Nina Eduljee

Dr. Nina Eduljee, associate professor of psychology, hails from India but loves Maine. Eduljee also loves being able to get her students to understand complex material and apply it to their everyday lives. "I get particularly thrilled when students who have learned something in one class . use it and make connections in another class." Eduljee even takes preference when it comes to the theorists she teaches. "My favorite theorists are Jean Piaget and Albert Bandura," she says.

When Pavlov's theory of classical conditioning is the topic in her educational psychology class, she brings her dog in to help students see theory in action. In that same course, she has students analyze modern movies such as Dangerous Minds, Good Will Hunting or Dead Poets Society that illustrate psychological principles. She also uses what she terms "toys," including a life-size Bart Simpson given to her by a student in her Theories of Learning class.

Eduljee's past research has examined cross-cultural attitudes towards technology, comparing college students in India with those in the United States. She is currently working with Gail Marchigiano (Department of Nursing) examining predictors of academic success at the college. She is proud of the accomplishments of the psychology department. "We work hard with our students," she says. "Our goal is to prepare students for graduate school, and we have been quite successful with that. Students have been admitted to a number of excellent institutions, including Tufts University, Boston University, Boston College, University of Vermont, and University of Colorado."

Eduljee presented a poster titled "Helping Students Make Connections: Using Constructivist Approaches When Teaching Psychology" at the 12 th Northeast Conference for Teachers of Psychology (NECTOP) at Southern New Hampshire University on October 20, 2006.

She and nursing professor Gail Marchigiano presented "An Empirical Investigation of Gender Differences for First-Year Students" at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association.

American by choice: deciding to become a naturalized citizen took time - a story in the SJC Magazine of Professor Eduljee becoming an American citizen.