Meet Psychology Prof Megan Meyer

February 01, 2019

For Megan L. Meyer, PhD, assistant teaching professor of psychology, student learning transcends the classroom with annual Habitat for Humanity trips and a pedagogy focused on “connections over content.”

Megan Meyer, Drexel Psychology professor

Degree: PhD in Experimental Psychology, Temple University
Research interests: Sensation and perception
Hometown: Cinnaminson, New Jersey

What did you do before coming to Drexel?
I taught at Holy Family University for 12 years.

How did you become interested in your area of research?
I loved the areas of physiological psychology and biology; sensation and perception was a great marriage of them both.

What book, movie or song has recently inspired you?
“You are a Badass” by Jen Sincero

When is the last time you did something “for the first time”? What was it?
I made the commute (alone) to/from campus via three trains to Drexel’s new hire orientation.

If you had a year free from all responsibility, what would you do?
Travel, work out (and visit gyms while I travel!), read, volunteer, get my real estate license, renovate/stage houses

How did you decide to become a professor/researcher?
I was inspired to become a professor by an amazing group of female faculty at The College of New Jersey.

What’s one dinner-party-worthy fact you often share about your work?
For the last 12 years, I have taken students on an alternative spring break trip to work with Habitat for Humanity affiliates around the country.

What would students be surprised to learn about you?
That I have given myself a concussion, that I love CrossFit (refer to previous statement regarding concussing myself), that I have never played basketball, and that I have a few tattoos

What was an impactful moment of your own college career?
Changing majors from biology to psychology

What do you wish you had known when you were in college?
It’s okay to make mistakes, AND it’s okay to ask for help.

Which current event/issue do you think students should know more about, and why?
U.S. foreign policy, international events, economics, etc. — to gain a broader understanding of the world outside of our own borders and how/where we fit into it all

What does success mean to you?
Being fulfilled by whatever it is that you do while being able to also pay the bills!

What do you hope to add to the CoAS community?
An enthusiasm and a commitment to helping our students realize their goals

How Megan Meyer, PhD, Makes a Difference in Teaching:

There is much more happening in a classroom than simply the transmission of knowledge. A goal that I set for myself is to focus on “connections over content.” Learning is enhanced when students can connect to material and appreciate how it relates to content from other courses as well as to their own lives. I seek to maintain a supportive learning environment in which I encourage students to test their abilities and to stretch their limits. I try to impart the idea that making mistakes, or even initially failing at mastery, is acceptable as long as something is gained from the experience and that the knowledge is later applied. My teaching philosophy is based on three primary objectives that serve as the foundation for my courses:

Create an engaging and respectful environment
Challenge my students to strive for excellence
Cultivate enthusiasm for learning

My own interest in psychology was the product of a group of enthusiastic and engaging college professors. Through teaching, I wish to inspire a curiosity about the study of psychology that transcends the classroom.