Dr Anna Magdalena Taylor joined Bader College as a sessional lecturer in 2009, initially to teach first year undergraduate psychology while completing her DPhil in inter- and intra-specific vocal communication in domestic dogs at the University of Sussex’s Mammal Communication and Cognition Research Lab. Wanting to apply her research to practical use, Anna set up her own behavioural consultancy to work directly with domestic animals (primarily dogs and horses) and their owners while maintaining a strong connection to her former lab at Sussex. At the same time, Anna started the process of redeveloping the Bader College psychology offerings, redesigning the first-year gateway course, Principles of Psychology, to make it more relevant to the needs of modern students and introducing upper year courses to the curriculum.
Realising that she had not only affinity for, but genuine interest in, evolving pedagogy, the development of academic vision, and higher-level educational oversight, Anna accepted a position as Deputy Academic Director in 2014, taking on the Chair of the Bader College Curriculum Committee at the same time. Since then, Anna has committed to professionalising and improving all aspects of Bader College’s academic operations and has been recognised across Queen’s University for her contributions to the enhancement of teaching and learning. In September 2022, Anna took on the role of Director of Academic Quality Assurance and Enhancement and is currently appointed to the academic rank of Reader in Psychology.
Teaching & Experiential Learning
PSYC 100, Principles of Psychology, is one of the most popular courses at Bader College. As a first-year survey course that gives students a very strong foundation in psychology as a discipline, covering the basic areas of psychology including evolutionary foundations of behaviour and learning, perception, cognition, development, social, and abnormal psychology, while also providing knowledge and academic skills that are useful across a range of degree plans. Indeed, because psychology draws heavily on related disciplines such as biology, sociology, anthropology and philosophy, this course provides a valuable introduction to many fields of academic interest, making it useful not only for students who are interested in pursuing further psychological or physiological study in their second year and beyond, but also for those students interested in gaining a general introduction to science and scientific method.
At Bader College, students will experience weekly psychology lectures that follow somewhat traditional formats (albeit with flipped elements in every class), followed by seminars in smaller groups where they learn to engage with complex material in a comfortable and confidence-inspiring setting. Supported by experiential tasks such as the collection and analysis of behavioural data at a nearby zoo and the opportunity to explore public institutions such as the London Natural History Museum through a disciplinary lens, students always leave with a firm understanding of what is expected of them, as scholars and as researchers. And, if they’re lucky, Dr Taylor might bring her dogs to class for some demonstrations of learning, motivation, and developmental themes.
Research
Anna Taylor’s research background is in the co-evolution of communicative abilities in humans and domestic dogs, and she can talk for hours on end about animal cognition, behaviour, and training. Her published research can be seen here: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Anna-Taylor/research
More recently, Anna has become more interested in developing a portfolio of educational scholarship, drawing on her lived experiences of designing transitional curriculum and driving educational vision at Bader College. This interest has fed into research on how specific experiences, including interaction with domestic animals, can be used to drive reflection and learning in first year students.
Supervision
Over the Summer Term, Anna enjoys working with student on PSYC 594 independent study projects. She is able to supervise up to two students each year, with preference given to students wanting to learn about the use of domestic animals to support teaching and learning and topics relating the co-evolution of humans and domestic animals (in particular, the impact on communication and cognition). She is also able to supervise more traditional animal behaviour projects.
Recent Publications
- Star, R., Taylor A., Brent, I. (2023). Learning With Dogs: An Exploration of Student Outcomes from a Canine-Assisted Experiential Learning Intervention. Inquiry@Queen’s: Undergraduate Research, 14(2), 2023.
- Charlton, B. D., Taylor, A. M., Reby, D. (2017). Function and evolution of vibrato-like frequency modulation in mammals. Current Biology, 27, 1-6.
- Taylor, A. M., Charlton, B. D., Reby, D. (2016). Vocal production by terrestrial mammals: Source, filter, and function. In: Vertebrate Sound Production and Acoustic Communication, Springer Handbook of Auditory Research 53 (eds. R. A. Suthers et al.), Springer Science.
- Taylor, A. M., Ratcliffe, V., McComb, K., Reby, D. (2014). Auditory communication in domestic dogs: vocal signalling in the extended social environment of a companion animal. In: The Social Dog (eds. Kaminski, J., Marshall, S.), Elsevier Academic Press.