Teaching and Mentorship

Last update: May 2020

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

2020 UVA Psychology Dept., Rebecca Boone Memorial Award for Excellence in Teaching [$ 750]
2020 UVA Honor Committee, Honorable Mention (Recognizing people who exemplify honorable behavior)
- "As her research assistant, Meltem invests in my future and my learning experience. She sets an excellent example of commitment to honor, and provides me with countless opportunities to grow as a researcher. Through every phase of a study, she preaches transparency. This semester, I was fortunately awarded two research grants. Meltem stressed the importance of being honest with the different organizations and guided me through the process of informing each of the other grants. This honorable behavior was well-received by the organizations and well-respected by me. Meltem’s strong character makes me thankful to have her as a mentor.” - Madeline Brence (Arts & Sciences Undergraduate)

STUDENTS ADVISED

Current students:

Madeline Brence
- 2020 - 2021 Harrison Undergraduate Research Grant Recipient, $ 4,000, &
- 2020 Semester Scholars Award Recipient, $ 995
Stephanie Chang
Emily Otis
Amy Gersten

Former students:

Jenna Marzougui (current position: Master's Student at the College of William and Mary)
- 2020 Psychological Society Award,
- 2020 Research Excellence in Psychology Laboratory,
- 2020 Elected Member of the Raven Society (UVA's oldest and most prestigious honor society),
- 2019 - 2020 Distinguished Majors Thesis student, &
- 2019 Minerva Award Recipient, $ 3,000
Madeleine F. Mitchell (current position: Medical Assistant at Virginia Women's Center)
- 2017 - 2019 Double Hoo Student, $10,000
- 2015 - 2019 Legacy Scholar
Angelica Bosko (U of Minnesota Twin Cities, 2019 Summer Intern) (current position: Master's Student at University of Chicago)
Nancy Hernandez (2019 Leadership Alliance Program Summer Intern, McNair Scholar)
Kimberly Cancel-Vargas (2019 Leadership Alliance Program Summer Intern)
Daniela Alvarez-Vargas (2018 Summer Intern) (current position: Graduate Student at University of California, Irvine)
Marie Grace Martinez (current position: Graduate Student at University of California, Santa Cruz)
Maura Austin (current position: Graduate Student at University of Virginia)

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA

GUEST LECTURES
- Spring 2020, Panel: Research in Developmental Psychology, Childhood and Adolescence class at Hanover College (Dr. Kate Snyder)
- Spring 2020, Article Discussion: Social and Emotional Development in Infancy, Infant Development (Dr. Tobias Grossmann)
- Spring 2020, Article Discussion: Perception and Cognition in Infancy, Infant Development (Dr. Tobias Grossmann)
- Spring 2020, Investigating Children's Moral Development, College Science Scholars (Dr. Karen Schmidt)
- Fall 2019, Eye-tracking and Pupillometry Methods, Research Methods: Child Development (Jessica Taggart, M.A.)
- Spring 2019, Moral Development, Introduction to Child Psychology (Dr. Amrisha Vaish)
- Fall 2018, Moral Development, Introduction to Child Psychology (Dr. Angeline Lillard)
- Fall 2017, Eyetracking and Pupillometry Methods, Designing and Conducting Research with Children (Jessica Taggart, M.A.)
HEAD TEACHING ASSISTANT
- Spring 2019, Introduction to Social Psychology (Dr. Timothy Wilson)
DISCUSSION TEACHING ASSISTANT
- Spring 2019, Introduction to Social Psychology (Dr. Timothy Wilson)
- Fall 2018, Introduction to Child Psychology (Dr. Angeline Lillard)
- Spring 2018, Introduction to Social Psychology (Dr. Timothy Wilson)
LAB TEACHING ASSISTANT
- Fall 2017, Research Methods and Data Analysis I (Dr. Fred Smyth)
  - Taught statistics and research methods using SPSS.
- Spring 2017, Research Methods and Data Analysis II (Dr. Karen Schmidt)
  - Taught statistics and research methods using R statistical programming.
- Fall 2016, Research Methods and Data Analysis I (Dr. Fred Smyth & Dr. Jamie Morris)
  - Taught statistics and research methods using SPSS.
REVIEW TEACHING ASSISTANT
- Spring 2020, Infant Development (Dr. Tobias Grossmann)
- Spring 2016, Research Methods and Data Analysis II (Dr. Karen Schmidt)
  - Led weekly review sessions
  - Graded approximately 350 midterms.
- Fall 2015, Introduction to Child Psychology (Dr. Angeline Lillard)
  - Led exam review sessions
  - Wrote 60+ multiple choice exam questions per exam (for 4 exams)

OZYEGIN UNIVERSITY

UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANT
- Fall 2013, Introduction to Psychology (Dr. Deniz Tahiroğlu)

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING

2018 - present Tomorrow's Professor Today, Center for Teaching Excellence, University of Virginia

Spring 2020, Completed Tier 1
Ongoing, Tier 2
- Completed a five-week course development program where I designed a curriculum with an emphasis on student motivation and inclusion.
- Completed 3.5 hours of workshops on teaching (excluding the curriculum design workshop)

2018 - 2019, Writing & Presenting Research, Psychology Department, University of Virginia

Fall 2019, Oral Presentations of Research, Dr. Daniel Willingham
Spring 2018, Writing in the Psychological Sciences, Dr. Daniel Willingham

2015 - 2017 Graduate Teaching Training Program, Psychology Department, University of Virginia

Fall 2017, Teaching Psychology Courses, Dr. Daniel Willingham
Fall 2016, Teaching Psychology Discussion Sections, Dr. Daniel Willingham
Fall 2015, Teaching Psychology Review Sections, Dr. Daniel Willingham

WORKSHOPS ATTENDED

Teaching & Mentorship