Faculty Spotlight | Dr. Tiquera Hall
“The classroom remains the most radical space of possibility in the academy.” — bell hooks
Whether Dr. Tiquera Hall is guiding freshmen through their first semester, coaching medical students on patient communication, or challenging upperclassmen to think analytically about real-world systems, her goal is the same to educate, promote growth, inspire confidence, and create environments where students feel both supported and challenged. According to Dr. Hall, “When students start to see themselves not just as learners completing assignments, but as developing professionals with agency and purpose, that’s the moment that fuels me. There is something powerful about seeing the shift from uncertainty to clarity, from hesitation to ownership.”
Across every academic context, Dr. Hall’s primary goal is to equip students with transferable habits of mind that extend far beyond the classroom. Her work is centered on three core pillars of development that are intentionally highlighted through her assignment design. In her First-Year Experience Learning Community, Dr. Hall designed a collaborative study lab activity that leads students to apply evidence-based learning strategies like retrieval practice, elaboration, chunking and spacing while simultaneously reflecting on how they best learn information. Each student must explain their learning process and teach their content to their group, formalizing peer teaching and transforming studying into collaborative resource creation. Finally, using Kahoot, which is a quizzing software, as a group recall activity reinforces both accountability and community, moving students from passive recipients to co-creators of learning. Through this activity, she focuses on building self-regulated learning skills, teaching students how to learn, to use evidence-based strategies intentionally, and to recognize that academic success is not accidental, it is structured, reflective, and collaborative strategies.
This shift toward disciplined systems thinking continues in her Human Performance Improvement course, in which students operate as a consulting firm, analyzing client cases, diagnosing performance gaps, and preparing executive-level memos. This structure intentionally slows the impulse to “fix” problems and instead cultivates disciplined inquiry, systems thinking, and professional communication. Simultaneously, Dr. Hall integrates narrative medicine and communication training to address health disparities in her medical education course. Through structured reflection and case-based application, students examine how communication practices can either reinforce or reduce inequities in care, practicing person-centered strategies that build patient trust. Therefore, she ensures students internalize communication that supports equity by practicing person-centered tools and reflecting on power dynamics, bias, and historical mistrust. They learn to view effective communication as a vital tool for reducing health disparities. Ultimately, Dr. Hall wants her students to leave the classroom more confident in their ability to think critically, communicate thoughtfully, and grow intentionally, then the assignment has truly done its work.
Student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, particularly around the collaborative and applied nature of the assignments. Across all of her courses, students consistently describe the assignments as meaningful because they feel applicable, collaborative, and connected to who they are becoming, not just what they are studying. One student shared this thank you note:
"I absolutely loved your first year experience class. I felt it set me up with opportunities and resources to have a successful college experience. I feel I learned a lot about what I need to do to be prepared for what's after college thanks to you. You helped me realize all I can accomplish and I'm extremely grateful for that."
Inspired by bell hooks’ pedagogy, Dr. Hall sees teaching as not just about content delivery, but about cultivating confidence, clarity, and capacity and walking alongside students as they evolve into professionals. She shares, “What drives me is helping students apply what they learn to real situations. I don’t want learning to stay in the classroom, I want it to translate into how they lead meetings, navigate difficult conversations, analyze performance gaps, advocate for patients, or show up in professional spaces. When students begin connecting concepts to their lived experiences, that’s when growth becomes sustainable.”
Fun Facts
Dr. Hall and her family love having game nights. Their favorite game is Taboo. She is currently listening to R&B & Neo-Soul.
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