Dr. Jonathan Gallimore joined the Department of Psychology this fall as a senior lecturer, covering Introduction to Psychology, Basic Statistics, and Issues in Psychology. In just a few short months, he’s already made an impact in the department with his camaraderie and commitment to the success of his students. Our Q&A tackles a bit of what makes Dr. Gallimore stand out.
Hometown: Salt Lake City, Utah
Educational Background: AS in Psychology from Salt Lake Community College (2001); BS in Psychology from University of Utah (2007); MS in Human Development and Social Policy from University of Utah (2009); PhD in Experimental Psychology from Washington State University (2013).
What particular aspect of psychology do you find most exciting?
In my heart, I am a cognitive psychologist – no doubt. I am fascinated by the programming or language of the mind and how people allocate attention, use memory, and execute actions in the world. My PhD training focused on the biological basis of memory, cognitive control/executive functioning, and perception and action. I find it fascinating that people can have different perceptions of the same experience. A topic in psychology that does not receive enough attention is consciousness, but it is such a fundamental part of being human.
Why did you choose to teach at UW–Madison?
I chose UW-Madison because of the focus on teaching and student learning. I am a learner-centered teacher that believes in leading students to knowledge. I am excited to be at a University and in a Department that values innovative, evidence-based teaching techniques. I have never taught a large class of 350 students so I view this next step as a challenge to adapt my active learning techniques to large classes.
What drives your desire to teach? Tell us about your teaching philosophy and style.
I love to teach because I view our students as our future. My goal as an instructor is to help shape our future so that we can all improve and grow as a society. To paraphrase Pitch Perfect 2, I view my time with my students like a toddler in a tiara, short and precious. During class, I am a facilitator that guides students. I think that teaching means that I do more than teach facts but also teach application, synthesis, critical thinking, and even soft skills like group work. I believe that a teacher should walk with their students along their educational journey. I tell my students why we are doing an assignment or activity, or why I have a particular policy. I regularly use technology in class with students and enjoy gamification.
Recently, I have been combining active learning strategies to adapt them to a large class. For example, I combined the muddiest point, 3-2-1, and Popcorn to encourage students to ask questions during class and show students that other students have similar questions. Plus, it was a great way to review the chapter’s material.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
I like to garden and grow indoor houseplants. When I moved to Madison, I had to trim my indoor plant collection from ~200 to 40. I’ve only bought 6 plants since I’ve been here. I hope to get garlic planted soon because it is so easy to grow and delicious. I love to fish and am excited for ice fishing and walleye. It has been at least 8 years since I’ve been on the ice. Something tells me that an ice fishing shelter would keep me from freezing in the wind. I enjoy creating things and have 10 years of manufacturing experience in wood, metal, and plastic. My last manufacturing job was custom fabrication where we built anything our customers wanted from scratch.
If you could share a meal with any individuals, living or dead, who would they be?
There are so many people that I’d want to share a meal with but I would have to include Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell, William James, Plato, Kant, Buddha, Krishna, and Alexander the Great. I would be very interested to hear their views on current events and how their theories and ideas have been confirmed or modified by current findings. What would William James say about attention? What would Carl Jung say about the Big 5 or consciousness research? What would Buddha, Plato, Krishna, or Kant think about our current society and state of the world?
We’re happy to welcome you to the Department of Psychology, Dr. Gallimore!