Professors passion leads to new minor

By Don Cunningham/Tribune correspondent

Creating a minor field of study requires a significant investment of energy.

Connie Taylor, Midland Lutheran College’s energetic 2009 Teacher of the Year, provides the fuel.

Professor Connie Taylor is MLC's 2009 Teacher of the Year.

“Teaching is an exhausting and exhilarating career,” the psychology professor said. “That’s why I love teaching. It keeps me going.”

Taylor joined the college’s psychology staff in 1998 bringing her particular fondness for behavior analysis in her suitcase. In time, she would develop the curriculum to such an extent that a new minor field of study is now available to Midland students.

“We are the only Nebraska college to offer a recognized minor in Applied Behavioral Analysis. Midland is becoming recognized as the regional leader in this aspect of psychology.”

Three graduates have completed their coursework with the Applied Behavioral Analysis minor. Five more are expected to complete the curriculum by spring.

“We have seniors who are engaged in an internship at the (University of Nebraska) Medical Center. Those students are working side-by-side with the major international and national researchers studying autism today,” Taylor said.

Taylor encourages her entry level students to be observers of their environment — to watch closely the behavior patterns of people who stand in lines or gather in churches or work in groups. Human beings reveal who they are through their mannerisms and methods of relating.

“Some will say, ‘Now I get it,’” she laughed. “That’s what makes teaching such a powerful force. When students start to understand the relevance of psychology, they begin to comprehend how it applies to their world.”

Taylor’s favorite class to teach is the department’s introductory class, Psychology of Learning. Like most introductory level courses, the material presented covers the breadth and width of the discipline. Students are encouraged to view psychology as a means to “improve socially important behaviors.”

“Simply put, we try to encourage people to do the right thing more often than the wrong thing,” Taylor explained. “When applied correctly, psychology is relevant to every life.”

Taylor’s Abnormal Psychology class is typically full. However, students expecting to study monsters of the mind are mistaken.

“What we find is that we all have the potential to act in inappropriate manners. The demons are not running lose out there in the mist,” she said. “There are within all of us.”

When middle and high school students nose around during college visits, she shows them “Sniffy,” a virtual Skinner’s box.

“Regulations are very strict concerning the housing of animals, so we have Sniffy to teach students the process of conditioned learning,” Taylor explained. “But it works well. The kids learn the concept working with a virtual rat. The kids love it.”

Taylor hopes the Teacher of the Year honor is an indicator she is making a difference. She was selected to provide opening remarks for the community during the recent visit by CNN mogul Ted Turner.

“I was anxious about that one,” she said, “but it was great to meet Ted Turner.”

Future department plans include expansion of the applied psychology initiative and further modification of existing curriculum to bring Midland in line with the best practices of research in psychology.

Published in the Fremont Tribune on Oct. 6, 2009:
http://www.fremonttribune.com/articles/2009/10/06/news/local/doc4acb65b6dde54966361657.txt