{"65881":{"#nid":"65881","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Professor Has \u2018Head Start\u2019 at Reaching Students","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen it comes to engaging students in the classroom, Wendy Rogers is thankful that she has a head start because of the subject she\u2019s teaching. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cPsychology is the science of human behavior \u2014 so most students start off interested,\u201d said Rogers, a professor in the School of Psychology.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOther strategies she employs include linking research studies to real-world examples students can relate to and providing context for the research by covering who the researchers were, who funded it and why it is important. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAnd I encourage the students to voice their own views and learn to be critical consumers of research results,\u201d Rogers added. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERecently, The Whistle sat down with Rogers to learn more about her and her time at Tech. Here\u2019s what we learned:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow long have you been teaching, and how did you get to Tech?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EI received my Ph.D. in experimental psychology from Tech in 1991 and then worked in faculty positions at the University of Memphis and the University of Georgia. When the position here opened, I jumped at the chance to return. The opportunity to join the Tech faculty was exciting. Plus, it allowed my husband, Dan Fisk, who is also a member of the faculty, to live in Atlanta \u2014 not halfway between Atlanta and Athens.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETell us about your area of research. \u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EMy early research concerned understanding how well older adults could acquire new skills and the conditions that best facilitated such learning. But then I began to address questions involving older adults\u2019 interactions with technology. For example, I\u2019ve assessed user challenges for a range of technologies including automatic teller machines, blood glucose meters, computers and personal robots. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is the greatest challenge you face associated with teaching, and how have you dealt with it?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EUnderstanding the individual needs, capabilities and motivations of students and helping them succeed is a challenge. For example, at the undergraduate level, I try to use everything from multiple-choice tests to oral presentations to assess performance, since certain evaluations work better for some than for others. \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat piece of technology could you not live without as an instructor?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EPowerPoint really changed the nature of\u0026nbsp;lecturing in large classrooms. It makes it\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003Eeasier to provide content in an interesting, engaging way, and it helps to keep the students\u2019 attention focused on the learning goals of each lecture.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat are three things everyone should do while working at Tech?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEnjoy the beauty and character of the campus. For example, I like to sit in the garden behind Skiles under the Mickey Mouse clock. Attend a football game or other sporting event on campus. Take in an event at the Ferst Center, since it\u2019s an intimate venue where you can see world-class performances. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere is the best place to grab lunch (on or off campus), and what do you order?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI like Ferst Place. The food is always good, the staff is pleasant and the environment is nice for hosting off-campus guests. I usually eat a little bit of everything on the buffet.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETell us something unusual about yourself.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI am the youngest of six children, with only nine years separating the oldest to the youngest. We lived with our parents in a small three-bedroom \u2014 one-bathroom \u2014 house and still are very close today. I also climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in 2007 with my husband and friends to raise money and awareness for the 22Q13 Deletion Syndrome, which a friend of my son\u2019s has.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIf you weren\u2019t in your current line of work, what would you be doing?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI think I\u2019d be a good copyeditor. I can\u2019t help but notice grammatical and typographical errors \u2014 to the dismay of my students.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen it comes to engaging students in the classroom, Wendy Rogers is thankful that she has a head start because of the subject she\u2019s teaching.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"When it comes to engaging students in the classroom, Wendy Rogers is thankful that she has a head start because of the subject she\u2019s teaching."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2011-04-29 16:22:03","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:08:38","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-05-02T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-05-02T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"65883":{"id":"65883","type":"image","title":"Wendy Rogers","body":null,"created":"1449176884","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:08:04","changed":"1475894585","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:05","alt":"Wendy Rogers","file":{"fid":"193269","name":"WendyRogers.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/WendyRogers_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/WendyRogers_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2906865,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/WendyRogers_0.jpg?itok=FmxhR-J3"}}},"media_ids":["65883"],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1506","name":"faculty"},{"id":"167710","name":"School of Psychology"},{"id":"13001","name":"Wendy Rogers"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications \u0026amp; Marketing\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-4142\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}