Dr. Meredith McKee started with Walden in 2010 as member of our core faculty and in 2013 become the Academic Program Coordinator. Dr. McKee completed her doctorate in Developmental and Child Psychology at the University of Kansas, and has taught at the university level for nearly 15 years. Her other professional interests include the use of well-established principles of applied behavior analysis in the design of model behavioral programs for elementary and secondary educational settings, as well as in the design of effective, proactive, parenting interventions. At the university-level, her research has included the facilitation of classroom interventions specifically designed to decrease common misconceptions people typically hold about various areas of psychology (particularly the “myths and misconceptions” that surround psychoanalysis and behaviorism). Dr. McKee is also interested in the “Critical Thinking” research as it pertains to adult learning strategies in both academic and employment settings. Dr. McKee has taught various courses in the program but regularly teaches PSYC 3003 Methods in Psychological Inquiry, and is the Psi Chi advisor to Walden’s Undergraduate Chapter. For fun, Dr. McKee enjoys traveling, reading, and is an avid walker who completed two half-marathons last fall.
Advice – Don’t want until the day assignments are due to begin working on assignments! Research indicates that newly learned information is retained better when students distribute their study time across several sessions rather than in one long session, and take hand-written notes. As such, an effective approach at Walden is to start early in the week by first reviewing all of the assignment directions (discussions, applications, etc.) to organize the focus of your study, and then begin reading the assigned Learning Resources. As you read, take hand-written notes (as you would if you were sitting in classroom) that could help you in your preparation of your assignments. The best way to grasp the material is to take notes and summarize the material in your own words rather than provide word-for-word content from the learning resources. If you are unclear what the assignment expectations are, or you need clarification on challenging aspects of the readings, do not hesitate to contact your instructor for help – that is what we are here for! Finally, be sure to give your instructor at least 24 hours to answer your questions and provide feedback, which is another good reason to start working on assignments early in the week.