Leslie Ann Moore, Ph.D.

Dr. Leslie Moore is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Educational Psychology. She teaches both undergraduate courses in Educational Psychology and graduate courses in the Counselor Education Program and the Counseling Psychology Program. She is a Licensed Psychologist and Licensed Marriage and Family therapist, providing therapy to children, adolescents, adults and children. She teaches and coordinates an introductory psychology course developed for freshman in the Longhorn Scholars Program. The course, EDP 312: Issues and Debates in Life Development, represents a synthesis of her interests across her years of work in education.

Dr. Moore’s journey as an educator originated with volunteer work with an eighth grade student who read at a fourth grade reading level. The student’s rapid progress ignited for curiosity about how to enhance student motivation and learning. After completing a teacher preparation program at The University of North Texas, she taught both honors and remedial reading in middle schools in Dallas and Austin for eight years.

She noted that student success was not solely determined by intelligence, but that many students had advantages of supportive homes and good schools; whereas, other students who were equally capable faced many barriers to their education including factors associated with home, school and society. Her interest in understanding and removing these barriers led to her pursuit of a degree in Counseling Psychology.

Dr. Moore then returned to teaching at the university level to help train school counselors and psychologists to provide services to facilitate the learning and development of students across all ages. Her current area of study is the analysis of counseling theories to determine the most efficient and effective ways to help people reach their life goals. EDP 312: Issues and Debates in Life Development is a course designed to help students use current topics in psychology to ask and answer these same questions about their own personal motivation and learning.

How does EDP 312: Issues and Debates in Life Development address issues of learning and motivation for college freshmen?

This course, originally conceptualized by Dr. Lucia Gilbert, former Vice Provost who had oversight for the Longhorn Scholars Program, is designed to explore current topics and best practices in psychology related young adult development to support students in their transition from high school to college. The course has transformed over the years based on student input, observations of the advising team in the Longhorn Scholars Program and the instructors’ observations.

The text for EDP 312, written by the course instructors, is edited annually to facilitate the experiences of students at The University of Texas. Topics covered in the course include learning and motivation, personality development and interpersonal relationships, and stress, coping, and learning in a multicultural world.

Dr. Moore, who teaches some sections of the course and oversees sections taught by Assistant Instructors, coordinates the course. Assistant Instructors for Fall 2008 include Peggy Whilde, Marianne Stout, Jessica Hernandez, Kimberly Tran, Vanessa Scaring and Martin Becker – all graduate students in the Counseling Psychology Program.

Comments of Longhorn Scholars Students on their experiences in EDP 312

“I think this class should be available to everyone. It really would help many students in making their college experience one to remember.”

“The topics that we talked about outside of class were sex, racism, and gender. The class made it a safe environment, which allowed for discussions of controversial subjects. I even found myself discussing these ideas with friends and family, debating issues with them. With those topics, I found myself eager to get back to class because I thought I had more to say and wanted to see what others had said.”

“This class really made me open my eyes. I am in a diverse University and people are different. It has helped me better understand the other cultures found here.”