Teaching and Learning Lab

Zhao's Teaching and Learning Lab

Research Interests

  • Higher ed. teaching and learning
  • Instructor-student relationship
  • Undergraduate research skills development
  • Open education resources (OER)
  • Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) practices

Lab Projects

  • Curating inclusive multi-modal introductory psychology OER content: Interviewing historically underrepresented experts (with OpenStax.org)
  • Involving undergraduate students in lab research: assessing research skill gains in an open pedagogical design
  • Productive failure: increase undergraduate research skills through ill-structured activities
  • What does it look like in therapy?: Using symptommedia.com to enhance clinical teaching and training

Student Projects

  • Gender hiring decisions (Jai Earhart)*
  • How does that make you feel..chatGPT: Utilizing AI as a Therapeutic Tool (Joshua Milliner)*
  • Impact of "big points" on learning outcomes (Jackson Stringham & Gracie Winder)*
  • Let chatGPT do the drawings: using AI generated images to enrich OER curriculum (Joshua Milliner)*
  • Minority Ethnic Centrality, Affirmation, and Attitudes Toward Mental Health Care (Chandler Peterson & Allyson Barraza)*

*Undergraduate student project leaders

Contact

About Dr. Xin Zhao

Dr. Zhao joined Weber State Psychological Sciences Faculty in fall 2022. He earned his bachelor's degree from Virginia Tech, and Ph.D. in Combined Counseling/Clinical/School Psychology from Utah State University. His research interests focus on everything higher ed. teaching related. In his spare time, other than keeping up with his two young children, he likes to follow latest happenings with various sports, and read behavioral economic books.

Interested in joining the lab? Email: Dr. Xin Zhao

Dr. Zhao is looking for dedicated undergraduate students to participate in his lab projects for 2024-2025 academic year. All students regardless of different backgrounds or academic standings are strongly encouraged to apply.

 

Undergraduate Research Assistants

Joshua Milliner (Spring 2025)

Jackson Stringham (Spring 2025)

 

Lab Alumni

Preston Thomas (Summer 2024)

Jai Earhart (Spring 2024)

Megan Millerberg (Spring 2024)

Chandler Peterson (Spring 2024)

Aonika Russell (Fall 2023 91¶ÌÊÓƵ)

Gracie Winder (Fall 2022)

Allyson Barraza (Spring 2022)

 

Lab Pictures

Rocky Mountain Psychological Conference
April 13 & 15, 2023 91¶ÌÊÓƵ
Undergraduate Research Fall Symposium
91¶ÌÊÓƵ | April 10, 2023 91¶ÌÊÓƵ
Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research (UCUR), U of U | February 17, 2023 91¶ÌÊÓƵ

Lab website updated: 10/14/2023 91¶ÌÊÓƵ