Kelsey is currently an assistant professor at University of Houston, Clear Lake, teaching three classes per semester in the Psychology Department. Prior to this appointment, Kelsey taught four full classes as a graduate student instructor at University of California, Santa Cruz. They also acted as a teaching assistant for 16 classes.
As a researcher studying human learning, Kelsey always attempts to bring principles of cognitive psychology into her classroom. She is a firm believer in balancing challenge and support as an instructor. They regularly tell her students that making mistakes is a good thing, because if you are not making mistakes, you are probably not challenging yourself. Her favorite part about teaching is watching a student get an Aha! moment with something that had been challenging for them. Kelsey thinks that teaching is a true pleasure and a privilege, and they do not take the responsibility of teaching young adults lightly.

Classes she has taught so far include:

UHCL:

Psychology 4391/5911- Selected Topics in Psychology- College Teaching and Pedagogy (Planned for Spring 2025)

Psychology 4318- Sensation and Perception (1x)

Psychology 4371- Experimental Methods and Statistics in Psychology (1x)

Psychology 4382- Cognitive Psychology (4x)

Psychology 6037- Advanced Experimental Methods and Statistics in Psychology (5x)

Psychology 6832- Advanced Cognitive and Affective Psychology (5x)

UCSC:
Psychology 20- Cognition, Fundamental Theories (instructor, 2x; TA, 1x)

Psychology 100- Research Methods in Psychology (TA, 4x)

Psychology 121- Visual- Spatial Cognition (TA, 2x)

Psychology 122- Science of Learning (TA, 1x)

Psychology 123- Cognitive Neuroscience (TA, 1x)

Psychology 125- Psychology of Language (TA, 3x)

Psychology 129- Learning and Memory (Instructor 2x; TA, 4x)

Psychology 139N- Diversity in Cognitive Psychology (Writing Tutor, 1x)

 

Selected Teaching Evaluations:

“I thoroughly enjoyed dr james personability in the teaching environment and the way she relates her material to her students. I also enjoyed the way she will take time to explain the material to any student that is having difficulty or trouble with it and she goes out of her way to make sure each student feels like they “deserve” to be there and getting an education. Its just a very valuable trait in a professor, shes a wonderful human being with a beautiful heart. I am thankful she has been my teacher this semester.”

“The class was both fun and extremely informative. The teacher created a supportive learning environment and was friendly, understanding and helpful. Overall this was one of my best class experiences since transferring to UHCL. Dr. James was an excellent teacher.”

“I really liked the in class discussions, because even though they took up a lot of class time, they really helped me gain a better understanding and a different perspective on certain topics. I also really liked how well Dr. James explained the concepts, and elaborated on them. I loved the energy of the classroom, and ADORED the in class experiments where we were able to actually see the topics occur in real time, and experience them for ourselves. I loved the understanding of personal circumstances. I adored everything about this class, and will be taking as many of Dr. James’ classes as I am able to in the future”

“I think Kelsey is just a wonderful person who obviously cares a lot about the students and fostering a fruitful learning environment. Kelsey’s positivity and willingness to clarify misunderstandings is very refreshing and doesn’t go unnoticed. Additionally, I appreciate how she tries to connect with her students and lets her personality show. It is simply refreshing to have a TA that is so involved and caring.”

“Kelsey’s vibrancy and positivity through even a computer always made me want to learn from her––she explains things in an understandable way and always made time to go over anything we wanted!”

“Kelsey is really helpful in clarifying the course content. She has a great attitude and has always been supportive of the students. I hope she becomes a professor.”

“Kelsey is such a kind, helpful, and empathetic TA who organizes relevant activities for section and gives detailed feedback on assignments.”

“I loved the guest lecture that Kelsey gave! She’s a talented lecturer, I felt engaged and she was always able to connect her topics to the big picture to keep us hooked the whole time.”

“Kelsey’s enthusiasm made every section incredibly engaging. And she made me feel safe and comfortable to made mistakes and know that they are welcome because I can learn from them. She was so good at explaining things that I had trouble understanding and she really helped me perform better in this class.”

“Kelsey has always been an amazing TA and super supportive. She makes it known that there are no consequences for making errors and learning! She makes the learning environment inclusive and entertaining!”