Abstract
European Society for Psychology Learning and Teaching (ESPLAT)
If you have been to the EUROPLAT conference 2017 in Salzburg, then you know that a new society dedicated to the teaching and learning of psychology is about to be founded. The idea behind the European Society for Psychology Learning and Teaching – going by the short name of ESPLAT – is to build a community of people who are actively advancing the learning and teaching of psychology at all educational levels on the basis of scientific evidence. ESPLAT will provide forums to engage researchers and teachers of psychology in scholarly communication and exchange. One of these forums will be biannual conferences, the first of which has taken place in Salzburg and the next will be held in 2019 in Utrecht, Netherlands. A second forum for communication will be the PLAT journal, which will then function as an organ for the society. Moreover, ESPLAT members will get information on recent issues and developments and can reach out to other ESPLAT members via email lists. An ESPLAT-website (www.esplat.org) is work-in-progress as are the bylaws of the new society. As soon as the bylaws have been established, we are ready to make a call for membership. Do not miss to become a founding member of ESPLAT!
If you are interested in the developments around ESPLAT, you can use the contact page on the website to indicate your interest in getting up-dates on the activities of ESPLAT and the upcoming conference.
Farewell to Eva Seifried as Journal Manager and welcome to Cordelia Menz
Eva Seifried has been the Journal Manager of PLAT since 2012. Everyone who has contacted PLAT knows her for her conscientious work and her particularly kind way of corresponding. For me, Eva is also the memory of PLAT. Without her, I would not have known when to write editorials and what to answer when asked about certain submissions or procedures. At the beginning of this year, Eva reminded me that it was time to focus on her research and to step down as Journal Manager. As always, I found that this was a wise decision of Eva’s and I agreed. Thank you, Eva, for everything you have done for the journal! Luckily, I will not have to miss you other than as Journal Manager, because you will still sit next door and be available whenever I am stuck with a question concerning PLAT (or other matters).
Eva has not left PLAT without making an excellent suggestion for her successor. Cordelia Menz, who is a doctoral student at Heidelberg University, will become the new Journal Manager as of the publication of this issue of PLAT. Cordelia is interested in teaching in higher education and in teacher education (http://www.psychologie.uni-heidelberg.de/ae/paeps/personen/menz_en.html). The transition of the journal management will be smooth, because Eva and Cordelia are working together closely, not only on PLAT-related issues but also in their research. Welcome, Cordelia! I am sure that you will be as excellent as Journal Manager as your predecessor.
The Current Issue
The current issue of PLAT contains one review, three research articles and four reports. Moreover, you will find the abstracts of the current issues of Teaching of Psychology.
Our first contribution is a review on learning and embodied cognition by Sullivan. Building on findings that physical actions can shape mental experience, this review describes how teaching methods varying in human activity can lead to different outcomes. In times when everybody seems to think about digitalizing teaching and learning, it is refreshing to see an approach that puts the human instructor into focus and vividly illustrates the importance of human interaction in teaching.
In their research article, Klopp and Stark investigated the effectiveness of worked examples in fostering psychology students’ explanation competence. In an experimental between-group pre- and post-tests design, participants in the experimental condition received the training intervention using worked examples to demonstrate how psychological phenomena are represented in an explanation. Results showed that demonstration of worked example explanations had positive effects on students’ explanation competence.
PeerWise is a free, web-based software that allows students to author, share, answer and provide feedback on multiple-choice quizzes in a collaborative and constructivist fashion. Howe, McKague, Lodge, Blunden and Saw introduced PeerWise in a second-year psychology class and examined exam performance of students who did or did not use PeerWise. Results showed that students who had used PeerWise had better exam performance.
Bostwick and Becker-Blease investigated whether a quick-and-easy to implement growth mindset intervention can produce gains in students’ academic performance. In an experimental design, students received either a growth mindset, a fixed mindset, or a control letter from their instructor. Results showed that participants in the growth mindset condition outperformed their fixed mindset counterparts in terms of exam performance.
Skorinko reports on using riddles to convey insight on gender stereotypes. Across four studies, participants solved riddles with gender stereotype-consistent or gender stereotype-inconsistent solutions. Results showed that students who had solved stereotype-inconsistent riddles performed better on a knowledge test and that participants perceived the demonstration to be an effective tool enhancing their knowledge about gender stereotypes.
In an effort to foster students’ knowledge of the benefits of play, Kingery, Gaskell, Toner, Rice, Gray, Milligan and Milmoe designed an active learning experience for students in a child psychology class by visiting a children’s museum. Compared to students who did not participate in this active learning experience, students who visited the museum demonstrated greater knowledge gains and indicated that the museum experience helped them to better understand the role of play in children’s development and ways in which play behavior varies by age.
Segrist and Meinz report on a book club for undergraduate and graduate students that they have been running for over seven years. The authors describe the book club as providing an informal opportunity for student and faculty to interact and to engage students in critical thinking about psychological issues. Evaluation data suggest that students read and enjoyed the books, and that they had a positive experience in book club.
Julal reports on a workshop providing undergraduate students with hands-on experience by means of infant simulators. The Leiden Infant Sensitivity Simulator Assessment (LISSA) and the RealCare Baby © infant simulator were used to examine attachment theory’s sensitivity hypothesis. Students’ ratings indicated that an infant simulator activity was helpful in understanding the research and encouraged critical thinking. Moreover, the infant simulator activity was as helpful as a multiple-choice question activity for promoting understanding of the research.
Please also pay attention to the abstracts from Teaching of Psychology that you will also find in this issue.
I hope you enjoy reading this issue of PLAT!