. (2011). Grant in support of the first biennial Atlantic Coast Teaching of Psychology Conference (ACTOP Conference). American Psychological Association Board of Educational Affairs Block Grant in Support of Precollege and Undergraduate Teaching Conferences.
Ciarocco, N., Dinella, L.M., & Lewandowski, G. (2011). Grant in support of the first biennial Atlantic Coast Teaching of Psychology Conference (ACTOP conference). American Psychology Society.
Dinella, L. M. (2010). Seed grant in support of the first biennial Atlantic Coast Teaching of Psychology Conference (ACTOP Conference). American Psychological Association Board of Educational Affairs Block Grant in Support of Precollege and Undergraduate Teaching Conferences.
Dinella, L. M., Ciarocco, N., & Lewandowski, G. (2010). Grant in support of the first biennial Atlantic Coast Teaching of Psychology Conference (ACTOP Conference). Society for the Teaching of Psychology's Small Grants—Promoting Partnership Program.