Dr. Teddi Deka
Photo courtesy MWSU
Dr. Teddi Deka, Western professor of psychology and honors program is this year’s award winner for the university.
She and other Governor’s Award recipients from Missouri’s public colleges and universities will be honored at a luncheon with Gov. Jay Nixon on April 7 in Jefferson City. She will be accompanied by Dr. Robert Vartabedian, Missouri Western’s president; Dr. Daffron; and Ann Pearce, special assistant to the president.
Deka said what happens in the classroom is important, but it is the experience of mentoring undergraduates in research outside of the classroom that she has found the most rewarding.
“Through the psychology department’s research team class, as well as sponsoring majors’ honor projects, I have had the opportunity to assist and witness the value of applied learning,” Dr. Deka said. “Students really begin to understand the scientific method and data analyses when they are engaged in their own projects and present their research at conferences.”
In addition to undergraduate research, Deka said community service creates applied learning opportunities for students. For example, students in child development classes engage in eight-week mentorship programs through the Healthy Buddy program that pairs the college students with an elementary school student who has behavioral or emotional difficulties.
“Students work one-on-one with children and apply what they are learning in class,” Deka said. “Many students have never worked with children and these opportunities make the course come alive for them.”
Deka has worked with Hosea Elementary, Pickett Elementary, the Noyes Home for Children, Building Bridges and the YWCA to provide mentorship opportunities for child development students. She provides similar programs for adult psychology classes through Kendalwood Hospice, the Alzheimer’s Association and Faith in Action.
She received her bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in psychology from The Ohio State University. She has taught at Missouri Western for 18 years.