Honors program professor Cynthia Taylor has been a member of the University of Rhode Island community for most of her life.
After growing up around South Kingstown with her mother working at URI, then completing her bachelor’s and doctorate in anthropology at URI in 2003, to now teaching here since 2008, Taylor has made herself a notable member of the Rhody community.
“It’s an honor to work in a community that I have such a deep history and connection with,” Taylor said.
In addition to studying at URI, Taylor also attended graduate school at the University of Arizona where she got her master’s degree in biocultural anthropology in 2006.
Taylor originally began by teaching in the anthropology department. Now she is a professor in the honors program where she teaches the Planet Honors course, HPR 124.
“What I love most about this course is that it engages students in creative problem-solving and experiential learning and gets them actively involved in addressing the social and environmental challenges around them,” Taylor said.
In Planet Honors, students have gone about tackling problems and bringing their unique ideas to problems regarding sustainability and social change, according to Taylor.
With this course, Taylor said that she can incorporate all of the insights she has learned over the years.
“Through structured flexibility, I try to create an environment that helps students develop autonomy and ownership over their learning, fosters creative exploration and intellectual risk-taking and reduces unnecessary stress for everyone,” Taylor said.
By incorporating flexibility into her classroom, Taylor can take advantage of unique learning opportunities that come from teaching an honors course that deals with solving problems.
For instance, in one section of her Planet Honors course, Taylor encouraged students to create a product that dealt with one of the problems they discussed in class. This product could have revolved around the topics of food waste, the use of the North Woods that are a part of URI’s campus, and the preservation of Narragansett Bay.
Additionally, Taylor finds flexibility to be important in her classroom because she believes it is important for students to prioritize their mental and physical health.
Having a balance between work and personal life is something Taylor has been working on in her own life recently, she said. To make this goal happen, Taylor has been working on grading and doing prep work in advance during the week so that she can have some time for herself and her family on the weekends.
One piece of advice Taylor would give to students is to try to make deep and long-lasting connections with the people you are around.
By getting to know people, students can introduce themselves and others to new ideas and opportunities, she said. Taylor also mentioned that it is important to make connections because it can improve one’s mental health.
Even connecting with one’s professors during their office hours to get to know them better or asking for help is a great way to make connections at URI, Taylor said.
“Working with students is the most rewarding part of my job,” Taylor said.
Learning about what motivates students, or learning about their goals, hobbies and interests is something that Taylor looks forward to as a professor.
After classes, Taylor can be found talking to students and receiving feedback about assignments or getting recommendations for books, movies and television shows.
Overall, Taylor wants to see her students succeed and get to know them, she said. By incorporating flexibility, kindness and a positive attitude into her classroom, Taylor aims to create a welcoming and safe environment for students to learn and grow.