2021 JoVE Innovation in Instruction Award Winner:
Claudia Jorgensen
Associate Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience Outreach Coordinator, Utah Valley University, Utah

Claudia Jorgensen_professional picture

Claudia Jorgensen is an Associate Professor in Behavioral Science at Utah Valley University (UVU). She received her Associate’s Degree from Oakland Community College, her Psychology and Biology Bachelors of Science from the University of Michigan-Flint, and her Neuroscience Ph.D. from Florida State University (FSU). She joined the faculty at UVU in 2013. Jorgensen received the Dean’s Excellence in Teaching Award (2018) and the Faculty Excellence Award (2020). She was also recognized as an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) in 2018.  

As a teacher of biopsychology—a topic that undergraduate psychology students often find challenging—she aims to use scholarly research to add to the ever-growing body of research on how to improve teaching. To this end, she aims to identify assignment types as well as teaching techniques that foster student interest in the field of biopsychology, enhance meta-cognition, and increase student success. Lastly, in 2020 she co-founded the FUN Exchange—a repository for neuroscience and biopsychology teaching resources and activities that has been endorsed by the Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience (FUN). 

“I am honored and humbled to be recognized with the JoVE Innovation in Instruction Award. I am grateful for teachers like Dr. Nichols and Dr. Jarvinen who saw something in me before I decided on my career path. I am blessed to have amazing mentors like Drs. Mark Light, Zuoxin Wang, Anton Tolman, Jessica Hill, and Kat Brown as well as my colleagues near and far who spark ideas and inspire me to keep improving as a teacher. I want to thank my colleague Dr. James Taylor and my instructional designer Rebecca Lindsay for all their valued input. Lastly, I am thankful for my best friend and husband who always believes in me and supports all my academic endeavors.”

Claudia Jorgensen- Online profile
www.researchgate.net/profile/Claudia-Jorgensen

Social media handle-
LinkedIn: Claudia Jorgensen