Being from a family of refugees, I have experienced firsthand and believe in education as a tool for change. I am invested in teaching as a transformative process, through which I can empower and set students on stronger and more successful trajectories. Below, I’ve included an abbreviated version of my Teaching Statement (available upon request). Please also see my CV for my teaching and mentoring history.

Teaching

Two characteristics define my classroom. First, I engage students by creating a safe and dynamic environment. Second, I encourage independent thought through interactive and collaborative learning.

I have completed extensive coursework related to education, and have taught a number of undergraduate and graduate classes as Instructor of Record.

I use a number of tools to enhance my teaching.

I augmented my instruction with online educational platforms, including proprietary learning management systems, Canvas, and Blackboard, to communicate with students and provide resources.
I aim to make education accessible, including using free, rigorously-developed materials when available; this belief is aligned with my commitment to making education as inclusive as possible. Rice’s OpenStax and UMN’s Open Textbook Library offer and maintain repositories of quality open-source texts.

Sample anonymous student evaluation comments

Julie is everything you hope for in an instructor. She was incredibly responsible, helpful, respectful, and engaging. She clearly was passionate about what she was teaching, and regularly would come to class with new information about topics discussed in previous classes. She was incredibly adaptive to the learning styles of our class, and took difficult to understand material and presented it in ways that were both enjoyable and meaningful. Her desire to foster learning is a unique one, and for that reason I would recommend any class she teaches.
Julie is a very kind and reasonable instructor. It was evident how prepared she was to impart her knowledge and experience. She made us as her students feel comfortable with offering our own input in class discussions in addition to making us feel heard and understood. She also held us accountable by making us create personal goals at the beginning of the semester so that we could reflect on our growth throughout the year. I will miss her and the warm class environment she established.
I love Professor Dinh! She created an awesome learning environment and handled the online course better than any other professor I had. This was one of the only classes I thoroughly enjoyed amidst this pandemic.
I thoroughly enjoyed this class. Took a lot of useful information out of it. This was primarily driven by the warmth and understanding of the professor. I am appreciative of her patience with the online format and with the students in the class as they adapted to the course and online requirements.
The instructor clearly cared about her students and their success. Her feedback on assignments helped improve them and her one-on-one meetings ensured we were doing well in the class and over-all. Her passion was evident and her knowledge inspired me, personally.
This is one of the best courses I’ve taken. It was well-structured, incredibly interesting, and a great application of psychology. Everyday was unique and intriguing, with many activities that helped get the material across in a way that always made sense. The class was lecture and discussion based, which made the learning go well beyond just the text, without making the course too difficult. I would recommend this to anyone interested in psychology or business.
The professor was amazing. She was approachable, super helpful during office hours, and she really helped me develop my writing and presentation skills. We could all tell that she really enjoyed teaching this class, and I enjoyed it a lot too.
This class was well organized and highly structured, which was so helpful during this time… so I really liked it!
Favorite class so far.

Mentoring

I’ve received degrees from a community college, public state university, and small private university. Not only have I gained exposure to a diverse array of learner populations across settings, but I’ve also worked closely and intentionally with students therein.

Over the past four years, I have stayed active as an educator through mentoring and coaching pathways. These include mentoring formally and informally in laboratory and graduate settings, coaching students in fellowship programs, speaking on workshops and panels, and developing educational resources.

Today and going forward, I see myself as an advocate for students, both within and outside the classroom.