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About Sarah Grison

Sarah has a Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience and thinks of herself as a teacher-scholar. She is a Professor of Psychology at Parkland College where she has also taught First Year Experience courses to undergraduates. Sarah conducts action research in her classroom to help improve students' abilities to pay attention, remember, and learn material, as well as improve their study skills. Sarah is the advisor of two psychology clubs at Parkland, the Psychology Club and the Parkland chapter of Psi Beta, which is the national honor society in psychology for community college students. Sarah is a Champion for the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, where she provides workshops and discussion groups about the skills students need to succeed in college and where she also helps teachers develop evidence-based teaching skills. Sarah puts psychology into practice when writing introductory psychology textbooks, creating evidence-based instructors’ resources, writing articles and book chapters about the cognitive science of teaching and learning, and giving presentations on this topic at national conferences and colleges. She is a member of the American Psychological Association (Divisions 3 and 15); the Society for the Teaching of Psychology; the Association for Psychological Science; the International Mind, Brain, and Education Society; the American Educational Research Association; the American Association of Community Colleges; and the Illinois Community College Faculty Association. Sarah and her husband are parents to four teenagers (plus three cats and a dog), so they use psychology in their lives every day. 

Positions

2024 - Present Faculty Champion for Student Success, Parkland College Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
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2022 - Present Professor of Psychology, Parkland College Arts, Media, & Social Sciences
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2013 - 2022 Associate Professor of Psychology, Parkland College Social Sciences and Human Services
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2016 - 2018 Coordinator for Faculty Engagement, Parkland College Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
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2011 - 2013 Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ‐ Department of Educational Psychology
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2006 - 2011 Assistant/Associate/Director for Introductory Psychology & Lecturer, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ‐ Psychology Department
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2002 - 2006 Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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Curriculum Vitae


Disciplines



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Professional Service and Affiliations

2017 - Present Member, American Association of Community Colleges
2017 - Present Affiliate, American Psychological Association Community College Teacher Affiliate (PT@CC)
2013 - Present Member, American Psychological Association, Division 3 (Cognitive Science) and 15 (Educational Psychology)
2013 - Present Member, Illinois Community College Faculty Association
2013 - Present Member, International Mind, Brain, and Education Society
2010 - Present Member, American Educational Research Association
2010 - Present Member, Society for Teaching of Psychology
2001 - Present Member, Association for Psychological Science
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Honors and Awards

  • Parkland College Teaching Excellence Award 2024
  • NISOD Excellence Award 2024
  • Parkland College Advisor of the Year, 2023
  • List of Excellent Teachers (15 times, various courses), University of Illinois, 2006-2012
  • Award for Teaching & Public Understanding of Psychology, Association for Psychological Science, 2010
  • Provost’s Initiative for Teaching Advancement, University of Illinois, 2010
  • Using Cognitive Science to Improve Learning in Introductory Psychology Students, Teaching Advancement Award, University of Illinois, 2009
  • Event-Related Brain Potential Evidence for Representational Locus of Inhibition in Negative Priming, American Psychological Association David Pilon Award, 1998
  • Using Event-Related Brain Potentials to Investigate Inhibitory Processes, Research Commendation, University of Utah, 1996

Education

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2002 Ph.D., University of Wales, Bangor ‐ Cognitive Neuroscience
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1993 B.A., Carnegie Mellon University
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Contact Information

Parkland College
2400 West Bradley Avenue
Champaign, Illinois 61821
217-353-2047

Email:


Books (9)

Presentations (21)