Stéphane Gaskin

I obtained my bachelor’s and master’s degrees of psychology at Concordia University in Montreal. I obtained my doctorate, also in psychology, at McGill University. I also had postdoctoral positions at both the University of California in San Diego (UCSD) and Concordia. My main area of study was the neurobiology of learning and memory. Most of the findings that resulted from my studies were published in international scientific journals and have been presented at international conferences, such as the one held by the Society for Neuroscience, on a regular basis.

Over the last 15 years, I have taught a variety psychology courses at Dawson College, Concordia University, and more recently, McGill University. The courses I have taught at Dawson include: General Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Child Psychopathology as well as Interaction and Communication. In 2010, I conceived and taught the very first brain and behavior course offered at Dawson.

The courses I taught at Concordia include: Fundamentals of Learning and Behavior, Fundamentals of Behavioral Neuroscience, Neurobiology of Sensation and Perception, Human Neuropsychology, Sensation and Perception as well as Lifespan Development. I am also a regular guest lecturer, speaking on the neurobiology of emotions to police officers and firefighters at Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR).

My teaching style in all the courses I teach is driven by my teaching philosophy, which is that students learn best if intrinsic interest can be fostered in them. That is, that the students become motivated to study psychology for personal growth and enjoyment. I feel that I can contribute to the development of intrinsic motivation by helping them realize how studying psychology is relevant to their everyday lives. To do this I draw from multiple examples relating what is being currently taught to concrete examples that include situations which they have likely experienced. It is not always easy for students to find the relevance of the course material to their own lives. In this case I feel it important to show students how the knowledge they are acquiring in the course can be used to help others. Finally, I believe that fostering intrinsic motivation in students begins by conveying my own intrinsic interest and passion for the field by showing how teaching affected my own life and how it has led to my intrinsic motivation to teach students at large through the publication of my textbook.