Franklin’s classes offer heavy dose of thinking

As a student, one of Robert Franklin’s most challenging classes involved essays of no more than 200 words.

“Most essays required a minimum number of words,” Franklin recalled last week. “The word limit taught me how to be concise. That takes a lot more thinking.”

Thinking — and the study of it — is a passion for Franklin, a Virginia native who earned a doctorate in psychology at age 25.

Now 29, his focus is on sharing that passion.

“I like to help people think, instead of helping them absorb information,” said Franklin, who, in only his second year on the Anderson University faculty, last week received an Excellence in Teaching award from the South Carolina Association of Independent Colleges.

The organization annually selects an instructor from each of the state’s 20 independent colleges. Franklin was nominated for the award by colleagues on the Anderson faculty.

The award includes a professional development grant of $3,000, which Franklin will use to purchase EEG headsets that will enable students to see their brain waves in real time.

While working at a research hospital before coming to Anderson in 2013, Franklin discovered that a one-electrode scan can track brain waves. It operates on the same concept as magnetic resonance Imaging, but at far less expense.

“The first time I tried it on a student, the interest level was obvious. The idea that she could see what was going on “inside my brain” captured her attention in a way no textbook could do,” Franklin said.

Franklin’s classes typically involve far more than the Pavlov studies and the Freud theories. His interests include understanding the neural and mental mechanisms behind complex social behaviors — such as reading the facial expressions of others.

“We look at things like jokes, and analyze what makes them funny. What makes people who are funny more fun to be around? And how facial appearance affects our lives — how it determines who we vote for, who we trust, who we want to spend time with,” Franklin said.

Franklin’s research program involves more than 20 peer-reviewed publications. Subjects like body language get attention on the college campus.

“We do a lot of things that help us learn about relationships,” Franklin said. “Students always want to know how to tell if someone is lying. Usually, none of us are good at lying; in the class, we focus on questions that can help reveal the clues.”

The fact that Franklin is teaching on the college level — barely a decade after finishing high school — is an advantage.

“College students do enjoy the topics I research. I think one advantage of it is that I can relate more easily to technology and how to use technology,” Franklin said. “That’s one reason I wanted to pursue integrating technology like EEG brain wave headsets in the classroom.”

Franklin holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and history from The College of William and Mary; he earned the doctorate at Penn State.

“Teaching on the college level was my goal, so I decided to pursue my Ph.D. right after college,” Franklin said. “I had the goal to get my schooling out of the way before getting in the real world, because I thought that I might never go back to school.”

Franklin teaches a mix of five psychology courses at Anderson University, where wife, Rebecca, teaches geology.

An 11-month-old daughter, Zoe, provides a daily refresher course in child development.

“She’s an utter miracle. Watching her grow, developing every day, is watching a miracle,” Franklin said.

Follow Abe Hardesty on Twitter@abe_hardesty

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