Jarrod Hines

I love teaching because it offers me the opportunity to convey my passion for the field to students, whether they are already declared majors or minors or are taking an elective course. My teaching interests focus on many aspects of human development and I most often teach courses such as Lifespan Human Development and the Psychology of Adulthood and Aging, which taps into my area of academic specialization. Recent opportunities have also allowed me to discover the joy of teaching research methods in psychology. Although methods is a challenging course, it is wonderful to be able to guide student projects from initial conception to completion at the end of the semester and watch students grow throughout the process.

My research interests relate broadly to developmental psychology and, more specifically, to cognitive aging and metacognition. I study adult age differences in the development and usage of learning strategies, memory confidence, and how these relate to memory performance. It is well-known that memory ability declines with age, so it is in our best interest to understand the context surrounding these changes and determine what means may be available to either lessen the degree of decline (e.g., exercise) or compensate for it (e.g., use effective learning and remembering strategies).

One of the best opportunities I have to engage students is through one-on-one interaction in my adult cognition lab. I involve students in every aspect of the research process in which they find interest, including discussing current literature, designing new studies, collecting and analyzing data, and presenting our findings to a broader audience. These experiences offer the potential of growth beyond that which is afforded by the classroom and can be foundational for those who are considering a graduate program in the social sciences. Students who are interested in this opportunity may email me or drop by my office to chat.