Teaching Philosophy
As an instructor, my goal is to empower students to critically engage with the world through scientific evidence while encouraging them to explore the questions, interests, and goals that are meaningful to them. My teaching philosophy is drawn from my research on close relationships and social support processes. One key insight from this research is that people thrive when they feel their relationships are supportive and accepting. When people feel that others are there for them and appreciate them for who they are, it boosts their confidence and motivates them to pursue their goals. In the same way, I strive to cultivate a learning environment where students feel safe, supported, and included, allowing them to reach their full potential.
I center my teaching around two main principles: inclusion—creating a learning environment that is open, supportive, and responsive to students from diverse backgrounds, identities, and experiences—and responsiveness—adapting my approach based on students’ goals, feedback, and evolving needs. In my courses, I strive to achieve three key goals to foster a supportive learning environment: (a) creating opportunities for students to apply the course material to their own lives, (b) providing consistent guidance and support to ensure students feel heard and valued, and (c) actively inviting feedback so I can continuously improve the course and help students thrive.
Below, you’ll find a list of the courses I’ve taught or assisted with, along with some student feedback.
Courses Taught as an Instructor of Record
Research Methods (PSY10A): Summer 2026 (Online), Spring 2026, Summer 2025
Close Relationships (PSY149): Summer 2026, Summer 2025
Courses Taught as a Teaching Assistant
Courses TAed at University of California, Santa Barbara
Introduction to Psychology (PSY1), Winter 2023
Research Methods (PSY10A), Summer 2023
Statistics (PSY10B), Winter 2026, Fall 2022, Summer 2023
Educational Psychology (PSY124), Summer 2024
Laboratory in Social Psychology (PSY150L), Spring 2023
Graduate Statistics (PSY221A), Fall 2025
Courses TAed at Arizona State University
Emotions Science (PSY394), Spring 2022
The Human Event (HON171), Fall 2020
Feedback from Students
"Cora was amazing. Extremely accessible both inside and outside the classroom and never failed to offer her support. Very kind and easy going lecturer that made going to lecture fun and enjoyable. Going into this class, I had absolutely no interest in research; Cora's passion has fueled my own passion for research delving into social psychology. Thank you Cora!"
"She is super fun and makes learning this material simple. She knows what she's talking about and always gave great answers to questions. I liked that she encouraged communication in a larger lecture (think–pair–share & writing on the board). Very engaging."
"Professor Cora was extremely nice and welcoming. Lectures were super organized and clear, grading was clear and professorwas really accessible to reach outside of class. Overall an amazing professor you can tell she has a passion for teaching. Would take her again in the future if I can."
"Cora did a great job at making students feel welcome and delivered information well. She also made grading very fair and easy to understand."
"Professor Baron has been extremely helpful and engaging throughout session A. She genuinely wants you to succeed and I have nothing but good things to say about her coursework and lectures."
*Indicates Graduate Statistics Course Student
"Cora is literally the sweetest TA ever. She was always eager to help us with our questions and if she ever needed to email [the instructor] regarding our questions she did so. She was always so helpful and made sure we understood her explanations. She never minded going over the same question again and always made us feel comfortable enough to ask questions. It is really refreshing to see a TA who cares about her students' success while trying her best to be helpful. Cora is amazing!!!"
"I think Cora was a very lovely TA, she got along good with us and related to us which made for a comfortable lab environment, as well as providing good and helpful feedback when I had questions"
"Cora was a great TA and was always very well–informed on the course content. Her explanations were straight forward and not confusing as someone with limited coding experience. I always felt comfortable coming up to her to ask a question regarding our lab activities or self–guided exercises that we had to do for the class."*
"Cora explains complex concepts in a way that makes them easy to digest. She brings a humor that keeps students engaged in the material while maintaining professionalism. I really enjoyed having Cora as a TA, and I hope to have the opportunity to take a class with her again."*
"This was one of my favorite courses at UCSB, Professor Baron is such a good teacher and was so engaging and entertaining. She made class really enjoyable and funny, and taught things really well and chose really interesting topics. The exams weren't too difficult and the writing assignments were fair, and I like that she had us talk to each other and share our experiences with each other. This was a great class!"
"I really enjoyed the engagement it helped to keep me focused and I think overall how the course is set up, it is easy to orient yourself."
"Overall great class and I had so much fun taking this course. It was one of my favorite courses in my college career."
"The peer interaction and iClicker questions allowed us to use critical thinking in class. AMAZING professor."
"I loved the discussion questions and how comfortable people got sharing in class because of the environment created. Every lecture having studies was also really interesting to see how topics were created into data. Overall, the clicker questions were something that made us come in on the first day not knowing what to expect to coming all closer together."
Sample Syllabus
You can view a sample syllabus for my research methods course here.