MacVicar was recently named the recipient of the Anderson-Darling Family Graduate Teaching Assistant Award, recognizing exceptional teaching ability among graduate teaching assistants.
For Marriage and Family Therapy doctoral candidate Frances MacVicar, teaching isn’t just another responsibility of graduate school; it’s the reason she pursued a Ph.D. in the first place.
MacVicar was recently named the recipient of the Anderson-Darling Family Graduate Teaching Assistant Award. The award recognizes exceptional teaching ability among graduate teaching assistants in the Department of Human Development and Family Science.
After earning her undergraduate degree in biology at FSU and initially planning to pursue a career in medicine, MacVicar spent time working in local nonprofits before returning to Anne’s College to complete her M.S./Ed.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. During that time, while also raising four children, clinical experience at FSU’s Center for Couple and Family Therapy introduced her to a more relational, systems-based approach to care.
“That experience really shifted how I saw the field,” she said. “Looking at individuals within the context of their relationships and environments just felt more aligned with my approach.”
That perspective ultimately led her to pursue a Ph.D. in Marriage and Family Therapy.
“A lot of people pursue a Ph.D. because they want to do research,” she said. “For me, the goal has always been to teach and to help develop clinicians.”
Now entering her fourth year in the doctoral program, she has intentionally focused her time and energy on gaining classroom experience, teaching courses such as Family Relationships, Parenting, Family Life Education, and Public Policy.
She enjoys taking an experiential approach to teaching and learning.
“I try to make the material real for students,” MacVicar said. “It’s one thing to talk about relationships or parenting, and it’s another to experience the complexity of those things.”
In one of MacVicar’s classroom activities, students simulate the dynamics of modern dating by pairing off based on shared values. As the “dating pool” gradually shrinks, students are forced to make real-time decisions about what matters most, often realizing that holding out for perfect alignment of values can leave them with fewer options, emphasizing the need for compromise in romantic relationships. In another, students build LEGO sets while navigating varying levels of support and distraction, illustrating how access to resources can shape parenting experiences.
“The task is the same,” she explained, “but what you’re able to devote to it and how you experience it is different. Someone with fewer resources might feel overwhelmed or stressed, while someone with more support can approach it very differently. I try to show that parenting is impacted by those things.”
These types of experiential exercises are central to how she fosters engagement, particularly among students who may be less accustomed to interacting with one another in a classroom setting.
“I want students to talk to each other in class, to reflect, to really think about how these concepts show up in real life,” she said.
Receiving the Anderson-Darling Family Award is especially meaningful given her focus.
“In academia, there are a lot of awards and opportunities that recognize research,” she said. “There aren’t typically as many awards that recognize teaching in a structured way. So, to have an award that values that work feels unique and important.”
Her teaching also extends beyond the classroom. Through her work at the Center for Couple and Family Therapy, she has gained experience supervising both master’s- and early doctoral-level clinicians. Supervision has further shaped MacVicar’s goals as an educator.
“It feels like completing the circle, to become the supervisor,” she said. “You learn, then you supervise, and eventually, you hope to be the one guiding others through that process.”
Over time, her approach to teaching has continued to evolve. She has become more focused on meeting students where they are, while still helping them grow toward professional standards.
“I’ve learned to focus more on the process and experience of learning,” she said. “It’s about reflecting, understanding your decisions, and applying what you’ve learned.”
Looking ahead, she hopes to continue teaching and mentoring future clinicians while maintaining the same level of purpose in her work.
“Teaching requires intentionality,” she said. “At the end of the day, we’re preparing students to go out into the world in a positive and meaningful way.”
