Abstract
Volume 45, No. 4
Society for the Teaching of Psychology
2018 Teaching Excellence Award Winners
Krisztina V. Jakobsen
No Abstract
Topical Articles
Ramp It Up: A Call for More Research in Introductory Psychology
Regan A. R. Gurung and Jana Hackathorn
Teaching of Psychology, 45(4), 302–311.
The introductory psychology (Intro Psych) course is the bedrock of the psychology major and the front face of our discipline. The class not only provides a foundation for students in the major but also provides a comprehensive portrait of the discipline for nonmajors. Despite a sizable body of research focused on pedagogy related to the introductory class, there are many questions that remain unanswered. We provide a comprehensive review of scholarship related to the Intro Psych course and discuss current practices and concerns related to textbook options, as well as teaching methods, course design, assignments to help students learn, and students’ learning outcomes. Finally, we provide five major suggestions for future work. We charge researchers to identify major bottlenecks to learning, design multisite studies, measure moderators of learning, assess long-term retention, and design/assess different models of teaching Intro Psych.
Keywords
introductory psychology, undergraduate education, pedagogy, SoTL
Replicating a National Survey on Statistical Training in Undergraduate Psychology Programs: Are There ‘‘New Statistics’’ in the New Millennium?
James Friedrich, Julia Childress and David Cheng
Teaching of Psychology, 45(4), 312–323.
This study describes a close replication of Friedrich, Buday, and Kerr’s late 1990s survey of statistics instruction in undergraduate psychology programs. Disciplinary reform efforts at that time such as the report of the APA Task Force on Statistical Inference, together with recent progress in the new statistics movement, raise important questions about whether undergraduate instruction has kept pace. Other than increases in effect size coverage, instructors’ estimates of class time devoted to critical reform topics have changed relatively little over nearly two decades, with significant attention often reserved for a rarely offered second-level, advanced class. We consider the importance of addressing the statistics curriculum in ways that meet the reading access, critical thinking, and research skill needs of current majors.
Keywords
statistics, meta-analysis, effect sizes, confidence intervals, new statistics
Watching Screencasts Help Students Learn APA Format Better Than Reading the Manual
Marianne Fallon, Mary A. Mahon and Melaney Coyle
Teaching of Psychology, 45(4), 324–332.
Improving students’ knowledge and application of American Psychological Association (APA) formatting rules typically involves spending class time reviewing or practicing these rules. Screencasts (narrated lectures with real-time screen capture) can reduce the time professors devote to teaching APA format. In addition to imparting rules, screencasts illustrate how to implement rules in a digital environment. Across two experiments, we examined whether screencasts effectively taught students how to generally set up a paper and a title page in APA format. Compared to students who accessed the APA Manual, students who viewed screencasts demonstrated significantly greater gains in knowledge and corrected more errors in a digital environment. When technological demands were higher, students found the screencasts more informative, interesting, and useful than the APA Manual.
Keywords
APA format, screencast, APA manual
Insidious Assumptions: How Pluralistic Ignorance of Studying Behavior Relates to Exam Performance
Steven G. Buzinski, Jenna Clark, Matthew Cohen, Benjamin Buck and Scott P. Roberts
Teaching of Psychology, 45(4), 333–339.
Pluralistic ignorance occurs when individuals misperceive a group norm and attempt to match the perceived—rather than actual—norm. Little is currently known about its role in the undergraduate classroom. The present research examined the pluralistic ignorance of studying behavior and its relationship with examination performance across four studies. Results suggested that students underestimate the amount of time their peers spend studying (Study 1), the extent of their estimation error is related to exam performance (Study 2), and that the relationship is mediated by a perceived lack of preparation (Study 3). Finally, a brief classroom intervention (Study 4) may be able to eliminate the pluralistic ignorance. Implications for the theory of pluralistic ignorance, and college teaching, are discussed.
Keywords
teaching, studying, examination, pluralistic ignorance
Faculty Forum
Integrated Learning Systems: Is There a Learning Benefit?
Jeffrey S. Nevid and Alexander J. Gordon
Teaching of Psychology, 45(4), 340–345.
The present study hypothesized that requiring use of an integrated learning system (ILS) would yield a learning benefit in a classroom situation. Two sections of an introductory psychology course taught by the same instructor and using the same text and exams differed with respect to whether online quizzing and concept mastery exercises in an ILS were required or optional. Students in the ILS-required section received substantial course credit for achieving a criterion of 100% correct on each online quiz, with unlimited retakes, and mastery of 25 key concepts per chapter. Results showed better exam performance for the ILS-required class across items keyed to different levels in Bloom’s taxonomy. Students in the ILS-optional class failed to use these online resources consistently, suggesting that graded incentives may be needed to justify their use in classroom situations.
Keywords
online resources, introductory psychology, online quizzing, testing effect, textbook technology supplement
The Presentation of Ethics in Undergraduate Psychology Syllabi: A Review
Di You, Ana Ruiz and Judith Warchal
Teaching of Psychology, 45(4), 346–350.
To identify where ethics is presented to undergraduate psychology students, this study reviewed a national sample of 706 syllabi for required mandatory psychology courses. The results indicated that 6 syllabi were designated as ethics courses and 65 syllabi did not mention ethics at all. Even though 641 syllabi mentioned ethics, the most frequent listing was under course policies, usually as a standard statement (e.g., academic honesty and plagiarism) required by many institutions. Our recommendation is that ethics should be intentionally included in the learning goals/objectives/outcomes with a corresponding assessment (assignments) in all syllabi in addition to policy statements.
Keywords
ethics, syllabi, plagiarism, learning objectives
Reducing Mental Illness Stigma in the Classroom: An Expanded Methodology
Carla G. Strassle
Teaching of Psychology, 45(4), 351–357.
Psychology courses present unique opportunities to reduce mental illness stigma. The literature highlights contact with people diagnosed with disorders as the best stigma reduction technique. Simple stigma education, however, is also promising and can be accomplished as part of course content coverage. Abnormal psychology students participated in one of five conditions to gauge the impact of different stigma reduction techniques. Results for overall stigma reduction indicate robust effect sizes (Cohen’s d; range = 0.77–1.52) for all interventions conditions, but no effect for the control condition. The current study supports the use of stigma reduction techniques but highlights the usefulness of stigma education as a simple but powerful tool for stigma reduction within standard course curricula.
Keywords
stigma, mental illness, contact, education, abnormal psychology, teaching, college, and university
Using Facebook Pages to Connect With Students, Faculty, Alumni, and Friends: An Empirical Analysis
Michael J. Zickar, Tom H. Ron and Christopher Arnold
Teaching of Psychology, 45(4), 358–362.
Facebook pages have been promoted as a cost-effective way of communicating with department alumni, students, faculty, and friends. We analyzed Facebook engagement metrics across a 2-year span for the page for one department of psychology. In addition, we surveyed followers of the page to determine whether different constituency groups appreciated different types of Facebook posts. In general, posts related to current faculty accomplishments were most engaging as judged by Facebook metrics and self-report survey data. The survey data also showed that different constituencies enjoyed posts related to their particular group. These results demonstrate that a department Facebook page can be an effective tool for reaching a wide range of constituent groups. We also discuss some tips for generating and managing a department page as well as challenges.
Keywords
social media, alumni outreach, student outreach, Facebook
The Generalist’s Corner
Conflicts and Consistencies in Creativity Research and Teaching
Mareike B. Wieth and Andrea P. Francis
Teaching of Psychology, 45(4), 363–370.
The interdisciplinary topic of creativity is both fascinating and controversial. In this review, we begin by highlighting the many ways that researchers conceptualize and define creativity, focusing in particular on the difference between everyday creativity and creativity associated with exceptional breakthroughs in thinking. In addition, we discuss the role of divergent and convergent creativity and the role that domain knowledge plays in creativity. Furthermore, we highlight how specific factors such as individual differences and time of day influence creativity. We conclude by discussing the impact of current educational practices on creativity in psychology classrooms.
Keywords
creativity, individual differences, education