About My Teaching...

I have a strong passion for the instruction of quantitative methods, and my teaching philosophy is simple: I believe in a mastery approach to learning. Further, I recognize that students are often equation-phobic or otherwise intimidated by advanced methods courses, and so my teaching materials and practices are designed to help all students gain knowledge of and confidence with these methods. As a result, my methods are strongly focused on helping students grasp the “big picture” of what statistical models are designed to do and how to use them responsibly. I have found that greater understanding of the technical aspects comes much more easily if students can keep this big picture in mind when reading statistical texts and working through exercises. I believe that even the most complex models can be explained in a simple and succinct language understandable to a broad audience. Yet making the material accessible should never be confused with “dumbing down” the material – the exemplary quality of the work my students do refutes this claim. To facilitate student learning, in addition to textbooks and readings, I provide a comprehensive, unique set of course materials – approximately 150-250 pages of lectures notes and annotated examples each semester (freely available online). More importantly, my course materials come directly from my own experiences in researching these models and in applying them to real data, which allows me to go in-depth into some of the thornier issues that can be glossed over in textbooks. Further, in building my materials, the process of finding new and better ways of explaining model concepts continues to help solidify my own knowledge base.

Follow the links below for lecture materials and video recordings of my most recent classes. I hope they are useful!


Most Recent Courses at the University of Iowa:

PSQF 6249 Spring 2024 (next offered Spring 2026?):
Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Models

PSQF 6270 Spring 2024 (next offered Spring 2025):
Generalized Linear Models

PSQF 6272 Fall 2023 (next offered in Fall 2025):
Clustered Multilevel Models

PSQF 7375 Spring 2023 (next offered Spring 2025?):
Advanced Longitudinal Models

PSQF 6271 Fall 2022 (next offered Fall 2024):
Longitudinal Multilevel Models

PSQF 6243 Spring 2022 (next offered by me Fall 2024):
Intermediate Statistical Methods (Introduction to General Linear Models)

PSQF 6242 Spring 2021 (not planned to be offered again; now offered as PSQF 6243):
Selected Applications of Statistics (Introduction to General Linear Models)


Most Recent Courses at the University of Kansas:

CLDP (formerly CLP) 948 Fall 2018 (cross-listed with EPSY 906):
Latent Trait Measurement and Structural Equation Models

CLDP (formerly CLP) 945 Spring 2018:
Advanced Multilevel Models

CLDP (formerly CLP) 944 Fall 2017:
Multilevel Models for Longitudinal and Repeated Measures Data

SPLH 861 Fall 2014:
Applied Quantitative Methods


Most Recent Courses at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln:

Summer Workshop 2014:
Introduction to Multilevel Models for Longitudinal and Repeated Measures Data

PYSC 930 Summer 2013:
Make Friends with SAS

PSYC 930 Summer 2013:
Generalized Models

PSYC 943 Fall 2012:
Fundamentals of Multivariate Modeling (with Jonathan Templin)

Psychology 944 Spring 2013:
Multilevel Models for Longitudinal and Repeated Measures Data

Psychology 945 Spring 2014:
Advanced Multilevel Models

Psychology 948 Spring 2014:
Latent Trait Measurement and Structural Equation Models