Abstracts of recent articles published in Teaching of Psychology

Volume 46, No. 1

Acknowledgment

No Abstract

Presidential Greeting

Richard L. Miller

Teaching of Psychology, 46(1), 5–5.

No Abstract

Topical Articles

Project Syllabus: An Exploratory Study of Learner-Centered Syllabi

Aaron S. Richmond, Robin K. Morgan, Jeanne M. Slattery, Nathanael G. Mitchell and Anna Grace Cooper

Teaching of Psychology, 46(1), 6–15.

Recent research suggests that designing a syllabus using learner-centered principles may increase students’ perceptions of their instructor on the characteristics of rapport, caring, helpfulness, willingness to seek help from the instructor, and student motivation. Typically, a learner-centered syllabus is one that presents a positive tone at the point of a student’s first contact with a course and describes collaborative opportunities, repeated opportunities for formative assessment, and a sense of ownership of the learning experience. In the present study, we assessed the learner-centeredness of 109 syllabi sampled from Project Syllabus. Analyses revealed these syllabi to be disproportionately learner-centered on almost all of the factors assessed. In addition, there were moderate to strong associations among learner-centered factors, syllabus length, and use of images in syllabi. Finally, results indicate that syllabi from Project Syllabus have become increasingly more learner-centered over a 19-year period. Implications for a model of learner-centeredness are discussed, including how learner-centered syllabi impact a student’s perceptions of teacher effectiveness and strategies for assessing learner-centeredness.

Keywords

learner-centered, syllabus design, scholarship of teaching and learning, syllabus assessment

Format of Instructor Feedback on Student Writing Assignments Affects Feedback Quality and Student Performance

William F. Johnson, Mark A. Stellmack and Abigail L. Barthel

Teaching of Psychology, 46(1), 16–21.

Electronic feedback given via word-processing software (e.g., track changes in Microsoft Word) allows for a simple way to provide feedback to students during the drafting process. Research has mostly focused on student attitudes toward electronic feedback, with little investigation of how feedback format might affect the quality of instructor comments. In this study, we experimentally manipulated the feedback format, either electronic or handwritten, used by instructors grading papers in an introductory research methods course. Among the effects observed, instructors using electronic feedback provided longer comments, were less likely to rewrite student passages, and were more likely to offer general observations about the writing. Students whose papers were graded using electronic feedback also showed greater improvement on subsequent drafts.

Keywords

Educational technology, writing instruction, writing revision, grading, feedback

Professor–Student Rapport and Perceived Autonomy Support as Predictors of Course and Student Outcomes

MelikŞah Demir, Shelby Burton and Nora Dunbar

Teaching of Psychology, 46(1), 22–33.

Two robust predictors of student success, rapport, and autonomy support were assessed to determine which had a greater impact on course and student outcomes. Survey responses from undergraduate psychology students (n = 412) were collected. Together, rapport and autonomy support explained substantial variance in professor effectiveness (R² = .72), perception of the course (R² = .49), and perceived amount learned (R² = .27). However, rapport accounted for more unique variance than autonomy support. To a lesser degree, these predictors explained variability in expected (R² = .07) and actual (R² = .04) final grade, and absences (R² = .04). Autonomy support was the only significant predictor of grades. Providing professional development opportunities to professors to enhance rapport and autonomy support may improve student success.

Keywords

professor–student rapport, autonomy support, course outcomes, student learning, actual grades

Factors That Motivate and Challenge Psychology Majors’ Pursuit of Academic Good Work

Mary Katherine Duncan and Jennifer Adrienne Johnson

Teaching of Psychology, 46(1), 34–46.

Gardner, Csikszentmihalyi, and Damon defined good work as excellent, ethical, and engaged. In two studies, we explored factors that motivate and challenge undergraduate psychology majors’ pursuit of academic good work (N = 100; M_age = 21.7; mostly female, Caucasian, and seniors). We found that excellent academic work was motivated by short- and long-term goals but challenged by personal habits, demanding/uninteresting coursework, and competing obligations. Ethical academic work was motivated by short-term goals and internal principles but challenged by not knowing the rules, willingness to cut corners, and negative peer influences. Engaged academic work was motivated by short-term goals, dedicated faculty, and thought-provoking courses but challenged by demanding/uninteresting coursework. We discuss how our findings align with American Psychological Association’s guidelines for the undergraduate psychology major and suggest high-impact practices and discipline-specific resources aimed at cultivating good workers.

Keywords

good work, excellence, ethics, engagement, undergraduate, psychology, motivators, challenges, American Psychological Association

The Impact of a Technology Ban on Students’ Perceptions and Performance in Introduction to Psychology

Thomas G. Hutcheon, Aileen Lian and Anna Richard

Teaching of Psychology, 46(1), 47–54.

To test the impact of the implementation of technology bans on students’ experience within a course, we collected data from four sections of Introduction to Psychology at a small liberal arts college in the northeast. In two sections, students were banned from using personal technology devices during lectures. In the other two sections, students were permitted to use personal technology devices freely during lectures. We found a significant reduction in student engagement but not in reported interest in psychology or perceived professor–student rapport for students in the technology-ban condition relative to students in the technology-permitted condition. In contrast to previous studies, we found no difference in final grade performance across conditions. Although further research is needed, these results suggest that instructors should consider the composition of students in their course prior to implementing a technology ban in the classroom.

Keywords

technology use in the classroom, student engagement, student learning, college and university teaching

Faculty Forum

The Eight Hour Sleep Challenge During Final Exams Week

Michael K. Scullin

Teaching of Psychology, 46(1), 55–63.

Many students and educators know that sleep is important to learning, yet there exists a gap between their knowledge and behavior. For example, fewer than 10% of students sleep 8 hr before final exams. In the context of two undergraduate courses on sleep (N = 34), students could earn extra credit if they averaged ≥8.0 hr of sleep during final exams week. Sleep/wake patterns were monitored objectively using actigraphy. The 24 students who opted in to the challenge averaged 8.5 hr of sleep (n = 17 succeeded). Short sleep (≤6.9 hr) occurred on only 11% of nights, significantly less than early-semester baseline (51%) and comparison group (65%) data. On the final exam, students who slept ≥8.0 hr performed better than students who opted out or slept ≤7.9 hr, even after controlling for prefinal grades. The 8-hr sleep challenge provides proof of principle that many students can maintain optimal sleep while studying, without sacrificing test performance.

Keywords

sleep education, final examinations, examination stress, incentive, motivation, actigraphy, intention–behavior gap, behavior change, implementation gap

Science, Story, and Structure: Framing the Conversation for Psychology Faculty and Librarian Information Literacy Collaboration

Loretta L. C. Brady and Melinda Malik

Teaching of Psychology, 46(1), 64–71.

This case study illuminates the effectiveness of collaboration between a librarian and psychology faculty as they use the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education and the Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major to improve an assignment and frame their conversation on scaffolding students’ information literacy skill development. Faculty and librarian collaboration is critical to supporting student learning. Disciplinary standards may be effective tools for librarians and faculty to frame their collaboration, using a shared vocabulary to engage in meaningful conversation about the planning and implementation of course assignments in order to facilitate student learning. Through examination of an undergraduate psychology writing assignment, a librarian and psychology faculty critically examine various paths to information literacy.

Keywords

information literacy, psychology, standards, framework, conversation, collaboration

Alpha Is Not the False Alarm Rate: An Activity to Dispel a Common Statistical Misconception

W. Burt Thompson

Teaching of Psychology, 46(1), 72–79.

When a psychologist announces a new research finding, it is often based on a rejected null hypothesis. However, if that hypothesis is true, the claim is a false alarm. Many students mistakenly believe that the probability of committing a false alarm equals alpha, the criterion for statistical significance, which is typically set at 5%. Instructors should take specific steps to dispel this belief because it leads students to misinterpret statistical test results and it reinforces the more general misconception that results can be interpreted in isolation, without reference to theory or prior research. In the present study, students worked with a web app that shows how the false alarm rate is a function of the prior probability of an effect, statistical power, and alpha. Quiz scores suggest the activity helps correct the misconception, which can improve how students conduct and interpret research.

Keywords

teaching activity, statistical misconception, alpha, false alarm rate

A Classroom Activity for Teaching Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development

Cheryl L. Carmichael, Anna M. Schwartz, Maureen A. Coyle and Matthew H. Goldberg

Teaching of Psychology, 46(1), 80–86.

In two studies, we demonstrate an engaging classroom activity that facilitates student learning about Kohlberg’s theory of moral development by using digital resources to foster active, experiential learning. In addition to hearing a standard lecture about moral development, students watched a video of a morally provocative incident, then worked in small groups to classify user comments posted in response to the video according to Kohlberg’s six stages. Students in both studies found the activity enjoyable and useful. Moreover, students’ scores on a moral development quiz improved after completing the activity (Study 1), and students who completed the activity in addition to receiving a lecture performed better on the quiz than students who received the lecture alone (Study 2).

Keywords

moral development, Kohlberg, experiential learning, multimedia, critical thinking

The Shape Activity: Social Constructivism in the Psychology Classroom

Nancy Flanagan Knapp

Teaching of Psychology, 46(1), 87–91.

Social constructivist principles and ideas are among those most cited in both educational and psychological circles today, and many current scholars and reformers ground their work in social constructivist theories. Yet the basic principles of social constructivism are notoriously difficult for students to understand and grapple with. This article describes a small group classroom activity using colored shapes that offers a concrete way to introduce these principles to students and provide them with opportunities for subsequent scaffolded discussion and reflection. Typical small group solutions are identified and discussed, along with data on student response to the activity, based on anonymous surveys from 18 undergraduate classes.

Keywords

social constructivism, undergraduate education, teaching of psychology, classroom activity, small group learning

A Comparison of Two In-Class Anxiety Reduction Exercises Before a Final Exam

Virginia Clinton and Stacy Meester

Teaching of Psychology, 46(1), 92–95.

The purpose of this quasi-experiment is to test two different methods for helping students reduce anxiety before an exam. Students in two introductory psychology courses (N = 111) engaged in either a focused breathing exercise or an expressive writing exercise before their final exam. Results indicated that, compared with previous exam performance, both focused breathing and expressive writing improved performance for students with high levels of trait test anxiety. However, there was no effect on final exam performance for either method for students with low levels of trait test anxiety. Both the exercises appeared to reduce state anxiety for students, although the reduction was greater for students with high levels of trait test anxiety. These findings can be used to assist students who struggle with trait test anxiety.

Keywords

test anxiety, mindfulness, expressive writing, state anxiety

The Generalist’s Corner

The Psychology of Sexual Harassment

Shawn Meghan Burn

Teaching of Psychology, 46(1), 96–103.

Sexual harassment (SH) occurs when people are targets of unwanted sexual comments, sexual gestures, or sexual actions because of their actual or perceived gender, gender expression, or sexual orientation. Due to its frequency and harmful effects on people and organizations, and because it is often a symptom of social inequalities, SH is of concern to psychologists. Using psychological theory and research as well as intersectional and contextual lenses, this article describes how SH is varied in its forms, targets, and origins. I explore explanations for SH with a focus on sociocultural gender and power perspectives. I also employ a person-by-situation perspective to show how contextual factors interact with individual factors to influence incidence. Because reducing SH is important for safe and inclusive schools, organizations, and public settings, I identify possible solutions to this common social problem. Finally, I discuss how and why teaching about the psychology of SH can promote positive individual, group, organizational, and social change. In sum, I illustrate interesting and important psychological concepts and methods and show how psychology can be used to understand and treat social problems and inequalities.

Keywords

sexual harassment, gender and sexual harassment, power and sexual harassment, intersectionality and sexual harassment, solutions to sexual harassment