Abstract
Volume 23, No. 2
Editorial
Nicky Hayes
Academic Papers
Exploring reticence in research methods: The experience of studying psychological research methods in higher education
Barbara E. Kingsley and Julia M. Robertson
Psychology Teaching Review, 23(2), 4–19.
As a fundamental element of any psychology degree, the teaching and learning of research methods is repeatedly brought into sharp focus, and it is often regarded as a real challenge by undergraduate students. The reasons for this are complex, but frequently attributed to an aversion of maths. To gain a more detailed understanding of students’ relationship with psychological research methods, the current study used small, semi-structured focus groups to explore the experience of undergraduate students at the end of their first year of study. Following a detailed thematic analysis of the interview texts, five overarching themes emerged: prior knowledge of research methods; personal engagement with the module; enabling access to learning; supportive learning content; and personal development. Insights gained from the findings are discussed, including possible helpful interventions, but overall the results suggest a more positive outlook than may have been expected.
Keywords
Research methods, learning experience, undergraduate students, psychology
Argument complexity: Teaching undergraduates to make better arguments
Matthew A. Kelly and Robert L. West
Psychology Teaching Review, 23(2), 20–31.
The task of turning undergrads into academics requires teaching them to reason about the world in a more complex way. We present the Argument Complexity Scale, a tool for analysing the complexity of argumentation, based on the Integrative Complexity and Conceptual Complexity Scales from, respectively, political psychology and personality theory. Argument Complexity classifies arguments based on acknowledgement and consideration of conflicting evidence or conflicting frameworks for judging the issue, use of frameworks for evaluating evidence, and use of meta-frameworks for evaluating frameworks. We discuss how the Argument Complexity Scale can be used to teach undergraduate students to reason and write like academics by providing the scaffolding for forming complex argumentation.
Keywords
Argument complexity, dialectic levels, debate, rationalisation, reasoning skills, writing skills, decision making, intellectual development
Effectiveness of LifeRAFT undergraduate helping skills training model
Elizabeth L. Campbell, Kenzie Davidson and Spencer M. Davidson
Psychology Teaching Review, 23(2), 32–41.
LifeRAFT, a helping skills training model for undergraduate paraprofessionals, addresses training needs for applied psychology skills for undergraduate psychology majors. LifeRAFT draws from three empirically supported psychotherapy treatments to introduce counselling theory and encourage helping skill progression. Trainees learn practical helping strategies appropriate for paraprofessional use that are drawn from cognitive, behavioural, and emotion-focused therapies and are taught to work interactively with thoughts, actions, and feelings to promote client exploration and transformation. In a study of LifeRAFT’s training effectiveness, 18 undergraduate students received LifeRAFT training. Training effectiveness was explored pre- and post-training using client, counsellor, and observer rating forms. Results suggest that LifeRAFT is an effective method for training undergraduates in helping skills.
The psychologist’s troubled background: Major related life experiences of psychology and law students
Janina Werz and Vanessa L. Buechner
Psychology Teaching Review, 23(2), 42–50.
This study explores major-related life experiences (MRLE) of psychology and law students to examine the stereotype of the wounded psychology student. Previous studies have shown that psychology students know people with mental disorders and are seeking treatment themselves. However, these studies do not allow drawing conclusions about the direction of these effects or the relationships’ emotional closeness. As a consequence, the present, highly powered (n = 615) study examined whether psychology students and their close social environment experience more MRLE prior to the beginning of their university education than law students and a control group. Results show that especially the very close social environment of psychology students experienced more MRLE than the respective environment of law students, supporting the common assumption that psychologists themselves have a troubled past. This study contributes substantially to a better understanding of students’ personal background and could help improve teaching quality by considering these effects.
Keywords
Life experiences, stereotypes, psychology students, vocational choice, wounded healer
Practice Exchange
Developing the next generation of responsible professionals: Wisdom and ethics trump knowledge and IQ
Robert J. Sternberg
Psychology Teaching Review, 23(2), 51–59.
In this article, I describe the ACCEL (active concerned citizenship and ethical leadership) model for university education. I then apply it to the teaching of psychology. The goal of the model is to develop university students who are active concerned citizens and ethical leaders, where leaders are viewed as people who make a positive, meaningful, and potentially enduring difference to the world at some level. I discuss the role education can play in developing the elements of ACCEL – creative, analytical, practical, and wise thinking – and I give examples from my own classrooms teaching various aspects of psychology and human development.
Enhancing feedback and feed-forward via integrated virtual learning environment based evaluation and support
P. Penn, I. Wells
Psychology Teaching Review, 23(2), 60–65.
Over the last 15 years, the subject of feedback on assessment has come under considerable scrutiny in the literature, with a particular focus on the utility of feedback for subsequent assessment (i.e. feed-forward). Organisations such as the Higher Education Academy (HEA) have synthesised research on this topic into guidance for tutors through the Student Enhanced Learning through Effective Feedback (SENLEF) project (Juwah et al., 2004). However, the provision of advice on good practice in feedback for tutors faces a parallel challenge to the provision of feedback to students: ‘it’s only useful if it’s used’. Creative use of technology has the potential to reconcile the requirements of high value feedback for students with university resource constraints. This paper outlines the use of the Grademark functionality within the Turnitin© software package to create a series of standardised feedback items, informed by principles of good practice advocated by SENLEF, that facilitate the process of feed-forward by web-linked integration into a custom on-line repository of constructively aligned skills based material.
Keywords
Feedback, feed-forward, virtual learning environment (VLE), Turnitin
What are the benefits of teaching as a postgraduate psychology student?
Gareth Richards
Psychology Teaching Review, 23(2), 66–68.
Teaching qualitative research: A successful pilot of an innovative approach
Adam N. Danquah
Psychology Teaching Review, 23(2), 69–79.
This paper describes the development and delivery of an innovative approach to teaching qualitative research methods in psychology. The teaching incorporated a range of ‘active’ pedagogical practices that it shares with other teaching in this area, but was designed in such a way as to follow the arc of a qualitative research project in its entirety over several sessions, whilst episodically dealing with distinct methodological approaches along the way. In line with this design, and the mutuality of the learning, it was called a ‘qualitative learning series’. Following Mason (2002), the paper also considers the challenge of qualitative teaching in the context of academic psychology, and touches upon whether developments in the years since have made for much difference. These strands of the paper come together in how the teaching met these challenges.
An exploratory study into the use of Psychology Participant Panels in psychology departments in the United Kingdom
Nick Perham, Helen Hodgetts, Lalage D. Sanders and Daniel Heggs
Psychology Teaching Review, 23(2), 80–86.
Psychology Participant Pools (PPP) are known to be used within psychology departments in the United Kingdom as a way to promote understanding of psychological research and as a means to aid students and researchers to collect data. However, there is currently no information regarding the different practices undertaken in each department. This article represents a first exploration in this endeavour by asking representatives from these departments to complete a survey. General findings revealed that the number of studies conducted were either under 20 or over 40, Level 4 students had to obtain slightly more credits than Level 5 students, a range of activities were observed for those participants who did not obtain all their credits, and the PPP was more often than not tied to a research methods module. Despite receiving responses from around only a third of departments, the results revealed a wide range of behaviours across the departments. We feel that these are useful for departments who wish to establish, or update, their own PPP, but also recognise that a larger study is required to more accurately capture the use of PPPs in the United Kingdom.
Other Contributions
Making research methods and statistics fun and accessible! Teaching A-level students about validity, reliability and statistics
Victoria Bourne
Psychology Teaching Review, 23(2), 87–88.
Highlights of the BPS workshop at ATP annual conference 2016: Pre-tertiary and higher education research collaboration
Kevin Wilson-Smith
Psychology Teaching Review, 23(2), 89–90.
Symposium on psychological wellbeing of students: A brief summary
Lisa Matthewman
Psychology Teaching Review, 23(2), 91.
Note. The full articles are published in Psychology Teaching Review, Volume 23, No. 2, which can be downloaded from: https://shop.bps.org.uk/publications/publication-by-series/psychology-teaching-review/psychology-teaching-review-vol-23-no-2-2017.html