Upload
nguyenhuong
View
223
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
EssaysfromE-xcellenceinTeachingVolumeXV
A collection of essays originally published on the
PsychTeacher™ Electronic Discussion List
Edited by William S. Altman
Lyra Stein Jonathan E. Westfall
Society for the Teaching of Psychology
2016
ii
FeedbackFeedbackregardingtheeditorialcontentofthisbookoranyofitsessaysshouldbedirectedtowardtheindividualauthorsorthebook'seditors.They(authorsandeditors)aresolelyresponsibleforthesubstanceofthetext.FeedbackregardingtechnicalmattersofformattingoraccessibilityofthistextviatheonlineenvironmentoftheInternetshouldbedirectedtotheInternetEditor.Ifyouhaveanycomplaintsordifficultiesinaccessingthesematerials,besuretoprovideasdetailedadescriptionofyourproblem(s)asyoucan;youshouldincludeinformationaboutthebrowseryouareusingandthetypeofcomputeryouareusing.
CopyrightandOtherLegalNoticesTheindividualessaysandchapterscontainedwithinthiscollectionareCopyright©2016bytheirrespectiveauthors.ThiscollectionofessaysandchaptersasacompendiumisCopyright©2016SocietyfortheTeachingofPsychology.Youmayprintmultiplecopiesofthesematerialsforyourownpersonaluse,includinguseinyourclassesandorsharingwithindividualcolleaguesaslongastheauthor'snameandinstitution,andanoticethatthematerialswereobtainedfromthewebsiteoftheSocietyfortheTeachingofPsychology(STP)appearonthecopieddocument.Forresearchandarchivalpurposes,publiclibrariesandlibrariesatschools,colleges,universitiesandsimilareducationalinstitutionsmayprintandstoreintheirresearchorlendingcollectionsmultiplecopiesofthiscompendiumasawholewithoutseekingfurtherpermissionofSTP(theeditorswouldappreciatereceivingaproformanoticeofanysuchlibraryuse).Nootherpermissionisgrantedtoyoutoprint,copy,reproduce,ordistributeadditionalcopiesofthesematerials.Anyonewhowishestoprint,copy,reproduce,ordistributecopiesforotherpurposesmustobtainthepermissionoftheindividualcopyrightowners.Particularcareshouldbetakentoseekpermissionfromtherespectivecopyrightholder(s)foranycommercialor"forprofit"useofthesematerials.ISBN:978-1-941804-42-1
SuggestedReferenceFormatWesuggestthattheoveralltextbereferencedinthisfashion:
Altman,W.S.,Stein,L.&Westfall,J.E.(2016).EssaysfromE-xcellenceinTeaching(Vol.15).RetrievedfromtheSocietyfortheTeachingofPsychologyWebsite:http:teachpsych.orgebookseit2015index.php
Individualchaptersmaybereferencedinthisfashion,forexample:
Harwood,E.(2016).AStrategyforActiveEngagementintheClassroomInW.Altman,L.Stein,&J.E.Westfall(Eds.),EssaysfromE-xcellenceinTeaching(Vol.15,pp.1-4).RetrievedfromtheSocietyfortheTeachingofPsychologyWebsite:http:teachpsych.orgebookseit2014index.php
Theseessaysmayalsoberetrievedfromthesiteoftheiroriginalposting,thePsychTeacher™ElectronicDiscussionList,archivedathttp:list.kennesaw.eduarchivespsychteacher.html.
iii
TableofContentsTableofContents..........................................................................................................................iii
Introduction..................................................................................................................................iv
DirectedNotes:..............................................................................................................................1
AStrategyforActiveEngagementintheClassroomElizabethHarwood,RivierUniversity.............................................................................................1
IncreasingStudentEngagementThroughFilm:‘Film’theChangeYouWanttoSeeD.LisaCothran,AlabamaStateUniversity.....................................................................................5
TheZeitgeistisRightforUsingStudentCreatedComicsasLearningToolsWalterL.Issac,GeorgiaCollege.....................................................................................................9
Lions,andtigers,andundergraduatestudents,ohmy!ThezooasatoolforenhancingstudentlearningBonnieM.Perdue,AgnesScottCollege........................................................................................13
HalloweenasanOpportunityforTeachingBiologicalPsychologyAnaM.H.Kehrberg,MuskigumUniversity..................................................................................17
ExamReviewTriviaKristieL.Campana,MinnesotaStateUniversity,Mankato..........................................................22
HowtoUseReplicationTeamProjectsinaResearchMethodsCourseLionelG.Standing.........................................................................................................................26
NoMinoritiesAllowed!StimulatingAntiracismDialoguebyExaminingPsychology’sPastMichelleM.MerwinandJosephOstenson,TheUniveristyofTennesseeatMartin....................32
E-xcellenceinWriting:ReducingUndergraduateWritingApprehensionwiththeBasicPsychologicalNeedsShannonHayden,AdenaYoung-Jones,JacquelineByrket,andTaylorSmith,MissouriStateUniversity.....................................................................................................................................36
ServiceLearningResearchProjects:StudentSatisfactionandTipsforEducatorsLindsayA.Phillips,AlbrightCollege..............................................................................................41
MargaretFloyWashburn’sFacebookFriends:TellingtheStoriesofPsychology’sWomenandMinorityPioneersDeborahA.Gagnon,WellsCollege...............................................................................................45
AbouttheAuthors........................................................................................................................49
AbouttheEditors.........................................................................................................................52
iv
IntroductionThisyear’svolumeofE-xcellenceinTeachingcontainsinvitedessaysoriginallypublished
ontheSocietyfortheTeachingofPsychology’s(STP)PsychTeacherlistserv.Thelistservhasprovidedaforumfordiscussionofissuesrelatedtotheteachingofpsychologyatalllevels,sinceitslaunchin1998.STPhasfeaturedtheE-xcellenceinTeachingessayseriesonthelistservsincethespringof2000.Thisyear’sessayspresentbothpracticalstrategiesandfoodforthoughtonawiderangeoftopics.
Severalofthisyear’sessaysfocusonuniquemethodsforaddressingminorityissuesinthehistoryofpsychology,aswellasthepresent.Forexample,inchapter8,MichelleMerwinandJosephOstensonsoughttofosterstudentunderstandingandempathyforearlycontributorswhoseworkwasrestrictedbecauseofrace,ethnicity,orsex.Theyhadstudentspreparepresentationsashistoricalpsychologicalfigures,butonpresentationdaytoldseveralofthemthat,becauseoftheirpsychologist’sminoritystatus,heorshewouldnotbeallowedtopresent.Thestrongemotionsandrealsenseofinjusticethatthestudentsexperiencedgavethemamoreprofoundunderstandingofdiscrimination.DeborahGagnon,inchapter11,emphasizesthecontributionsofwomenandpeopleofcolorthatmadelastingandsignificantcontributionstoscientificpsychologybyhavingstudentscreateFacebookpagestorepresenttheirlivesandcontributions.ResearchingandpresentingFacebookprofilesallowedstudentstogainadeeperappreciationofunder-representedhistoricalfiguresinpsychologyandtheircontributionstothefield.Inchapter2,D.LisaCothranhadstudentsgenerateknowledgeaboutakeyissuefacingAfricanAmericanwomenandcommunicateitinadocumentaryformat.Thisbroughtcertaincausesorinjusticesaboutthegrouptolightwhilealsopermittingstudentstoharnesstheirdigitaldevicesandtheirengagementwithweb-basedandsocialmediaoutlets.
Severalotheressaysfocusoninnovativewaystoincreasestudentengagement.WalterIsaac’s(chapter3)studentsgeneratecomicsasclassassignments,fosteringamoreactivelearningenvironment.Hisstudentsresearchedtopicsanddesigncreativepresentationsofthematerialthatwouldallowthemtoincorporatefarmoreimagerythantypicalclasspapers.Theformatofthecomicspromotedsuccinctnessinthecommunicationoftheinformationandprovidedacreativelearningexperienceforstudents.Inchapter5,AnaM.H.Kehrberg,increasedstudents’interestandunderstandingofbiopsychologybyrelatingcoursematerialtooneofthemostpopularholidaysoncampus,Halloween.Shefoundthatthestudent’senthusiasmforthesetopicsallowedthemtoreviewmanytopicscoveredduringthecoursewithaninterestingapproach,whichreducedstudent’sanxietyaboutbiopsychology.BonniePerdue’sstudentsusedthezoo(chapter4)toformulateresearchquestions,designstudies,collectdata,andpresentresultsoftheirresearch.Student’sresearchfocusedontheanimalsthemselvesandtheirwelfareincaptivity.Thishelpedstudentsidentifyenvironmentalorsocialfactorsthatmighthaveimpactsonanimalshousedincaptivity,includingthoseinzoos,farms,labs,andevenourhomes,suchasourpets.Shefoundthelivinglaboratoryofthezooprovidedanalmostendlesscombinationofvariablestobeexaminedwitharichenvironmentforcriticalthinkingandanalysis.
Someessaysaddressspecificpedagogicalstrategiesforresearchmethodsclasses.LionelStanding(chapter7)usedreplicationprojectsasanexercisetopromotecriticalthinking.He
v
foundthebenefitsofclassreplicationprojects,beyondtheircontributiontoscientificknowledge,alsoincludedbetterqualityresearchthanprojectsdreamedupbythestudents,manageablestudiesforthestudenttoplanandexecute(andfortheinstructortomonitor),simplerfinalreports,moreadequatesamplesizes,andcross-checkingoftheoriginalexperiments’validity.Replicationteamprojectsaretheidealstepping-stonebetweenthesmall“canned”experimentsthatareoftenusedtointroduceresearchmethods,andthethesisordissertationcourses.Inchapter10,LindsayPhillipsdiscussespartneringwithagenciestoprovidearesearchprojectthatwasnotonlyaneducationalexperienceforherstudents,butalsoavaluableservicetotheagencies.Theservicelearningprojectgavestudentstheopportunitytoconductanactualevaluationofaprogramtoassistanunder-resourcedprogramintheircommunity.Shealsoshowshowstudentsmayenjoyservicelearninginsimilarcourses.
Someotheressaysprovideadviceonstudyingfor,andreviewing,coursecontent.ElizabethHarwood(chapter1)developeddirectednotes,whichconsistof8-10questionsthatdirectnote-takingtoimportantissuesinclassandencouragesstudentstoapplytheconceptspresented.Shefoundthatquestionsfromdirectednotesencouragedherwhenpreparingthequestions,andherstudents,whenattemptingtoanswerthem,toactivelyengagewiththematerialinnewandinnovativeways.Inchapter6,KristieCampana,employedatriviareviewactivityinherIndustrial-OrganizationalPsychologycourse.Shefoundthisactivityhadthepotentialtohelpstudentsdevelopbetterstudyhabitsandprovidedactiveinvolvementinclass.Itwasafunandbeneficialwaytoencouragestudentstobemoreactiveinstudyingandreviewingtheirmaterialforexams.
Finally,inchapter9,ShannonHayden,AdenaYoung-Jones,JacquelineByrket,andTaylorSmithexaminedwhystudentsfeelinadequate,avoidwriting,andlackmotivationtowrite.TheyexaminedfactorswithintheSelf-DeterminationTheory(SDT)frameworkandincludebriefrecommendationsforimprovingstudentperceptionsofwritingabilities.Theyproposethatstudentsavoidwritingbecausetheyhaveeithertoohighortoolowalevelofapprehensiontowardthetaskandrecommendthatteachersincorporateatleastonewritingassignmentintointroductorylevelcoursesandincreasethedepthandorcomplexityofcompositionsforupperlevelcourses.
Together,theseessaysmakeupVolumeXVofE-xcellenceinTeaching.Wehopeourreadersfindboththought-provokingideasandpracticalteachinghelpintheseessays.WethankthecontributorsforsharingtheirexperiencesandideaswiththereadersofPsychTeacher,andwiththerestofthepsychologyteachingcommunity.
1
Chapter1DirectedNotes:AStrategyforActiveEngagementintheClassroomElizabethHarwood,Ph.D.RivierUniversity
henIfirststartedteaching,oneofmymistakenassumptions(andthereweremany)wasthatstudentswouldnotonlytakenotes,butgoodnotesatthat.Howwouldtheyadequatelypreparefortestsotherwise?WhatIsooncametorealize,however,
wasthatstudentsenteringcollegeareoftenunder-preparedinmanywaysfortheexperiencetheyareembarkingonandthatincludestakingeffective,completenotes(Austin,Lee&Carr,2004;Kiewra,1985).Studentsstrugglewithpickingoutthemostimportantmaterialfromalecture,evenwhentheyhaveaccesstotranscripts(vanderMeer,2012)!Ifwepresumethatnote-takingisaskillthatcanbetaught(Kobayashi,2006),studentsgenerallyarenotprovidedexplicitguidanceonhowtotakenotesatanadvancedlevel,eventhoughresearchsuggeststhatmanystudentswouldpreferthis(vanderMeer,2012).Anyguidancethatisprovidedistypicallythroughstudentservicesorotherretentionefforts,ratherthanintheactualclassroom.Studentshavetotaketheinitiativetoseekouttheseservicesandstigmaoftenactsasabarrier.Asfaculty,weteachmanyskillstoourstudents–writing,presenting,analyzing,criticalthinking,etc.,whynotincludenote-takingtoo?SomefacultyhavedealtwiththisdilemmabyprovidingstudentswiththeirownlecturenotesorPowerPointslidesbeforeclass.Whilestudentspreferreceivingnotesbeforeclass(Babb&Ross,2009),manyfacultystronglyfeelthatprovidingnoteswillreduceclassattendance(Landrum,2010).BabbandRoss(2009)havefoundthatofferingPowerPointslidesonlinebeforeclassinfactincreasesattendancebutonlyforclasseswhereattendanceisnotgraded.However,testperformanceisthesameforcoursesthatsupplyslidesbeforeandafterclass(Babb&Ross,2009).Settingasidetheissueofattendance,note-takingimprovesactiveengagementwithcoursematerial,deeperlevelprocessing,andtestperformance(Bohay,Blakely,Tamplin&Radvansky,2011;Kobayashi,2006;Peverly,Brobst,Graham,&Shaw,2003;Titsworth,2004).Arewemissingoutonavaluableteachingopportunitybyprovidingourownnotestostudentsratherthanteachingthemhowtotakehighqualitynotesthemselves?Afterall,whenstudentsareintheworkforce,theirsupervisorswon’tbegivingthemprintedoutnotesorPowerPointslides.Isearchedforsolutionsonthisproblemandencounteredtheideaof“guidednotes.”ThesearePowerPointslidesthataregiventostudentsbeforeclass,butwithkeyelementsmissing,sothattheyhavetoattendlectureandfillthemin(Barbetta&Skaruppa,1995).Inameta-analyticreview,Konrad,JosephandEveleigh(2009)foundthatguidednoteswereavaluabletoolforstudentsinK-12,especiallystudentswithdisabilities.However,theresultsweremixedforcollegestudents,althoughonlythreestudieswithvariablemethodologieswereincluded.
W
2
Austinandcolleagues(2004)foundguidednotestobeeffectiveforidentifyingimportantpointsfromlectureandforincreasingthenumberofexamplesintheirnotes.Williams,Weil,andPorter,(2012)demonstratedincreasedtestperformancewiththeadditionofguidednotes.Neef,McCordandFerreri(2006),ontheotherhand,didnotfindasignificantdifferencebetweenprovidingcompletePowerPointslidesandguidednotesonquizzes,althoughtheguidednotesconditionhadhigherscoresforappliedquestions.Whileguidednotesseempromising,IreallywantmystudentstodomorethanjustcopydownPowerPointslides.Infact,thatoftenseemstobetheproblemratherthanthesolution.StudentsaresobusywritingdownanythingIputontheslides,thattheymaymissthebigpicture,theimportantconcepts,thewholepointofthelecture,andcopyingnotesdoesn’tseemtolenditselftoactiveengagement.Whenstudentsarewritingdownsomethingdifferentthanwhatisontheslides,Stefanou,HoffmanandVielee(2008)arguethatthisleadstogenerativelearningandhighertestperformance.HowcanIcombinethepotentialeffectivenessofguidednoteswhilealsoencouragingmoretimespentongenerativelearning?Tothisend,IdevelopedwhatIhavecometocalldirectednotes.Atthebeginningofeachchapter,studentsreceiveahandoutwithapproximately8-10questionsthatdirecttheirnote-takingtoimportantissuesinclassandencouragesthemtoapplytheconceptspresented.Thesequestionsrangefromappliedquestions(“Givenewexamplesofuse,misuse,abuseanddependence”)todiscussionquestions(“Howasasocietyshouldwerespondtodrug-takingbehavior?”),questionsthatrequirestudentstointegratethematerialtheyhavelearnedthusfar(“IfapatientpresentedintheERondrugs,howcouldyoutelliftheyareoncocaineorheroin?”),andquestionsthatareapartofinclassactivities(“Whatareyourreactionstotheanti-depressantcommercialswejustwatched?Howdotheyportraydepressionanditstreatment?”).Thesequestionsalsoprovideorganizationalstructurefornote-takingandvaryintheirformatandresponsedemandinordertoencouragestudentstotakenotesfrominclassdiscussionandtotakenon-linearstylenotes(i.e.,conceptmaps;Titsworth,2004).Frequently,throughoutthelecture,Irefertothesequestionsforinclassactivities(“Takeoutyoursmartphonesandlookupthedifferenteffectsofserotonin,norepinephrine,etc…”),tocheckforunderstanding(“Usethenext5minutestowritehowneuronscommunicateusingyournotesfromlecture”)andforreviewofimportantconceptsbeforetests.Whiledirectednotesseemedtoaddagreatdealtoclass(andhadtheaddedbenefitofencouragingmetoaddnewexercises,discussionquestionsandmaterialtomylecture),Itestedtheirimpactwithapre-andpost-testassessingoveralllearningofimportantcoursematerialandanendofthesemestersurveyassessingstudentsatisfaction.Adependentsamplest-testrevealedsignificantlyhigherpost-testscores(M=10.38,SD=1.93)thanpre-testscores(M=8.17,SD=2.18;t(14)=-5.392,p<.01),indicatingpreliminaryevidenceofanincreaseinstudentknowledge.Furthermore,quantitativeandqualitativeanalysesofstudentsurveyssuggestedthatstudentsfrequentlyusedthedirectednotetakinghandoutsforbothnote-takingandtestpreparationandfoundthemuseful.FutureresearchwillincludeanA-B-A-Bdesigntobetterassesstheimpactofdirectednotesonquizperformance.
3
CanYouDoThisInYourCourse?EasyWaytoImplementDirectedNotes
1. Afteryou’vecreatedyourlecture,identify8-10pointsyouwantyourstudentstowalkawaywithandusetheseasyourquestionsonyourdirectednoteshandout.
2. Questionsshouldhavethestudentsapplythematerialandthinkcriticallyaboutthesubject.Conceptmaps,5-minutewritingsummaries,orhavingstudentscomeupwiththeirownexamplesofconceptsareallgreatideas.Varythetypesofquestionsandresponseformats.
3. Providethedirectednotesbeforestudentsreadthechapterssotheycanfillthemoutastheyreadandastheylistentolecture.Givelotsofspaceonthedirectednotesforstudentstowriteonit.Themorespaceyouprovide,themoreitencouragesstudentstowrite.
4. Refertothedirectednotesthroughoutclasstoencouragestudentstousethem.5. Goingoverthedirectednotesattheendofthechaptercanactasaquiztestreview.6. Havestudentsworkontheanswersingroupsandthenreportbacktheiranswersto
theclass.Thisallowsstudentstimetoformulatetheiranswersandencouragesclassparticipation.
Incorporatingdirectednotesintotheclassroomisaneasyyeteffectivewaytodirectstudentstotheessentiallearningoutcomesoftheday.Questionsfromdirectednotesencouragebothmewhenpreparingthequestions,andmystudents,whenattemptingtoanswerthem,toactivelyengagewiththematerialinnewandinnovativeways.Wespendmoretimeonreflectionanddiscussionandlesstimeonlectureandthat’swhereweseegenerativelearningtakeplace.
ReferencesAustin,J.L.,Lee,M.,&Carr,J.P.(2004).Theeffectsofguidednotesonundergraduate
students'recordingoflecturecontent.JournalofInstructionalPsychology,31(4),314-320.
Babb,K.A.,&Ross,C.(2009).Thetimingofonlinelectureslideavailabilityanditseffectsonattendance,participation,andexamperformance.Computers&Education,52,868-881.
Barbetta,P.M.,&Skaruppa,C.L.(1995).Lookingforawaytoimproveyourbehavioranalysislectures?Tryguidednotes.BehaviorAnalyst,18(1),155-160.
Bohay,M.,Blakely,D.P.,Tamplin,A.K.,&Radvansky,G.A.(2011).Notetaking,review,memory,andcomprehension.TheAmericanJournalofPsychology,124(1),63-73.
Kiewra,K.A.(1985).Providingtheinstructor'snotes:Aneffectiveadditiontostudentnotetaking.EducationalPsychologist,20(1),33.
Kobayashi,K.(2006)Combinedeffectsofnote-taking-reviewingonlearningandtheenhancementthroughinterventions:Ameta-analyticreview.EducationalPsychology:AnInternationalJournalofExperimentalEducationalPsychology,26(3),459-477.
4
Konrad,M.,Joseph,L.,&Eveleigh,E.(2009).Meta-analyticreviewofguidednotes.Education&TreatmentofChildren,32(3),421-444.
LandrumR.(2010).Facultyandstudentperceptionsofprovidinginstructorlecturenotestostudents:Matchormismatch?JournalofInstructionalPsychology,37(3):216221.
Neef,N.A.,McCord,B.E.,&Ferreri,S.(2006).Effectsofguidednotesversuscompletednotesduringlecturesoncollegestudents’quizperformance.JournalofAppliedBehaviorAnalysis,39(1),123-130.
Peverly,S.T.,Brobst,K.E.,Graham,M.,&Shaw,R.(2003).Collegeadultsarenotgoodatself-regulation:Astudyontherelationshipofself-regulation,notetaking,andtesttaking.JournalofEducationalPsychology,95(2),335-346.
Stefanou,C.,Hoffman,L.,andVielee,N.(2008).Note-takinginthecollegeclassroomasevidenceofgenerativelearning.LearningEnvironmentalResources,11,1-17.
Titsworth,B.S.(2004).Students'notetaking:Theeffectsofteacherimmediacyandclarity.CommunicationEducation,53(4),305-320.
Williams,W.L.,Weil,T.M.,andPorter,J.C.K.(2012).Therelativeeffectsoftraditionallecturesandguidednoteslecturesonuniversitystudenttestscores.TheBehaviorAnalystToday,13(1),12-16.
VanderMeer,J.(2012).Students’note-takingchallengesinthetwenty-firstcentury:Considerationsforteachersandacademicstaffdevelopers.TeachinginHigherEducation,17(1),13-23.
5
Chapter2IncreasingStudentEngagementThroughFilm:‘Film’theChangeYouWanttoSeeD.LisaCothran,Ph.D.AlabamaStateUniversity
istorically,studentengagementhasfocusedonincreasingachievementandpositivepersonalbehaviors(Taylor&Parsons,2011).Studentengagementinthedigitalageisonanever-evolvingpath.Traditionalprojectsinsocialscienceclassesconsistofpapers,
posters,presentations,andwebsitedevelopment.Currentcollegestudentshaveuniquedemographics,resources,andskillsthatallowthemtomovebeyondmoretraditionalmodelsandformatsforclassprojects.IntheFallof2014,studentsenrolledinanewly-developedseminarcourse,PsychologyofAfricanAmericanWomen,atahistoricallyblackuniversityinthesoutheastUnitedStateswereaskedtomakedocumentariesfortheirfinalprojects.Inthecurrentessay,Ibrieflydescribehowwell-suitedandequippedthispopulationisforthiscourseandproject.Then,Idiscusstheprojectoutlineaswellassomeofthestudents’exemplarydocumentaryprojects.
ThePopulation,CourseandDocumentary-MakingareWell-SuitedIntheFallof2014,approximately21millionstudentswereexpectedtoenrollinU.S.
collegesanduniversities(NationalCenterforEducationStatistics,2014).Thevastmajorityofcurrentcollegestudentsmaybedescribedinthefollowingways:self-assured;easilyengagedbydigitaldevices;morereceptivetoshort(er)piecesofinformation;andmoreengagedwithweb-based,socialmediaoutlets(comparedtotraditional,printsources).Moresothanforpreviousgenerations,themajorityofcurrentcollegestudentsandmillennialsareconstantlyconnectedtotheWorldWideWeb(i.e.,Internet)throughoutthedayviamobileelectronicdevices(Lenhart,Purcell,Smith,&Zickuhr,2010).WithsuchwidespreadaccesstotheWorldWideWebandsmartphones,thesestudentshaveunprecedentedabilitiestousetechnologyandmediatoexploreandapplytheempiricalliterature.AfricanAmericans,inparticular,arethemostactiveusersofmobileInternetandtheirusagerateisthefastestgrowing(comparedtowhiteorLatinoAmericans;Lenhartetal.,2010).Inadditiontotheirmobileandon-lineactivity,giventhelocationanddemographicofcollegestudentsathistoricallyblackcollegesanduniversities(HBCUs),theyaresensitizedtotopicsrelatedtoethnicminoritiesandsocialjustice(e.g.,intersectionality,socialjustice,discrimination,etc.;Harrell&Cothran,inpress).
WhilethemajorityofAfricanAmericanstudentsattendpredominantlywhiteinstitutions,approximately260,000oftheAfricanAmericanstudentsenrolledincollegeattendHBCUs(Hall,Lee,Witherspoon,2014;Knapp,Kelly-Reid,&Ginder,2010)whereBlackwomenoutnumberBlackmenatarateofapproximately6to1(AmericanCouncilonEducation,2006;
H
6
ascitedinAlleyne&Gaston,2010)andatanevenhigherrateinthesocialsciences.InlightofthisaswellassomeoftheresearchthatexploresAfricanAmericanwomen’svulnerableandprecariousreality(e.g.,BureauofJusticeStatistics,2008;Xu,Kochanek,Murphy,&Arias,2014),Idevelopedaseminarcourseentitled,PsychologyofAfricanAmericanWomen.ThefinalprojectinthisseminarrequiresstudentstogenerateknowledgeaboutakeyissuefacingAfricanAmericanwomenandtocommunicateitinadocumentaryformat.Inlightofthepopulationandcoursesubjectmatter,finalprojectsindocumentaryformatareuniquelysuitedastheseprovideamorefluiddevelopmentandexpressionofknowledge,afreeflowingformat(ascomparedtoapaperormoretraditionaloralpresentation),amorevisibleandlearner-centeredformat,andeasyaccessviasocialmedia.
FinalProjectGuidelinesandExamplesStudentsbegantheirprojectdevelopmentinthe5thweekofa16-weeksemester.First,
theyweregivenadescriptionandoutline.Thegeneralguidelinesforthefinisheddocumentariesincludedthefollowing:
1. Thefinisheddocumentarypiecemustbeapproximately20minutesinlength;2. Thepiecemustaccomplishoneofthefollowingpurposesofdocumentaries:bringtolighta
certaincauseorinjustice;makeanobservation,nottojudge,simplytoshowsomethinguniquetothegroup;oruncoverahiddentruthormysteryuniquetothegroup;
3. Thefocusofthepiecemustbespecifically,butnotnecessarilysolely,relevanttothePsychologyofBlackWomen;
4. Studentsmustincludeandcitereadingsfromtheclass(e.g.,Akbar,1996;Harris-Perry,2011;Roberts,1999);and
5. Thefinishedpiecemustenlightenandengagetheviewers(Studentswereencouragedtoplanadocumentarypresentationthattheywouldenjoywatching.)
Second,theydecidedonatopicandwhethertoworkindividuallyorasagroup.Thisisapersonalchoiceformanystudents,sotheywerenotforcedtoworkwithothers.Iftheychosetoworkingroups,however,groupsizeswerecappedat5studentstominimizesocialloafing.
Third,everystudentcompletedablankdesign-mapandworksheettohelpguidetheirprojectdevelopmentandplanning.Onthissheet,studentsmappedouttheirdocumentariesscene-by-scenesothatIcouldprovidefeedbackandfacilitatetheiraccesstoresourceshereattheuniversity.
Fourth,afterstudents’designsandtimelineswereapproved,theywereallowedtobeginworkinginearnest.
Finally,everyonereceivedtutorialsonimovieandseveralclassdiscussionsoverthecourseofthesemesterweredevotedtoprogressreportsandprojectdevelopment.Thiswastoensurethatstudentshadtheresourcesandhelpthattheyneededateverystep.
Assigningdocumentariesasfinalprojectswasagreatsuccess.Itisimportanttonotethat100%ofstudentsstatedthiswastheir“firsttime”creatingadocumentaryandthattheyweregladtheywere“challenged”and“foundtheirvoice”.Aftertheprojectswerecompleted,studentswrotereactionpapersanddescribedtheprojects’impactonthem.Onemalestudentstated,“…This(project)hastaughtmelotsontherights,views,impacts,andsocietalproblems
7
involvingAfrican-Americanwomen”.Anothermalestudentwrote,“…Ienjoyeddoing(thedocumentaryproject)andIlearnedhowtheB-wordisusedinmanywaysbutoverallitisaveryinappropriatewordtouseatall.Ienjoyedtheprojectwithallitsupsanddowns.”Thosetwostudentsworkedontwoofthemoreexemplarydocumentarytopicsthatsemester.Thefirstisentitled,Teamlightskinvs.Teamdarkskin:Blackwomen’sskintonesinfluencetheirperceiveddesirabilityandapproachability,andthesecondoneisentitled,TheRealHousewivesofAtlanta(RHOA)Effect:Blackwomen’sappropriationofb*tchasaself-referencehurtstheircredibility.
Thedocumentaryentitled,Teamlightskinvs.Teamdarkskin:Blackwomen’sskintonesinfluencetheirperceiveddesirabilityandapproachabilityincludedliteraryreferencesandinterviewsofseveralAfricanAmericanmenandwomenwhobelievethatlighter-skinned(comparedtodarkerskinned)AfricanAmericanwomenareviewedasmoreattractiveandarethepreferredmates.Further,asmates,lighter-skinnedAfricanAmericansareperceivedashavinghigherstandardsandhigherexpectationsfortreatment.Inthecompletedocumentary,thestudentsreviewedliteraturethatexploredtheoriginsofthisin-groupbiasaswellaspoliciesthatcouldbeimplementedtoimprovethesituation.AnexcerptofthisdocumentarycurrentlyispostedonYouTubeandcanbeaccessedusingthefollowinglink:https:www.youtube.comwatch?v=b8LTVurmRjQ.Thedocumentaryentitled,TheRHOAEffect:Blackwomen’sappropriationofb*tchasaself-referencehurtstheircredibility,interviewedAfricanAmericanmenandwomenwhoendorsedseveralthings:Blackwomenreferringtothemselvesandeachotherasbitchesisanewphenomenon;andthisbehaviorreflectspoorselfconcepts,selfesteem,andselfrespect.Further,throughthistypeofself-effacingbehavior,thesewomenencourageotherstorespectthemless.Thisgroupofstudentscitedliteraturethatexploredtheoriginsofthisphenomenonaswellaspoliciesthatcouldbeimplementedtolessenthepracticeanditseffectsonthegroup.
Conclusions
Documentaryfilmprojectsarewell-suitedformillennialcollegestudents,allowthemto
exercisetheirpreferredcommunicationroutes,andhelpthemdeveloptheirresearch,technology,andpresentationskills.Theseprojectsalsopermitstudentstoharnesstheirdigitaldevices,theireasierandmorefrequentengagementwithweb-based,socialmediaoutlets(comparedtotraditional,printsources),theirinterestinsocialjustice,andtheirpropensityandreceptivenesstoshort(er)piecesofinformation.Studentsunanimouslyreportedbenefitingfromthehard(er)work,skilldevelopment,andempoweringcommunicationinvolvedincreatingdocumentaryprojectsinthiscourse.Anotherbenefitisthattheirfinishedprojects,unlikepapers,aremoreengagingandaccessiblebylargernumbersofpeople.Givenhowaccessiblethetoolsandmoviemakingprogramsare,otherprofessorscouldeasilyadaptthisprojectformatfortheirclassesandstudents.
References
Akbar,N.(1996).BreakingtheChainsofPsychologicalSlavery.Tallahassee,FL:Mind
ProductionsandAssociates.
8
AlleyneB,&GastonG.(2010).GenderdisparityandHIVriskamongyoungBlackwomenincollege:Aliteraturereview.JournalofWomen&SocialWork,25,135–145.
BureauofJusticeStatistics,NationalCrimeVictimizationSurvey(2008).Retrievedfromhttp:www.bjs.govcontentpubpdfcv08.pdf.
Hall,N.M.,Lee,A.K.,&Witherspoon,D.D.(2014).FactorsinfluencingdatingexperiencesamongAfricanAmericanemergingadults.EmergingAdulthood,2,184-194.
Harrell,M.,&Cothran,D.L.(inpress).Meetingtheneed:Developinganon-line,openaccessjournalfocusedonethnicminorityundergraduatestudents.JournalofUndergraduateEthnicMinorityPsychology.
Harris-Perry,M.V.(2011).SisterCitizen:Shame,StereotypesandBlackWomeninAmerica.NewHaven:YaleUniversityPress.
Knapp,L.G.,Kelly-Reid,J.E.,&Ginder,S.A.(2010).Enrollmentinpostsecondaryinstitutions,Fall2010;Financialstatistics,fiscalyear2010;andgraduationrates,electedcohorts,2002–07(NCES2012-280).Washington,DC:U.S.DepartmentofEducation,NationalCenterforEducationStatistics.Retrievedfromhttp:nces.ed.govpubs20122012280.pdf.
Lenhart,A.,Purcell,K.,Smith,A.,&Zickuhr,K.(2010).Socialmediaandmobileinternetuseamongteensandyoungadults.PewResearchCenterReport.Retrievedfromhttp:www.pewinternet.orgfilesold-mediaFilesReports2010PIP_Social_Media_and_Young_Adults_Report_Final_with_toplines.pdf.
NationalCenterforEducationStatisticsReport(2014).Retrievedfromhttp:nces.ed.govprogramsdigestd13tablesdt13_105.20.asp.
Roberts,D.(1999).KillingtheBlackBody:Race,Reproduction,andtheMeaningofLiberty.NewYork:Vintage.
Taylor,L.&Parsons,J.(2011).ImprovingStudentEngagement.CurrentIssuesinEducation,14.Retrievedfromhttp:cie.asu.eduojsindex.phpcieatasuarticleviewFile745162.
Xu,J.Q.,Kochanek,K.D.,Murphy,S.L.,&Arias,E.(2014).MortalityintheUnitedStates,2012.NCHSdatabrief,no168.Hyattsville,MD:NationalCenterforHealthStatistics.
9
Chapter3TheZeitgeistisRightforUsingStudentCreatedComicsasLearningToolsWalterL.IsaacGeorgiaCollege
ecently,IsearchedPsycINFOforthekeywordcomicsandfound1,206citations.Inoticedaslowupwardtrendincitationsbeginninginthe1970s,andasuddenleapinsourcesreferringtocomicsafter2004.Iwaspleasedtoseeariseinthenumberofpublications
examiningtheuseofcomicbooksineducationalandresearchsettingsduringthelastdecade.Mostoftheearlysourcesdidn’taddressusingthecomicformattoteach,butSones(1943)didexpresssupportforusingcomicbooksintheclassroom.Thecreationofaseriesofcomicsinthe1940sforeducationalpurposesdemonstratedsignsofsupportforthisidea(Smith,1948).Thedebateabouttheeducationalmeritsofcomicscontinuedinthe1950s(e.g.,Carr,1958;Wertham,1955).Weseemtoberevisitingthatdiscussion,butthistimewehaveresearchtosupporttheidea.
ChangingPerspectivesandNewTechnologyApparently,thezeitgeistwasrightsincemyownexplorationofusingcartoonsaseducationaltoolsbeganataboutthesametimethatotherswerealsobeginningtodemonstratemoreinterestinthesamepossibilities.However,therehavebeendifferentapproaches.Onebasictacticistocreatecomicsforourstudentstoread.Another,towhichIwillgivemoreattentionshortly,focuseshavingstudentsgeneratethecomicsasclassassignmentsinamoreactivelearningenvironment.Technologyfacilitatedthisphenomenon,ascomputersoftwareforcreatingcartoonsbecameavailable.Havingtheartisticabilitytodrawwasnolongeranecessity.IbeganexploringthepossibilitiesuponreceivingmyfirstAppleMacBookProlaptopin2006,aspartofaGeorgiaCollegecampus-sponsoredFacultyDevelopmentWorkshopintendedtofacilitateouruseofthenewpodcastingtechnology.ThatlaptopcamepreloadedwithComicLifesoftwarebyPlasq.Myinitialforayintousingcomicsineducation,creatingmyownneuroanatomythemedcomicentitledTheBrainChronicles,waslikethatofmanyothers(e.g.Park,Kim,&Chung,2011;Walker,2014).Eachissuewouldaddressadifferenttopicinneuroanatomybeginningwithverysimplenervoussystemanatomyandrelatedconstructswhileworkingtowardpresentingtopicsofmorecomplexity.Istartedwrestlingwithdecidingonwhatcontentandimagestoincludeinmyfirsttry.ThatledmetoconsiderthethemeIshouldfollowandthelayouttouse.Thelistofcreativedecisionscontinuedtolengthen.ItoccurredtomequitesoonthatwhileacomicthatIcreatemayhelpsomestudents,studentswouldlearnevenmoreiftheycreatedtheirowncomicsonagiventopic.Playingwiththatidealedmetoaparallelnotion;whynothave
R
10
studentscreatethecomicbookchaptersastheirrequiredwritingassignmentsforselectedclasses?Suchassignments,wouldrequirethestudentstoresearchtheirtopicanddesignacreativepresentationofthematerialthatwouldallowthemtoincorporatefarmoreimagerythantypicalclasspapers.Theformatwouldalsopromotesuccinctnessintheircommunicationoftheinformation.KiliçkayaandKrajka(2012)usedthisapproachtoteachTurkishteenagersgrammarformandfunctioninasecondlanguage,English.Theirstudentscreatedshortcomicstripsillustratingassignedtopicsandthentheinstructorsevaluatedthestudents’languageusage.
ImplementingandEvaluatingtheIdeaI’veusedthestudentgeneratedcomicbookchapterassignmentthreetimes,withthreedifferenttopicsinmyAdvancedBehavioralNeuroscienceseminars.Eachclass,focusedonadifferentaspectofbehavioralneuroanatomy.Thefirsttime,whilestudyingtractswithinthebrain,wasatrulyformativeexperienceforme—aswellasforthestudents—asweworkedourwaythroughtheassignmenttogether.Asaclass,wecreatedalistofsuggestionsthatincludedinitiatingworkonthecomicsatthebeginningofthesemester,makingthecomicsintegraltostudentpresentationsoftheirtopicforthesemester,andallowingmoreopportunitiestoworkcollaborativelyinclassontheirassignments.Thestudents’enthusiasmfortheprojectsinthatinitialclassencouragedmetotryasecondtime.Thesecondcoursewasayearlater,andfocusedonneuralsystemswithinthebrain.StudentswereencouragedtoapplyAPAformatselectively—providingleewayforchoosingfontsandformakingothercreativechoices.Wealsobeganthecreativeprocessatthebeginningofthesemesterinsteadofaroundmidtermasbefore,whichwasagooddecision.Midwaythroughthissecondtrywiththecomicchapters,Irealizedthatthispresentedawonderfulresearchopportunity.Isubmittedaproposaltoevaluatemystudents’attitudestowardthecomicchapterassignmenttoourInstitutionalReviewBoard(IRB).GainingIRBapprovalbeforetheendoftheterm,Iassessedthestudents’attitudesabouttheprojectsandtheprocessofcreatingcomicsaslearningtoolscomparedtocompletingatypicaltermpaperassignmentusingaseriesofquestionswithstudentresponsesgivenonsevenpointLikert-stylescales.Withinsubjectt-testsrevealedthatthestudentshadindicatedthattheirperceivedlevelofeffort(t(12)=8.04,p=.0001),perceivedleveloflearning(t(12)=3.60,p=.0018),andanticipatedretention(t(12)=4.38,p=.0004)weregreaterthanwritingthetypicalresearchpaperforaclass.Studentsalsoindicatedthattheirperceivedlevelsofcreativityandinventiveness(t(12)=5.78,p=.0001)weregreaterforthecomicchapterassignmentandtheirreportedlevelofenjoymentfromcompletingthisassignment(t(12)=3.56,p=.002)wasgreaterthanthatforatypicaltermpaper.Iassembledthechaptersintoanelectronicbookanddistributedcopiestotheclassmembers.Ialsoincludedthesestudentsasco-authorsonaposter(Isaac,etal.,2014)presentedattheNationalInstituteontheTeachingofPsychology(NITOP).NITOPhonoredthisposterwiththeDougBernsteinAwardthatyear.Thefollowingyear,myclassfocusedonnucleiwithinthebrain,IwaspreparedwithanIRBproposalalreadyapproved.Iincludedlearningassessmentsintherequirementsofthatclass.Eachstudentauthorwrotetwentymultiple-choicequestionsthatIeditedandpostedinourlearningmanagementsystem(LMS)aspretestsandposttestsforeachcomicchapter.Imade
11
thecomicchaptersavailablefordownloadintheLMSwhentherelatedpretestavailabilityclosed.Whentheclasshadcompleteddiscussionofthechapter,Imadetheposttestsavailable.Atwo-wayanalysisofvariancewithonerepeatedvariableverifiedtherangeofdifficultyinourchaptersandquizquestionsthatwasapparentinthequizresults(F(6,35)=14.55,p=.0001),buteveryone’sscoresimprovedbetweenpre-andposttests(F(1,35)=221.96,p=.0001).Aninteractionbetweenchaptersandpre-andposttestresults(F(6,35)=3.70,p=.0060)furtherillustratedtherangeofdifficultyintheassessmentswrittenbythestudents.WereportedthisprojectatNITOP(Isaac,etal.,2015),aswell.
TheProcessFollowedHowdidwecreatethecomicbookchapters?Webeganwithstudentsselectingorrequestingtopicsbasedontheirinterestswithintheboundsofthecourse.IprovidedexamplechaptersfromShepherd’sbookTheSynapticOrganizationoftheBrain(2004)andBarrandKiernan’sbookTheHumanNervousSystem(1983).Wediscussedtheorganizationofmaterialwithintheexamplechapters,andweestablishedanoutlineoftopicsthateachoftheirchaptershadtoaddress.Forexample,thechaptersonnucleiwererequiredtohavethefollowingheadings:Overview,NeuronalElements,BasicCircuit(includinginformationaboutintrinsiccircuitryaswellasdetailsaboutafferentandefferentconnections),Neurotransmitters,BehavioralRelevance,LesionEffects,andaSummary.Theclassdesignedwhatturnedintoaseriesofcontentdrivencomicchapterswithaclearcreativeedge.Studentscreatedindividualstorylinesandthemestofollowthroughouttheirchapters.Wephotographedbrainspecimens,supplementingotherimagesstudentswereabletoincorporatefromtheInternetallthewhilediscussingtopicsrelevanttothecoursetopic.Studentscitedtheirimagesandsourcesintheirchapters.Thecentraltoolwasthethen-currentversionofPlasq’sComicLifesoftware(https://plasq.comappscomiclifemacwin)whichisavailableforboththeMacandWindowsoperatingsystems.Somestudentschosetoappearintheircomicsascharacters(e.g.atrenchcoat,fedora-wearingfemaledetectivewithmagnifyingglass),sowephotographedtheminfrontofagreenscreen.WeusedtheInstantAlphatoolwithinApple’sKeynotesoftwaretoremovethegreenbackground,sowecouldinserttheirimagesintoacomicpanel.AfewstudentsusedPhotoshopsoftwaretomanipulatetheirimages.MystudentsdiscoveredtheToonDoowebsite(http:www.toondoo.com)ontheInternet,whichallowedthemtocreatecartooncharactersoftheirowndesigniftheydidnotwanttoappearascharacters,themselves.Theseactivitiesledtomuchclassdiscussionofneuroanatomyandaveryactivecollaborativespiritwithintheclasses.Ialsodevotedsomeclassperiodstoworkingonthecomicchapters.Thisallowedmetomonitorprogress,engagethestudentsindiscussionfocusingontheirwork,andshareideasandinformation.
ConcludingThoughtsIlookforwardtostudentscreatingcomicsinmynextadvancedtopicsseminar,whichwillfocusonglia.InanupcomingSeniorCapstoneSeminaraboutPsychologicalMyths—infusedwithastrongemphasisonresearchmethodology—Iplantoincorporateverysuccinctcomicsthatlimitthenumberofpanelsallowedasoneofthecourseassignments.PerhapsI’llaskthestudentsto
12
writetheirtermpaperswiththeoccasionalcomicpanelinsertedtoillustratetheirtopics.Youcaneasilygeneralizethisideatoanytopic,andprovideacreativelearningexperiencethatengagesyourstudentsinlearningmoreabouttheirtopics.CanyouimagineaHistoryofPsychologycomicbookassignment?
ReferencesBarr,M.L.,&Kiernan,J.A.(1983).Thehumannervoussystem:Ananatomicalviewpoint(4th
ed.).Philadelphia:Harper&Row.Carr,P.(1958).Cancomicbooksbeusedineducation?Education,79,57-61.Isaac,W.L.,Angell,K.M.,Atkins,E.C.,Callahan,K.W.,Costo,M.E.,Gormley,V.E.,...
Toutkoushian,K.D.(2014,January).Teachingneuroanatomyusingstudentgeneratedcomicbooksasclassprojects.PostersessionpresentedatthemeetingoftheNationalInstituteontheTeachingofPsychology,St.PeteBeach,Florida.
Isaac,W.L.,Baloh,C.A,Davis,D.R.,Martinez,A.M.,Pelech,K.E.,Ranson,K.D,,...Vandergriff,R.K.(2015,January).Learninggainsdocumentedusingstudentcreatedcomicchaptersasclassprojects.PostersessionpresentedatthemeetingoftheNationalInstituteontheTeachingofPsychology,St.PeteBeach,Florida.
Kiliçkaya,F.,&Krajka,J.(2012).Cantheuseofweb-basedcomicstripcreationtoolfacilitateEFLlearners’grammarandsentencewriting?BritishJournalofEducationalTechnology,42(6),E161-1165.doi:10.1111j.1467-8535.2012.01298.x
Park,J.S.,Kim,D.H.,&Chung,M.S.(2011).Anatomycomicstrips.AnatomicalSciencesEducation,45(5),275-279.doi:http:dx.doi.org10.1002ase.224
Shepherd,G.M.(Ed.).(2004).Thesynapticorganizationofthebrain(5thed.).NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress.
Smith,R.E.(1948).Publishersimprovecomicbooks.LibraryJournal,73,1649-1652.Sones,W.D.(1943).Comicsintheclassroom?TheSchoolExecutive,63,231-232.Walker,A.M.(2014).Usinggraphicnovelstoimproveliteracy.DissertationAbstracts
InternationalSectionA:HumanitiesandSocialSciences,75(1-A)(E).Wertham,F.(1955).Aretheycleaningupthecomics?NewYorkStateEducation,43,176-180.
13
Chapter4Lions,andtigers,andundergraduatestudents,ohmy!ThezooasatoolforenhancingstudentlearningBonnieM.PerdueAgnesScottCollege
Background
esearchisacriticallyimportantpartofpsychology.Itadvancesourknowledgeinawiderangeofareas,establishesthebestpracticesformoreappliedpursuits,andservesasabackboneforthefieldasawhole.Accordingly,atcollegesanduniversitiesaroundthe
world,psychologyprofessorsaimtotrainundergraduatestudentsinarigorousunderstandingofresearchmethodologies.Yetmanystudentsdon’texpectsuchastrongfocusonanalysis,logicanddesignwhentheyembarkuponapsychologymajor.Somestudentsfindthisfocusrefreshing,butforothersthisisn’tthecase.Researchmethodscoursescanbetechnicalandchallengingandmaynotappealtoorinterestmanystudents(Ball&Pelco,2006).Asprofessors,wemustfindwaystoengageandexciteallstudents,giventheimportanceofthetopic.AtAgnesScottCollege,asmallliberalartswomen’scollegeinDecatur,GA,werequirearesearchcapstonecoursetofulfillthepsychologymajor.Weleavetheexactnatureofthiscoursetotheprofessor’sdiscretion,butourgoalforstudentstoexperienceallaspectsoftheresearchprocess.Studentsbeginbyformulatingaresearchquestion,thendesigningastudy,collectingthedata,andfinallypresentingtheresultsoftheirresearchviaapaperandanoralpresentationattheendofthesemester.Myapproachtothiscoursefollowsthisgeneralformat,buttakesplaceatalocal,livinglaboratory:thezoo!
Modernzoosseektoachievefourgoals:recreation,education,conservation,andresearch.Accordingly,zoosprovideanexcellentlocationtotrainthenextgenerationofstudentscholars.Fromarecreationperspective,zoosprovideaplaceforindividualstovisitandexperienceoutdoors,animallife,andtobeexposedtoavarietyofwildlifethatwouldotherwiseremainunknown.Whileatthezoo,peopleareexposedtoavarietyofeducationalmessagesrangingfrominterpretivesignstolivedemonstrations.Thegoalsoftheseeducationalprogramsarewideranging,butusuallyinvolveteachingvisitorsthebasicdemographiccharacteristicsoftheanimals,interestingsocialorbiologicalfacts,andperhapsmostimportantly,conservation-relatedissuesthatmanyoftheseanimalsfaceinthewild(Falk,Reinhard,Vernon,Bronnenkant,Deans,&Heimlich,2007).Modernzoosfocustheirconservationeducationmessagestowardeverydaychangesthatindividualsmightmakeintheirbehaviors,andthatcouldhaveimpactsonthesurvivalofaspeciesfaraway(Ballantyne,Packer,Hughes,&Dierking,2007).Theincreasinglyglobalnatureoftheplanetisevidencedbythefactthatmanyconsumersareengagedinbehaviorsthatunwittinglycontributetothedeclineandsustainabilityofpopulationsofanimalsaroundtheworld.Byeducatingvisitorsabouttheseissues,zooscanmakeastrongconservationimpact.Inadditiontotheseefforts,
R
14
zoosaredirectlyinvolvedininsitu(onsite)conservationinitiativesforthespecieshousedinzoos.Thisbringsustothefinalgoalofzoos–research.Aswemightexpect,researchcanplayavitalroleinalloftheseareasaswellasmanymore.
Formyparticularcourse,students’researchfocusedontheanimalsthemselvesandtheirwelfareincaptivity.Thisisanothercriticallyimportantareaofresearchinzoos(Maple&Perdue,2013).Wemustpaycarefulattentiontoidentifyingenvironmentalorsocialfactorsthatmighthaveimpactsonanyanimalshousedincaptivity,includingthoseinzoos,farms,labs,andevenourhomes,suchasourpets.Ifwecanidentifyexternalfactorscanthathavenegativeimpactsonanimals’welfare(throughempiricalevidenceratherthananecdotes),wecanchangetheenvironmenttobettersuittheanimalsinourcare.Inaresearchcourse,studentscanlearntoapplyprinciplesofresearchdesignanddatacollectiontofindempiricalanswerstothesequestions.
Implementation
Therearemanywaysinwhichwemightimplementresearchatthezoo.Inmycourse,
studentsworkedinteamsoftwo.Eachteamselectedonespeciestoobserveandindividualsidentifiedindependentfactorstomeasure(e.g.,temperature,numberofvisitors,enrichmentitemsinenclosure)thatmightinfluencetheanimals’behavior.Studentsconductedliteraturereviewstoidentifybackgroundinformationandwaysofmeasuringthesevariables.Theythencreatedethograms(writtendescriptionofallpossiblebehaviors)andlearneddatacollectiontechniquessuchasall-occurrenceandinstantaneoussampling(Martin&Bateson,1993).Theteamscollecteddataonweeklyvisitstothezoothroughoutthesemesterandthenanalyzedtheirdatatoseewhetheranyenvironmentalorsocialfactorshadpositiveornegativeimpactsontheanimals’behaviorandwelfare.Issuesofinterraterreliabilityandstandardizationbecameapparentquicklyoncedatacollectionbegan,andprovidedagreatbasisfordiscussingthechallengesofresearch.Afterdatacollectionwascomplete,studentscompiled,organized,andsummarizedtheirdatainpreparationforanalysis.Oncestudentscompletedtheiranalyses,theywroteuptheirfindingswithregardtotheirinitialhypotheses.Finally,studentscreatedandpresentedpostersandpresentations,andsubmittedanAPAstyleresearchmanuscriptforevaluation.
Assessment
Topicsfortheprojectswereopen(withguidance).Thispermittedstudentstoexpressavarietyofcreativeandimportanttopics.InthetwosemestersthatI’vetaughtthecourse,studentshavecomeupwithawiderangeoftopics,suchas:
• EvaluatingtheWelfareofTwoPrimateSpeciesbasedonGroomingBehavior• VisitorEffectsonWithin-SpeciesInteractionsinaPettingZooSetting• EffectsofNoiseLevelandTemperatureonPlayBehaviorinRedKangaroos• GoldenLionTamarins:Cancrowdsizeoptimizenurturingbehavior?
15
Theseexamplesillustratethewidevarietyofindependentvariables,species,andbehavioralmeasuresthatstudentsmightchoosetoexplore.Studentsalsointeractwithoneanotherandprovidealotofpeerfeedbackthroughoutthecourse,soallstudentsareexposedtoarangeoftopics.
Ialsoadministeredasurveytostudents,aspartofthecourseevaluationprocessoverbothsemesters,andfeedbackwasverypositive.Mysurveyincludeditemsrelatedtoexperiencesinthecapstonecourse,overallratingsoftheeffectivenessofdifferentlevelsofinvolvementwiththeresearchprocess,andspecificzoo-relatedquestions.Studentsratedtheirexperiencespositivelyandsuggestedthatexperiencesinvolvingmorehands-oninvolvementintheresearchprocessweremorebeneficialforlearning.Theyalsoindicatedthattheexperiencewasbeneficialeveniftheyweren’tdirectlyinterestedinanimalresearch.Feedbackincludedcommentssuchas:
• Itwasgreatgettingoffcampusforsomethingacademicandthezoowasafun
location.• Ilookbackontheseexperiencesveryfondly.NotonlydidIlearnalot,butIalso
hadfunwhiledoingit.Iwasinvolvedinacoolprojectstarttofinish(brainstormingideastowritingapaperorposter)tofullygraspresearchmore.Eachdifferentresearchexperienceisvaluableandbuildsonthelast!ThisexposedmetosomethingIdidn'tknowIwouldenjoysomuchandfindsofascinating,andIplantocontinuethisintomyfuture.
• Itwaseye-openinganddespitethefactthatmyfutureresearchwillbedifferent,itwashelpfultoexperiencetheprocess.
• Ilearnedthatresearchcanbefun.
Conclusions
Researchexperiencesatthezoocanbehighlyengaging,interactive,andbeneficialtostudentslearningaboutresearchdesignandmethodology.Thelivinglaboratoryofthezooprovidesanalmostendlesscombinationofvariablestobeexamined,andarichenvironmentforcriticalthinkingandanalysis.Thestudentsreportedthatengaginginresearchatthezoowasapositiveexperience,andtheworktheyproducedwasofhighquality.Inadditiontoresearchmethods,thezoomightprovideanappropriateforumforanumberofpsychologycoursessuchassocial,environmental,educationalorculturalpsychology.Dependingonthecourse,studentsmightconductresearchontheeffectivenessofdifferenteducationaltechniques,oronchangesinconservationrelatedknowledgeorbehavior.Mostzoosareopentoinvolvingstudentsandhelpingtobuildcommunitybridgesacrossinstitutions.Additionalresearchshouldcontinuetoinvestigatetherelationshipbetweenthestudentexperience,potentialimpactonthezooitself,andthestrengthsofthezooasalearningenvironment,butthisexperiencesuggeststhatthereisgreatpotentialforaverypositive,mutuallybeneficialrelationship.
16
References
Ball,C.T.&Pelco,L.E.(2006).Teachingresearchmethodstoundergraduatepsychologystudentsusinganactivecooperativelearningapproach.InternationalJournalofTeachingandLearninginHigherEducation,17(2),147–154.
Ballantyne,R.,Packer,J.,Hughes,K.,&Dierking,L.(2007).Conservationlearninginwildlifetourismsettings:Lessonsfromresearchinzoosandaquariums.EnvironmentalEducationResearch,13,367–383.
Falk,J.H.,Reinhard,E.M.,Vernon,C.L.,Bronnenkant,K.,Deans,N.L.,&Heimlich,J.E.(2007).Whyzoos&aquariumsmatter:Assessingtheimpactofavisit.SilverSpring,MD:AssociationofZoos&Aquariums.
Maple,T.L.&Perdue,B.M.(2013).Zooanimalwelfare.Berlin:Springer-Verlag.Martin,P.,andBateson,P.(1993).MeasuringBehaviour:AnIntroductoryGuide,SecondEdition.
Cambridge,MA:CambridgeUniversityPress.
17
Chapter5HalloweenasanOpportunityforTeachingBiologicalPsychologyAnaM.H.KehrbergMuskingumUniversity
hatdowitches,zombiesandbiopsychologyallhaveincommon?Fearandintimidation.Justaszombiesandwitcheshavescaredpeopleforcenturies,biologicalpsychologyintimidatesmanypsychologymajors.Whetherinthe
introductorycourse,oranupper-levelcourserequiredforthemajor,mostundergraduatestudentsdonotunderstandtheusefulnessofbiopsychologyknowledgeintheirfuturecareersascounselors,socialworkers,teachers,etc.Inallofmyclasses,Imakeanefforttoreducestudents’fears,whilealsoincreasingtheirappreciationforthewaysbiopsychologywillberelevanttotheirfuturecareersandpersonallives.OnewayIhavefoundtoincreasestudents’interestandunderstandingofbiopsychologyistorelateittooneofthemostpopularholidaysoncampus:Halloween.
Background
Iplanmysyllabustocoversensation,perception,andmovementinlateOctober.These
topicsallowmetoincorporateHalloweenthemesbecausesensation,perceptionandmotorbehaviorsareintegraltotheelementsoffearandsurpriseintheHalloweenactivitiesthataresolovedbystudents.ThroughoutthesemesterIincorporatemanyclinicalexamplesandcasestudiestohelpstudentsconnectneuroanatomywithdisordersthattheymightalreadyfindfamiliar.Therefore,inOctober,wediscusstopicssuchassynesthesia,colorblindness,andParkinson’sdiseaseasmanystudentshaveexperiencewiththem.IalsointroducenewtopicssuchasHuntington’sdisease. OnthelecturebeforeHalloween,withmuchenthusiasm,Iremindthemthatbiopsychologyappliestoeverything.Therefore,IwillgivethemanotherexamplebyrelatingclassvocabularywordsandconceptstoHalloween-themedtopics.IstartbyexplaininghypothesizedconnectionsbetweentheSalemWitchTrialsandbiopsychology.TherewerereportsthatsomeoftheaccusedwitcheswereafflictedbyHuntington’sdisease.Althoughtherehavebeencriticisms(Hayden,1983),theoriginalhypothesisallowsustoreviewthesymptomsofHuntington’sdisease(motordysfunctionsincludingchorea,cognitivechangesincludingincreasedimpulsivity,andemotionalchangesincludingirritabilityandsocialwithdrawal).WethendiscusshowthegradualappearanceoftheseunusualbehaviorsandthoughtsmighthavebeeninterpretedasthreateningbytheresidentsofSalem,Massachusettsinthelate1600s.
W
18
Anotherbiopsychology-relatedhypothesisregardingthesetrialswasthatthevictimsofwitchcraftmighthavebeenaffectedbyergotpoisoning(Caporael,1976).Althoughmasshysteriaisamorelikelyexplanationforsubsequentcases(Spanos,1983),studentscanreviewneurochemistryandunderstandwhyergotpoisoningmighthavecausedterrifyingsymptomsinthefirstvictims.Simply,ergotisafungusthatcaninfectgrainssuchaswheatandrye.Oneofthechemicalcomponentsissimilartolysergicaciddiethylamide(LSD),ahallucinogenicdrugthatmoststudentshaveheardof.ThehallucinatoryeffectsofLSDhavebeenlinked,probablyasapartialagonist,tothe5-HT2Aserotonergicreceptors(Fantegrossi,Murnane&Reissig,2008),whichareconcentratedinthefrontalandvisuallobes.Giventheirbasicknowledgeofserotonin’simportanceinmoodandemotions,aswellasbasicunderstandingoftherolesofthesebrainareas,undergraduatesareusuallyabletohypothesizethatergotpoisoningshouldalsoresultinhallucinationsandmooddisruptions.Thesebehavioralchanges,inadditiontopossibleconvulsions,possiblyconnectchangesinneurotransmitterlevelstowitches.
Ifadditionaltimeremainstodiscusswitches,youmaywishstudentstoseeanepisodeofthePBSseries,SecretsoftheDeadentitledTheWitchesCurse,whichincludedaninterviewwithDr.Caporaelregardingherergotismhypothesis(Lewis,2001).
Implementation Afterourdiscussionsofwitches,Iaskthestudentstobreakintosmallgroups.IthenalloweachofthegroupstochooseanewHalloween-themedtopic,summarizedbelow.Theirassignmentistoapplyrelevantbiopsychologyvocabularyandknowledgetotheirassignedtopic,usingtheirlecturenotesandtextbook.Intheassignment,Istressthattheirideasmaybecontested,andnotstrictlyaccurate(aswasthecaseforbothhypothesesabouttheSalemWitchTrials),however,thegoalistoproposetestable,feasiblehypotheses.Thisisthetextprovidedatthestartoftheactivity:
ChooseONEofthetopicsbelowandrelateittoatleastTWObiopsychologyconcepts,usingfullsentences.WehaveNOTdiscussedthesetopicsinclass,butIexpectyoutobeabletothinkaboutwhatyou’velearnedaboutbiopsychologythissemesterandapplythatknowledgetoanewtopic.Youranswerprobablywillnotbestrictlycorrectindescribingtheneurosciencebehindthetopic,butIamlookingforyoutothoroughlyexplaintheconceptsandyourlogic.
Thegroupsdiscusstheirtopicandthenreportbacktooneanotherabouttheirhypotheses.Iconcludethelecturebyprovidingsomescientificresearchforeachoftheirtopics(seebelow). Youcanmodifythisassignmentforclassesthatdon’thavethepreviousknowledgeorclasstimetodedicatetothesegroupdiscussions.Forexample,theprofessorcouldallowstudentstovoteinadvanceforaparticularlecturetopicfromthelistbelow.Anotheroptionwouldbetoallowstudents,individuallyorasagroup,touseout-of-classtimetoprepareclasspresentationsbasedontheincludedlinksoradditionalresources.
19
SuggestedHalloweenThemesBeingFrightenedbyHauntedHouses,HorrorMovies,etc.
Studentscanusuallyidentifytheamygdalaandautonomicnervoussystemasregionsactivatedbyfear.Horrifyingscreamsarealwaysheardathauntedhouses,andAkst(2015)summarizedanarticleidentifyingamygdalaactivationwhenpeoplehear“rough”screams.Shaw(2014)discussedtheroleofthehypothalamusandmidbrain,asadditionalbrainareasimportantinourexperienceoffear.Additionally,sheincludedabriefdescriptionofhowgeneticdifferencesindopamineresponsivitymaycontributetowhysomepeopleenjoybeingfrightened.Zombies Populartelevisionshowshaveincreasedstudents’interestinzombies,andtheyknowaboutmanymorezombiecharacteristicsthanjustaneedtoeatbrains.Lewis(2013)summarizedtheroleofthecerebelluminzombies’motorpatterns,alackofexecutivefunctioningtypicallylinkedtheprefrontallobes,andthesimilaritybetweenzombies’languagepatternsandhumansdiagnosedwithWernicke’saphasia.Alsoincludedinthearticlearestoriesaboutzombie-likeanimalsandhowneurotoxinsorparasiticinfectionsmightcausesomesymptomsassociatedwithzombies.Candyconsumption Trick-or-treatingisatraditionalHalloweenactivitythatleadstomostchildrenoverindulginginsugarytreats.Undergraduatestudentscanoftenrecognizetheroleofincreaseddopaminelevelsinmakingeatingcandyenjoyable.Greenberg(2013)wroteaboutadditionallinksbetweensugarconsumptionandthenucleusaccumbens,endogenousopioids,andsimilaritiestodrugaddiction.Frankenstein StudentswithstrongliteraryknowledgemaybeabletonamesomecharacteristicsofDr.Frankenstein’sclassicmonsterthatrelatetobiopsychology.Forexample,Holcombe,Altschuler&Over(2009)proposedthatthemonsterexperiencedsynesthesia.MaryShelleyherselfexplainedthatGalvani’sclassicexperimentsthatsuggestedtheelectricalcontrolofmusclesprovidedtheideathatlightningstrikescouldbringlifetothemonster(Brown,2010).Studentsmayalsomaketheconnectionbetweenthemonsterandnewsaboutbraintransplantsurgeries(Lewis,2015),whichallowsforaclassdiscussionregardingtheethicsandfeasibilityofthesesurgeries.VampireBats Althoughfictionalhumanvampiresaremorefocusedonhematologythanneurology,vampirebatsprovideinterestingconnectionstobiopsychology.Bardi(2011)explainedhowvampirebatsusesensoryreceptors,similartosomepainreceptorsinhumans,todetectthemostefficientareatobiteandreceiveanimals’blood.Thesebatsalsohaveothersensoryadaptations,includingremarkablevision,thatimprovetheirabilitytofindbloodasitistheirsolesourceofsustenance.
20
Additionally,vampirebats(andotheranimals)cantransmitrabiestohumans.Therabiesviruscausesenoughneurologicaldamagetobefatalifnotvaccinatedagainstalmostimmediately.However,themechanismbywhichrabiescausesneuronalcelldeathisstillunclear(Murphy&Wasik,2012).Ghosts GhostsarealwaysapopularHalloweencostume,andprovideafewinterestingconnectionstobiopsychology.However,theseconnectionsmightbedifficultforstudentstohypothesizeontheirown,sothistopicwouldbebettersuitedforabrieflectureorastudentresearchpresentation. Klein&Ryther(2009)describedacomatosepatientwhoseCTscanappearedtoshowan“apparitionhemorrhage.”Knox(2009)interviewedDr.Kleinwhodiscussedhisreactionstoseeingaghost-likeimageinthispatient’sbrainnotlongbeforethepatientdied. Anotherwaytorelateghoststobiopsychologyisthroughhallucinations.Dr.OliverSacks(2012)wroteanentirebookonhallucinations,butWallace(2013)summarizedmanyoftherelevantpointsinabriefreport.Studentsoftenassumethatifsomeoneexperiencesahallucination,hemustbediagnosedwithschizophrenia.However,CharlesBonnetSyndrome,sensorydeprivation,epilepsy,andmigrainescanallresultinhallucinations.Althoughunlikelyformost,somepeoplemayperceivethesehallucinatorysensationsasghostly.Theseexamplesprovideausefulwaytoremindstudentsofthedistinctionbetweensensationandperception.
Conclusion
Ifindtheseactivitiestobeafunwaytobreakuptheclassroomroutineinthemiddleofthesemester.Anecdotally,studentsalsoseemtobemoreenergizedandengagedintheseactivitiesthanonanyothermid-semestermorning,especiallyifIprovidebrain-shapedgelatin(moldavailablefromOrientalTradingCompany,Item#IN-13672724)orcandy(OrientalTradingCompany,Item#IN-13700449).Mostimportantly,however,theirenthusiasmforthesetopicsallowsustoreviewmanyofthevocabularywordsandtopicsthathavebeencoveredduringthecourse,therebyreducingstudent’sanxietyaboutbiopsychology.
ReferencesAkst,J.(2015).Whyscreamsscareus.Retrievedfrom:http:www.the-
scientist.com?articles.viewarticleNo43556titleWhy-Screams-Scare-Us.Bardi,J.(2011).Whatsteersvampirestoblood.Retrievedfrom:
https:www.ucsf.edunews20110810379scientists-discover-what-steers-vampires-blood.Brown,A.S.(2010,Oct27).HowearlyexperimentswithelectricityinspiredMaryShelley’s
reanimatedmonster.Retrievedfrom:http:www.insidescience.orgcontentscience-made-frankenstein1116.
Caporael,L.R.(1976).Ergotism:thesatanloosedinSalem?Science,192(4234),21-26.Fantegrossi,W.E.,Murnane,A.C.,&Reissig,C.J.(2008).Thebehavioralpharmacologyof
hallucinogens.BiochemicalPharmacology,75(1),17-33.
21
Greenberg,M.(2013,Feb.5).Whyourbrainslovesugar–andwhyourbodiesdon’t.Retrievedfrom:https:www.psychologytoday.comblogthe-mindful-self-express201302why-our-brains-love-sugar-and-why-our-bodies-dont.
Hayden,M.R.(1983).ReflectionsonthehistoryofHuntington’schorea.TrendsinNeurosciences,6,122-124.
Holcombe,A.O.,AltschulerE.L.&Over,H.J.(2009).Adevelopmentaltheoryofsynaesthesia,withlonghistoricalroots:AcommentonHochel&Milan.CognitiveNeuropsychology,26(2),227-229.
Klein,J.P.&Ryther,R.C.(2009).Centralnervoussystemhemorrhage.NewEnglandJournalofMedicine,361,1786.
Knox,R.(2009,Oct28).Ghostinthebrain:An‘apparitionhemorrhage.’Retrievedfrom:http:www.npr.orgsectionshealth-shots200910ghost_in_the_brain_an_appariti.html.
Lewis,M.(Director).(2001).TheWitchesCurse[Televisionseriesepisode].InJ.Barraclough(Producer)&B.Hoppe(ExecutiveProducer),SecretsoftheDead.[Alexandria,VA]:PBSHomeVideo.Retrievedfrom:http:www.shoppbs.orgproductindex.jsp?productId=3215544
Lewis,T.(2013,Oct30).Zombieneuroscience:Insidethebrainsofthewalkingdead.Retrievedfrom:http:www.livescience.com40816-zombie-neuroscience-brains-of-the-walking-dead.html.
Lewis,T.(2015,Mar6)Whyheadtransplantswon’thappenanytimesoon.Retrievedfrom:http:www.livescience.com50074-head-transplants-wont-happen.html.
Murphy,M.&WasikB.(2012,July26).Undead:Therabiesvirusremainsamedicalmystery.Retrievedfrom:http:www.wired.com201207ff_rabiesall.
Sacks,O.(2012).Hallucinations.NewYork,NY:Knopf.Shaw,K.(2014,Oct.30).Scaredoutofyourmind:Halloween,fearandthebrain.Retrieved
from:http:theconversation.comscared-out-of-your-mind-halloween-fear-and-the-brain-33261.
Spanos,N.P.(1983).ErgotismandtheSalemwitchpanic:acriticalanalysisandanalternativeconceptualization.JournaloftheHistoryofBehavioralSciences,19(4),358-369.
Wallace,G.(2013,June27).Whatdohallucinationstellusaboutthebrain?Retrievedfrom:http:www.nature.comscitableblogbrain-metricswhat_do_hallucinations_tell_us.
22
Chapter6ExamReviewTriviaKristieL.CampanaMinnesotaStateUniversity,Mankato
neofthemorecommonrequestsIreceivefromstudentsisforanexamreview.Forexample,studentsoftenaskmetoprovidealistofkeywordsorconcepts,andgooverthislistindetailinclass.OtherstudentsaskthatIprovideexampleexamquestions
completewithakeythattheycanreviewbeforethetest.Morecommonly,studentsaskmetoprepareagamethatallowsthemtoshoutoutanswers.Iamcertainlynottheonlyinstructorwhoreceivestheserequests;articlesfromavarietyofdisciplinesdemonstratehowinstructorshavedesignedexamreviewgamesthatmimicJeopardy!(Keutzer,1993),crosswordpuzzles(Davis,Shepherd,&Zweifelhofer,2009),Survivor(Burks,2011),andBINGO(Sutterluety,2002).
Inthepast,Ihavebeenreluctanttodevoteclasstimetomanyofthesereviewactivities.Studyguides,whichIrefusetopostuntilaweekbeforetheexam,seemtoencouragemystudentstowaituntilthelastminutetostudy,andtofocusonlearningonlycontentthatwillbetested.Likewise,Iamwillingtopostafewexampleexamitems,butstudentstendnottousetheseeffectivelytogaugethegapsintheirknowledge.Gamesseematleastmoreengagingandfun,andhavebeendemonstratedtopromotelearning(e.g.Paul,Hollis&Messina,2006).However,preparingthesegamesisoftenanoneroustask.
Forexample,theuseofaJeopardyactivityrequiredmetofindanappropriatePowerPointtemplate,fillinanswers,findawaytohavegroups“buzzin”inawaythatIcouldidentifywhowasfirst,addpoints,trackwhichquestionshadalreadybeenanswered….Ultimately,IbecamefrustratedwiththisactivitybecauseIfeltthatIwasputtinginmoretimepreparingthisactivitythanmystudentswerespendingreviewingthematerial.
Furthermore,whilemystudentsenjoyedthisactivity,Ididnotfeelitwasasbeneficialasitcouldbe.Studentsoftentriedtostacktheirteaminsuchawaythattheywouldidentifythesmarteststudent,andrelyonhimorhertoanswerallthequestionswithnoinputfromtherestoftheteam.IfIofferednoincentive,studentsfrequentlybecamedisengaged;however,ifIofferedextracreditpoints,thestudentsfocusedonissuesoffairnessorcheating.
ThisisnotwhatIwantedinareviewactivity.Iwantedagamethatwouldgivethemtimefordiscussion,reflection,andpersuasionbeforetheysubmittedtheiranswers.Iwantedagamethatwouldwhettheirappetiteforcompetition,butwouldstilldrawtheirattentiontounderstandingandlearningthecontent,notontheminutiaofgameplayandrules.AsIconsideredwhatactivitiesmightbetterfitthesegoals,Ihituponanideathatwasseemedsoobvious,IwasembarrassedIhadn’tthoughtofityearsago:Trivia.
Triviahasexperiencedagreatdealofgrowthinthepastdecade.EnterprisingbarsareofferingatrivianighttorampuptheirprofitsontraditionallyslowTuesdaysandWednesdays(Pagels,2014),andappssuchasTriviaCrack,QuizUpandSporclearepopularamongtoday’s
O
23
collegestudents(Tweedie,2015).Inthespringof2015,Idecidedtotryoutatriviareviewactivityinmyupper-levelSurveyofIndustrial-OrganizationalPsychologycourse.
PreparingMaterialsforTrivia
Topreparethisactivity,Iworkedwithmytextbookexambanktodeviseshort-answer
questionsthatwouldappropriatelyteststudentsonthecontentfortheirfirstexam.Althoughmytestsaremainlymultiplechoiceandessay,Ilikedtheideaofaskingstudentstocomeupwithshortanswers,becausethiswouldproveslightlyharderthantheexam,andwouldhelpthemidentifykeywordsorconceptstheyhadforgottenormisunderstood.Forourfirstsession,Idesigned2rounds,with10questionseach.Icreatedananswerformwithroomforanswersfor10questionsandaspotforateamname.IalsodesignedPowerPointslideswithonequestionperslide;theseslidesautomaticallyadvancedeveryminute,withbuilt-in“intermissions”toallowmetimetoscoretheirformsaftereachround.Theformandmyslidesareavailableathttp://topix.teachpsych.orgwpage99775791Teaching%20with%20Trivia
Thefirstexamwasprimarilyareviewofresearchmethodsandanintroductiontoperformancemeasurement.Belowaresomeexamplequestions(andanswers)fromtheslides:
• Whichmeasureofcentraltendencywillbemostaffectedbyanextremelyhighvalue?(Themean)
• Ifwewanttoknowthatalltheitemsonatestseemtomeasurethesamething,whatkindofreliabilityshouldweexamine?(Internalconsistency)
• Whatdoesthecoefficientofdeterminationtellus?(Percentofvarianceexplained)• Whattypeofresearchdesignallowsustodeterminecausality?(Experiments)• Sometimeswemightexaminerecordssuchasdatasetsoftestscoresorpublicrecords.
Whattypeofresearchisthis?(Archival)• WhatisthedifferencebetweenthesubjectsofArmyAlphaandArmyBeta?(Soldier
literacy)• “Numberofwidgetsproducedinonehour”isanexampleofa)Contextualperformance
b)Objectiveperformancec)Subjectiveperformance(b-Objectiveperformance)
Iattemptedtoprovidearangeofdifficultyonthequestions,butIalsotriedtomakethecorrectanswersstraightforwardtohelpmescorethemeasily.Ialsoprepareda“tiebreaker”questionthatrequiredanyteamswithatiedscoretoguessanumber(“HowmanymembersdoesSIOPhave,accordingtoyourtextbook?”)sothatwhicheverteamwastheclosestwouldwinthegame.
TriviaDayFortriviaday,Idividedmy20-studentclassintofourgroupsoffivestudents.Ibrought5
donutsintoclass,andletthemknowthewinningteamwouldreceivedonutsasaprize—studentswerevisiblymotivatedbythisincentive.Iturnedonmusicforthestudents(IfoundPandora’s“ScorpionsRadio”providedanappropriatedivebarambiance),andstartedtheslides.AsIwalkedamongthegroups,Ifoundthattheirdiscussionswereintense;memberswhodisagreedaboutthecorrectanswerhadtoprovideclearrationalefortheirposition,whichresultedinsomeexcellentdebateaboutthefinerpointsofthematerial.Oncetheslidesforthe
24
firstroundended,Igavestudentsoneminutetobringtheirsheettome,andthenIscoredwhilestudentstookabreak,chatted,orcontinuedtodebatethecorrectanswers.Afterstudentsretrievedtheirscoredsheets,wewentbackthroughtheslidestoprovidethecorrectanswerandaddressanycommonmistakesInoticedandallowforquestionsorchallengestomyanswers.Werepeatedthisprocessforthesecondround,whichresultedinatie.Weusedthetiebreakeritem,andIawardedthedonutstotheteamthatwastheclosest.
Reflections
Icontinuedtousethetriviatechniquethroughoutthesemester,whichgavemesome
opportunitiestotweaktheprocessandreflectonthebenefitsoftheactivity.Ifeltthisactivityhelpedtocontributetoamorecooperative,collegialenvironment.Debateswithingroupswerepassionateandarticulate;duringthebreakswhenIwouldscoresheets,studentsoftenwoulddrinkcoffeeandchatwithothergroupsaboutwhattheyputfortheiranswers.StudentswouldquietdownquicklyasIreadoutanswers,althoughcheersandgroansfromgroupswouldbecommon.
Studentsalsowerewillingtochallengemyanswers;Iwelcomedthisdebate,andalthoughthissemesterIdidnothearanycompellingarguments,certainlyastrongrationalecouldearnagrouppointsbackandhelptoeducatetherestoftheclassonthetopic.Thisactivityalsoallowedforsomemomentsofdramaduringtheactivity;forexample,duringourlasttriviasession,agroupthathadbeentheunderdogsweptthelastroundandsnatchedthedonutprizeawayfromthegroupthathadbeenintheleadtheentiregame. Repeatingthisactivitygavemetheopportunitytoexperimentwithlogistics.Myclasswas105minutes,andIfoundIcoulddo3or4roundscomfortablyinthistime.Ialsofoundthataminuteperslidewasanappropriatelengthoftime,andstudentsappreciatedseeingtheitemsagainbriefly(10-20secondseach)sotheycoulddouble-checktheiranswers.Ialsofoundthatgivinggroups1minuteaftertheendoftheroundtohandintheirpaperwasadequateinthissmallclass.Ittypicallytookmeonlyaminutetogradetheirsheetsandreturnthem. AlthoughIimplementedthisactivityinasmallclassroom,Ibelieveitwouldbefeasibleinlargerclassrooms.Havingstudentshandinandpickuptheiranswerforms,andgettinghelpfromaTAorastudentinscoringanswerswouldexpeditetheprocess.Inaddition,havingalimitednumberofprizescanensurethegroupsstayatareasonablesize;ifagrouphad6members,someonewouldmissoutontheirdonut.Usingsmartphonestolookupanswersiscertainlyanissue,sosettingtheslidestoplayautomaticallycanallowtheinstructortowatchforanycheatinginlargerclasses. Finally,Ibelievethisactivityhaspotentialtohelpstudentsdevelopbetterstudyhabitsandactiveinvolvementinclassifusedregularly.Shorter,morefrequenttriviasessionsmightbeahelpfulunitrecap,andinstructorswhouseTeam-BasedLearning(TBL)couldeasilyincorporatethisasanadditionalexercisefortheirformedteams.ThismayalsobeahelpfulactivityforinstructorswhoareinterestedinTBL,butaren’treadytocommittoincorporatingitintotheirclassroomsfully.Ultimately,Ifoundthistobeafunandbeneficialwaytoencouragestudentstobemoreactiveinstudyingandreviewingtheirmaterialforexams.
References
25
Burks,R.(2011).Survivormath:Usingpopculturetoenhancelearningmathematics.PRIMUS,
21,62-72.Davis,T.M.,Shepherd,B.,&Zweifelhofer,T.(2009).Reviewingforexams:Docrosswordpuzzles
helpinthesuccessofstudentlearning?TheJournalofEffectiveTeaching,9,4-10.Keutzer,C.S.(1993).Jeopardy©inAbnormalPsychology.PsychologyofTeachingandLearning,
20,45-46.Pagels,J.(2014).Theeconomicsoftrivianight.Priceonomics,retrievedfrom
http:priceonomics.comthe-economics-of-trivia-nightPaul,S.T.,Hollis,A.M.,&Messina,J.A.(2006).Atechnologyclassroomreviewtoolforgeneral
psychology,TeachingofPsychology,33,276-279.Sutterluety,A.(2002).Bingogamedecreasesprocrastination,increasesinteractionwiththe
content.TheTeachingProfessor,16,4-5.Tweedie,S.(2015).Howatriviaappbroketherecordforthelongeststreakatthetopofthe
appstore.BusinessInsider,retrievedfromhttp:www.businessinsider.comhow-did-trivia-crack-become-so-popular-2015-1
26
Chapter7HowtoUseReplicationTeamProjectsinaResearchMethodsCourseLionelG.StandingBishop’sUniversity
hispaperdescribestheconsiderablebenefitswhichmayfollowfromintroducingreplicationteamprojectsintoaresearchmethodscourseattheintermediatelevel.Atpresentinstructorsinresearchmethodstoooftenfeelfrustratedwhenconfrontedwith
students'individualtermprojectsthatareseriouslydeficientintermsoftheirrationale,planning,andexecution(asnotedbyGraheetal.,2012),andwithasamplesizethatisusuallytoosmalltopermitmeaningfulconclusions.Asemesterisnotenoughtimeformoststudentstodoagoodjobwhentheyhavetocreateameaningfulprojectfromthegroundup,eventhoughtheywillmanagethiswhentheymoveontoperformsubsequentthesiswork,andtheyoftenseemoverwhelmed.
However,apossiblesolutiontothisproblemhasarisenfortuitously,duetotherecentrealizationthatindependentinvestigatorsfailtoreplicatemany,perhapsmost,ofthefindingsthathavebeenreportedinthepsychologicalliterature(OpenScienceCollaboration,2015).Wecanturnthissituationtogoodaccountfortheprogressofthediscipline,ifasinstructorsweintroducereplicationprojectsintoourmethodscoursesandemploythemasanexerciseincriticalthinking.Thebenefitsofclassreplicationprojects,beyondtheircontributiontoscientificknowledge,alsoinclude:betterqualityresearchthanprojectsdreamedupbythestudent,amanageablestudyforthestudenttoplanandexecute(andfortheinstructortomonitor),asimplerfinalreport,amoreadequatesamplesize,andcross-checkingofvalidity.Howcanweusereplicationprojectseffectively?
GettheStudentsInvolved
Studentsgenerallyseeminterestedtohearaboutthecurrentreplicationcrisis,andlikethe
ideaofcheckingoutideasthatarepresentedasestablishedwisdomintheircoursetexts.Itiswisetoallowthemtochoosebetweentheoptionsofcreatingtheirownproject,orjoiningtheclassreplicationproject,butinmyexperiencetheyinvariablychoosethelatter.Youcandescribetheuseofteamsandtheopportunitytogetpracticeincollaborativeresearchinapositiveway.Emphasizethattheyshouldalwaysapproacharesearchquestionimpartially.
WhichStudytoReplicate?
Forvarietyitmightseemdesirablefortheclasstoreplicateanumberofdifferentstudies,
aswiththesetoffourdiversereplicationsreportedbyStanding,Grenier,Lane,Roberts,and
T
27
Sykes(2014).Inpractice,however,replicatingjustonetargetpaperisgenerallypreferabletousingseveral,unlessyouhaveaverylargeclass,simplybecausethesamplesizewillbelarger.Sinceaplausibleguidelineisthatareplicationshouldemploythreetimesthenumberofsubjectsthatwereusedinthetargetstudyinordertoprovideafairtestofitsclaims(Simonsohn,2015),thisisanimportantconsideration.Statisticalpowercalculationsusingonlinesoftwarecanhelphere(e.g.,Allen&Hannent,2013).Thedatagiveninthetargetarticledatawillprovideanindicationofthelikelypowerifyouuseagivennumberofsubjects,althoughtheeffectsizethatyouactuallyobserveislikelytoshowadeclineeffect,thusreducingthepowerofyourreplication(OpenScienceCollaboration,2015).Ifapossibletargetpapercontainsanumberofexperiments,choosetoreplicatethestudywhichproducedthestrongestresults,usingthefewestsubjects.
Thestudythatyouandtheclasschoosetoreplicateshouldbefairlysimpleconceptuallyandinitsdesign,notrequiringspecialequipment,vastnumbersofsubjects,orlengthytesting.Itshouldreportclearresults,withsatisfactorysignificancelevelsandatleastamoderateeffectsize.Aspowerisalwaysacrucialissueinreplications(Maxwell,Lau,&Howard,2015),awithin-subjectsdesignmaybepreferabletoabetween-subjectsdesign.Thetargetstudyshouldalsobebasedonanideathatmostpeoplewouldfindfreshandinteresting.Otherwise,thechoiceisopen,butyoumaynotethatthesuccessrateishigherforcognitivestudiesthanthoseinthesocialarea(OpenScienceCollaboration,2015).
Itisusuallybesttoperformanexactratherthanaconceptualreplication,orelseabetween-subjectsstudywhereatleastoneoftheconditionsreplicatesthetargetstudyexactly.Thismakesforclearerinterpretationoftheresultsandsimplifiesplanning.
SettinguptheReplication
Theinstructorshouldtakeresponsibilityforobtainingallthenecessaryitemsortests,and
obtainingethicsapproval,preferablybeforethestartofthesemester.Ifnecessary,contacttheauthorofthetargetstudytogetclarificationconcerningthedetailsofwhatwasdone.Mostauthorsseemhappytooblige,ifyouapproachtheminacollegialway("wearehopingtoreplicateyourinterestingfinding..."),andwilloftenprovideneededinformationormaterials.
TeamsandCoordinators
Thefirststepwillbetodiscussthereasonsfortheprojectwiththeclass,togetthem
involvedandtoanswertheirquestions.Youcanthenallowtheclassmemberstoformthemselvesintoteamsoftherequiredsize(4-8seemsaboutright).Studentswilljoinupwiththeiracquaintances,whichmaypromotesocialfacilitation.Acolorormascotservesbetterthananumericallabeltoidentifyeachteamclearly.Appointingorelectingareliablestudentcoordinatorforeachteam(withareducedtestingload)makesiteasiertokeepeverythingrunningsmoothlyintermsoflogistics.Generallyyoucanentrustthecoordinatorswithmostdaytodayoperations,andtheywillneedtocontactyouonlytorequestsuppliesorobtainhelpinrecruitingsubjects,ortodealwithunexpectedproblems.EachstudentshouldwriteadetailedresearchproposalinAPAformat,foragrade;thisisbaseddirectlyonthetargetpaper,
28
toensurethattheystartouttotallyfamiliarwiththeaimsandproceduresoftheproject,aswellasthedataanalysistobeused.
CollectingtheData
Thenextstepistomeetwiththecoordinatorsandrunovertherationaleforthestudyand
thestepsinvolvedintesting,whichmayhelptoidentifyanypointsforclarification.Thenyoushouldmeetwitheachteamandrepeatthisprocess.Practicesessionsareessential,whereyouwalktheteamthroughthewholetestingprocess,frominformedconsenttodebriefing.Youshouldalsoexplaintheideaofappropriatedemeanorduringtestingonthepartoftheexperimenterandthesubject(noconversations,cellphoneusage,orrefreshmentsallowed,forexample)anddiscusshowtohandleanyissuesthatmightarise.Theteamsthencollecttherequireddata,withmemberstestingsubjects(preferablyingroups),workingeitherindividuallyorinpairs.Usedouble-blindtestingwhereverpossible,andrememberthatitismandatoryifthetargetpaperemployedit.
Thecoordinatorsshouldprogressivelycollatethedatasheetsandconsentformsastheirteammembersproducethem,andmonitortheprogressoftheirteamthroughatestingschedule,withdeadlinesassignedbytheinstructorsoastoensurecompletionwellbeforetheendofthesemester.Thecoordinatorsentertheirteams'dataintospreadsheets,whichyoucancheckanddistributetothewholeclassoncecomplete.
AnalyzingtheData
Itisimportanttoplanthedataanalysesinadvancesoastocoverthosewhichwere
presentedintheoriginalpaper,butalsoitmaybepossibletotestfurtherpointsofinterest.Forexample,anexperimentontheenhancementofself-controlproducedbyglucoseconsumption(Gailliotetal.,2007;Study8)ledtoadirectreplicationbyStanding,Astrologo,Benbow,Cyr-Gauthier,andWilliams(2015),usingfourteamsoffivestudentseach.Wefollowedtheanalysesandgraphsfromtheoriginalpaperasaninitialmodel,usingtemplatesforSPSSANOVAandExcelgraphswhichtheinstructorpreparedinadvance.Butadditionallyweclassifiedthesubjectsaccordingtotheirgender,whichwasnotexaminedintheoriginalpaper,andthenemployeditasanindependentvariable(sothata2×2between-subjectsdesignnowbecamea2×2×2design).Thisanalysisconfirmedtheoriginalresultoverall,butshowedthatitoccurredonlyinthefemalesubjects,withasmallereffectsizethaninthetargetstudy,andnotatallformales.Wealsonotedthatformalestheactofwritingaboutdeathappearedtodepletetheirself-controlnomorethandidwritingaboutdentalpain,asurprisingobservationwhichhasledtofurtherinvestigations.
Whentheyhaveanalyzedthepooleddata,studentscanwriteupagradedreportinAPAstyle,workingindividuallyorwithpartners,soastopresenttheclassresultsandcontrastthemwiththoseofthetargetpaper.Youcanaskthemtoincludeanyrelevantnewstudiesdonesincethepublicationofthetargetarticle,andtogiveashortcritiqueoftheoriginalpaperthatgoesbeyondapassivesummary.
Itiseasyfortheinstructortoincludethedifferentteamsasanadditionalvariable,iftheyeachperformthesamereplication,andtocomparetheirpatternofresultsforconsistency.
29
Thusa2×2designbecamea2×2×4designintheexamplegivenabove.Ouranalysisshowedthateachofthefourteamshadsuccessfullyreplicatedtheglucoseeffect.Thisishelpfulinassessingthereliabilityofreplications,andanticipationofthiscross-checkingmayhelptokeepteammembersfromrelaxingtheireffortsoverthecourseofthetestingsessions.
WhattodowiththeResults?Aninitialstepistocommunicatetheresultstotheoriginalauthor.Iftheoutcomeispositive,theywillbegladtohearofthis,andifnegativetheyshouldknowaboutit-hopefullyleadingtodiscussionastowhythismighthaveoccurred.Naturallyoneshouldconveytotheauthorthatoneunderstandsthelogicalpointthatanegativeresultdoesnotprovethattheoriginalstudywasfaulty.Thenextstepwouldusuallybetoposttheresultspublicly,generallyundertheauthorshipoftheteamcoordinators(ormembers)andtheinstructor,inasuitableforumsuchasthePsychFileDrawerwebsite(www.psychfiledrawer.org),whichprovidesamajorarchiveofreplicationattempts.Theprocessofpreparingashortsummaryoftheresultsisstraightforward,andthiswebsiteprovidesasimpletemplatetofollow.Asthisarchiveiscumulativeandgrowingsteadily,studentsmaybeabletocomparetheirresultswiththoseofotherresearchers.TheycanalsolistthisreportasanonlinepublicationontheirCVs.Analternativeapproach,requiringmorepre-planning,wouldbetoparticipateintheAPSRegisteredReplicationReportsproject(www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/replication).Insomecasesitmaybepossibletopublishtheresultsasashortarticleornote,particularlysincesomejournalsarenowbecomingmoreopentopublishingreplicationsandnullresults.Thiswouldbemostlikelytooccurincaseswherethereplicationincludestheexactdesignoftheoriginalstudybutalsoextendsitwithadditionalconditionsorvariables,andwhereallthereplicationteamshaveobtainedsimilarresults,whetherpositiveornegative.
DoProblemsArise?Notreally,inmyexperience.Studentsmaystartoutaspartisans,rootingforsuccessorfailureofthereplication,buttheinstructorcanreadilyovercomethis.Daytodayissuescanarise,aswhenunexpectedillnessstrikes,andpeoplewillhavetofillinforeachother.Ortherareindividualsimplyfindsthattheydonotlikeworkingwithotherpeople,asituationwhichwillprobablyresolveitself.Youmustanticipatetimepressureonthestudents,asinanyresearchproject.Toguardagainstanyconcernsthatthemembersofateammaynotallpulltheirweight,itiseasytoemployaHerreidappraisal:eachmemberratesalltheothermembersoftheirteamindividuallyfortheircontribution,accordingtoastandardizedscheme(Herreid,2001).Ihavedonethisatthehalfwaymark,andagainattheendofdatacollection.
30
ConclusionsThereplicationteamapproachhasworkedwellforme,andstudentshavetoldmethattheyappreciateitsadvantages.Iseereplicationteamprojectsastheidealstepping-stonebetweenthesmallcannedexperimentsthatweoftenusetointroduceresearchmethods,andthethesisordissertationcoursewherethestudentwilltakemostoftheresponsibilityforanoriginalstudy.Insteadofexperiencingthestressoftryingtogetacoupleofdozenstudentsquicklylaunchedonindividualprojects,withmarksoftenawardedforsub-standardwork,youcanfeelthesatisfactionofknowingthatyourclassiscreatingvalidpsychologicalknowledgewhichwillenterthepublicrecord.TheconsiderableenthusiasmthatFrankandSaxe(2012)expressfortheuseofreplicationsinteachingseemswellmerited.Withreplicationteams,itiseasytodevelopaclimatewheretheclassandtheinstructorworktogetherinacollaborativeratherthanahierarchicalrelationship.Theinstructor'staskiseasedinmanyways,whilethestudentsbenefitintheirskillsandgainself-confidence.Andsciencemarcheson.
AuthorNoteThe collaboration of the class of PSY313A: Advanced Research Methods at Bishop’s
University,2013-2014,isgratefullyacknowledged.
References
Allen,R.,&Hannent,I.(2013).Anewcomputerisedpowercalculatorwithgraphicalinterface.Retrievedfrom:http:homepages.gold.ac.ukps-tecpowercalculator
Frank,M.C.,&Saxe,R.(2012).Teachingreplication.PerspectivesonPsychologicalScience,7(6),600-604.doi:10.11771745691612460686
Gailliot,M.T.,Baumeister,R.F.,DeWall,C.N.,Maner,J.K.,Plant,E.A.,Tice,D.M.,...Schmeichel,B.J.(2007).Self-controlreliesonglucoseasalimitedenergysource:willpowerismorethanametaphor(Study8).JournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychology,92(2),325-336.doi:10.10370022-3514.92.2.325
Grahe,J.E.,Reifman,A.,Hermann,A.D.,Walker,M.,Oleson,K.C.,...&Wiebe,R.P.(2012).Harnessingtheundiscoveredresourceofstudentresearchprojects.PerspectivesonPsychologicalScience,7,605-607.doi:10.11771745691612459057
Herreid,C.F.(2001).Whenjusticepeeks:evaluatingstudentsincasestudyteaching.JournalofCollegeScienceTeaching,30,430-433.
Maxwell,S.E.,Lau,M.Y.,Howard,G.S.(2015).Ispsychologysufferingfromareplicationcrisis?Whatdoes“failuretoreplicate”reallymean?AmericanPsychologist,70(6),487-498.doi:10.1037a0039400
OpenScienceCollaboration(2015).Estimatingthereproducibilityofpsychologicalscience.Science,349(6251),1-8.
Simonsohn,U.(2015).Smalltelescopes:Detectabilityandtheevaluationofreplicationresults.PsychologicalScience,26(5),559-569.doi:10.11770956797614567341
31
Standing,L.G.,Astrologo,L.,Benbow,F.F.,Cyr-Gauthier,C.S.,&Williams,C.A.(2015,Oct9).Usingparallelreplicationteamstoteachresearchmethods.PaperpresentedatNortheastConferenceforTeachersofPsychology,FitchburgStateUniversity,Massachusetts.
Standing,L.G.,Grenier,M.,Lane,E.A.,Roberts,M.S.,&Sykes,S.J.(2014).Usingreplicationprojectsinteachingresearchmethods.PsychologyTeachingReview,20(1),96-104.
32
Chapter8NoMinoritiesAllowed!StimulatingAntiracismDialoguebyExaminingPsychology’sPastMichelleM.MerwinandJosephOstensonTheUniversityofTennesseeatMartin
esearchershaveidentifiedthenecessityofexploring“Whiteprivilege”(Boatright-Horowitz&Soeung,2009)usingsuchmethodsasvideostospurconversation,andthinkingaboutthetopic(Soble,Spanierman,&Liao,2011).Researchsuggeststhatbeing
partofagroupthatparticipatedinpastracialdiscriminationmayevokefeelingsofsympathyorguilt,whicharedifferentfromthosefeelingsexperiencedattheindividuallevel(Doosje,Branscombe,Spears,&Manstead,1998).Studentswhoremainfocusedonthediscriminativeactsatthegrouplevelratherthanattheindividuallevelaremorelikelytodevelopfeelingsofsympathyforthediscriminatedgroupandthus,moremotivatedtoassist(Iyer,Leach,&Crosby,2003).Aswell,theAmericanPsychologicalAssociationtaskforceonundergraduatepsychologyproficienciesestablishedlearningaboutdiversity,andincreasingawarenessofprejudiceanddiscriminationinselfandothersaseducationalgoals(AmericanPsychologicalAssociation,2013).
IbelievethatthediscriminationthattookplaceearlyinAmericanpsychologyservesasapointforraisingawarenessofsuchdisparitiesamongourstudents.UsinghistoricaldiscriminationoccurringamongearlyAmericanpsychologists,Idesignedthefollowingclassroomexperiencetoheightenstudentawarenessofdiscrimination.Particularly,Isoughttofosterstudentunderstandingandempathyforearlycontributorswhoseworkwasrestrictedbecauseofrace,ethnicity,orsex,hopingtoaddanaffectiveelementtotheirintellectualunderstandingofdiscriminationinhistoricalpsychology.AsIdiscuss,somehistoryofpsychologystudentspreparedpresentationsaboutminoritypsychologists,butwereprohibitedfrompresentinganddidnotreceivecredit,whileothersassignedtypicallywhite,malepsychologistswereallowedtopresentandreceivecredit.Ihaverepeatedthisactivityoverseveralsemestersandinevitably,itsparkslivelydiscussionaboutdiscrimination,racismandsexism,pastandpresent.
TheExperienceofDiscrimination
Onthefirstdayofclass,undertheguiseofanintroductiontothecourse,Iassigneach
studentapsychologistfromadiversepool,andinstructthestudentstoprepareatwo-minuteoralpresentationconcerningtheirpsychologist’saccomplishments.Ourtextbookservesastheirsource.IalsoprovidesupplementalinformationtostudentspresentingonAfricanAmericanpsychologistsnotcoveredintheirtext(e.g.,Guthrie,1998).Overfoursemesters,I
R
33
havegiventhisassignmenttoaround50students;about17%ofallstudentsinmycourseswereAfricanAmericansand70%werewomen.WhileIdomakeminorchangesinthecoursesyllabuseachsemester,Ihavealwaysmadethisalowstakesactivity(e.g.,2-pointextracredit,5-pointassignment,etc.).
Whenpresentingontheirpsychologists,studentsstandinacircle,sothattheycanseeoneanother.Iaskthestudentstopresenttheirinformationinthefirstperson.HavingthemreadtheirtextinthefirstpersonmakestheactivityfeelmorepersonalwhenItellseveralofthemthat,becauseoftheirpsychologist’sminoritystatus,heorshewillnotbeallowedtopresent.Iplaytheroleofthepersonoverseeingtheproceedings(Ihaveconsideredwearingmyregalia)andpolitelyaskhimorhertositdownwhenastudent’sminoritypsychologistiscalledtopresent.Isaysomethinglike,“Asmuchaswemightliketohearwhatyouhavetosay,weareunabletoacceptworkfromminorityparticipants.Pleasehaveaseat.Also,I’mafraidthatIwon’tbeabletoawardyoucredit,giventhatyouwon’tbepresenting.It’sonlytwopointsthough.I’msurethatyoucanmakethemupsomehowoverthecourseofthesemester.”Thesestudentssitattheperipheryoftheroominsectionslabeled,“Negroes,”“Jews,”or“Women,”dependinguponthepsychologist’sstatus,andarenotawardedpoints.IdonotallowstudentspresentingpsychologistswhoarewomenorAfricanAmericanstopresent,andIemployaquotaforJewishpsychologists.Dependingupontheclasssize,oneortwostudentsrepresentingJewishpeoplemaypresent,butsubsequentpresentersareprohibited.Somestudentsarenotawareoftheirpsychologist’sminoritystatus,butIworktheinformationintothediscussionasthepresentationsprogress.Forexample,Isay,“Dr.Freud,thankyouforyourcontributionstopsychology.IunderstandthatyourfoursisterswerekilledinHolocaustdeathcamps.SuchsadcircumstancesfortheJews.Pleaseacceptmycondolences.”IsimplyaskthenextiftheyareofJewishheritagebeforeexplainingthequotaandaskingthestudenttobeseated.
Generallyabout50%ofthepsychologistsIassigndidnotfacediscrimination(e.g.,G.StanleyHall,WilliamJames,EdwardThorndike,JohnWatson,LightnerWitmer).IdividetherestintoJewishpsychologists(e.g.,SigmundFreud,AlfredAdler,AbrahamMaslow),AfricanAmericans(e.g.,FrancesSumner,RuthHowardBeckham,KennethClark),andwomen(e.g.,HelenWoolley,MaryCalkins,MargaretWashburn).AsIdon’twantthestudentstoimmediatelycatchontowhatI’mdoing,Icallfirstonafewinarowwhofacednodiscrimination.Thefirststudentpresentingaminorityisaskedtotapeasignlabelingtheminoritypsychologist’sstatusonthedesk,indicatingwhereotherswillsoonsit.ThosepresentingAfricanAmericanwomenmaychosetositineithersection.Afterthestudentsrepresentingnon-minoritypsychologistspresent,wediscussdiscriminationandwriteabouttheexperience.Aswell,studentsrespondtoanessayquestiononthefirstexam.
ProcessingtheExperience
Asanessayquestiononthefirsttest,studentsareaskedtocitetwoexamplesof
discrimination(nameandsituation),todescribewhatapersoncouldlearnaboutdiscriminationfromactivelyengagingintheactivity,andtodescribewhatapersoncouldlearnfrombeingineachgroup(thosewhopresentedandthoseunabletopresent).Ianalyzedresponsesspanningtwosemestersandfoundthreethemes.Thefirstwasanaffectiveresponse,involvingfeelings
34
thatitwas“unfair,”orunjustnottogivecredittothosewhoearnedit;frustrationinvolvingnotbeingabletopresentcompletedwork,orwiththosewhodidn’tprotestinjustice;helplessnessandtheroleofluckorchance(referringheretoaseeminglyarbitraryquota),andempathyforthosediscriminatedagainst(discouragement,resentment,anger).Onestudentcommented,“[Students]gottofeelwhatitwaslikefor[thosediscriminatedagainst].Ifwewerejusttoldtheywerediscriminatedagainst,weprobablywouldhaveforgotten.”Anotherwrote,“Withoutparticipatinginthisactivity,peoplemightnottake[inequality]seriously,ornotletitaffectthem.” Historicalconsequencesemergedasthesecondtheme.Studentsnotedthattheactivityenhancedunderstandingofthehistoricalcontextandimportanceofzeitgeist;skepticismaboutwhetherpeoplewereappropriatelycreditedforwork(forexample,menreceivingsolecreditwhenwomencontributed);appreciationforthedepth,breadth,andrecencyofdiscrimination;lostpotentialknowledgeoradvancesinthefieldofpsychologyandthelargersocietyduetodiscrimination. Derivingpersonalmeaningemergedasthethirdtheme.Forexample,studentswroteabouttheadmirationandrespecttheydevelopedforthosewhopersistedandaccomplisheddespitediscrimination.Manyacknowledgedthechallengesfacedbysomepsychologists.Ihaverepeatedlyobservedthatduringthebroaderdiscussion,studentswhowerescheduledtopresentminoritypsychologiststrytheirbesttoinsertaccomplishmentsintothediscussion.Itisasiftheyinsistthatothersbetoldabouttheirpsychologist’saccomplishments. Iconductthisactivityeverysemester.EachsemesterIapproachitwithexcitementandtrepidation.Ineverknowhowaclasswillrespond.IunderstandthatIrisklosingrapportwithstudentsthefirstweekofclass.IhaveestablishedacomfortlevelinmyteachingthatallowsmetoreestablishanylostrapportandIhavefoundstudentstobeveryforgiving.Eventhosewhodonotreceivecreditseethelessonasbeingworththecost.Thelossofpointsappearssecondary.Studentswillsaysuchthingsas,“IspentallthattimewritingandrehearsingandIdon’tevengettopresent!”Idolaterletthempresent,butdonotawardpoints.IhaveaskedstudentswhetherIshouldawardcreditlater,buttheyindicatethattheactivityismoreeffectivebecausethepointsareneverawarded.
Ifyouchoosetousethisactivity,you’llneedtopreparetomanagethediscussion.Thisdiscussionprovidesanexcellentforumtoclarifymisconceptionsaboutdiscriminationandcivilrightschanges.Forexample,manytimesstudentswillsay,“Whydidn’theorsheprotest?”or“Whydidn’ttheybandtogetherandstandupforthemselves?”Inoneclass,astudentmistakenlyattributedtoomuchcredittoRosaParks(asingleperson)asasoleforceinadvancingcivilrights,whileignoringthelargerfoundationalmovement.AlthoughIleadthediscussion,correctionsaboutsuchmisinformationarebestwhentheycomefromotherstudents.
AsI’vecontinuedtousethisactivityoversubsequentsemesters,Ihavefounditextremelymeaningful,bothforthestudentsandformeastheinstructor.Thoughitdoespresentauniquesetofchallengesintheclassroom,thestrongemotionsandrealsenseofinjusticethatthestudentsexperiencerewardeachofuswithanew,moreprofoundunderstandingofdiscrimination,bothinthepastandinthepresent.Partofourroleasinstructorsofpsychologyistoprovideourstudentswiththissortofnewunderstanding;an
35
activityliketheonediscussedherehasprovedtobeaneffectiveandverypracticalwayofdoingso.
AuthornotePortionsofthisessaywerepresentedattheAmericanPsychologicalAssociationannual
convention.Washington,D.C.,August2014.
ReferencesAmericanPsychologicalAssociation(2013).APAguidelinesfortheundergraduatepsychology
major:Version2.0.Retrievedfromhttp:www.apa.orgedprecollegeaboutpsymajor-guidelines.pdf
Boatright-Horowitz,S.L.&Soeung,S.(2009).TeachingwhiteprivilegetoWhitestudentscanmeansayinggood-byetopositivestudentevaluations.AmericanPsychologist,64,574-575.
Doosje,B.,Branscombe,N.R.,Spears,R.,&Manstead,A.S.R.(1998).Guiltybyassociation:Whenone’sgrouphasanegativehistory.JournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychology,75,872-886.
Guthrie,R.V.(1998).Eventheratwaswhite(2nded.).Boston,MA:Allyn&Bacon.Iyer,A.,Leach,C.W.&Crosby,F.J.(2003).Whiteguiltandracialcompensation:Thebenefits
andlimitsofself-focus.PersonalityandSocialPsychologyBulletin,29,117-129.Soble,J.R.,Spanierman,L.B.&Liao,H.(2011).EffectsofabriefvideointerventiononWhite
universitystudents’racialattitudes.JournalofCounselingPsychology,58,151-157.
36
Chapter9E-xcellenceinWriting:ReducingUndergraduateWritingApprehensionwiththeBasicPsychologicalNeedsShannonHayden,AdenaYoung-Jones,JacquelineByrket,andTaylorSmithMissouriStateUniversity
eachersareperpetuallyconfrontedwithundergraduatestudents’lackofproficientwritingskillseveninupperlevelcollegecoursesacrosstheUnitedStates(Bartlett,2003).Despitethisdeficiency,graduatefacultyexpectahighdegreeofwritingexpertisefromincomingstudents.Overall,graduatedegreeprogramsareknowntobewriting
intensive;thisisespeciallytruewithinthesocialsciences(Bartlett,2003;Can&Walker,2010;Karakaya&Ulper,2011;Torrence,Thomas,&Robinson,1992;Wingate,2010).Interestingly,asubstantialpercentageofstudentsaspiretoattendgraduateschool.Currently,1.7millionstudentsareenrolledingraduateprogramsaccordingtoapressreleasebytheCouncilofGraduateSchoolsandGraduateRecordExaminationsBoard(Allum,2014).Inresponse,numerousstudiesidentifybestpracticesforteachingcompositiontomeetthedemandsforskilledwriters.Theirsuggestionsincludeevaluationofinstructorstyle(Kahn&Holody,2009),feedbackeffectiveness(Fallahi,Wood,Fallahi,&Austad,2006;Gielen,Tops,Dochy,Onghena,&Smeets,2010),coursepedagogy(Stellmack,Keenan,Sandidge,Sippl,&Konheim-Kalkstein,2012),anddegreespecificinstruction(Morgan,Fraga,&Macauley,2011).However,fewstudiesinvestigatetheunderlyingproblemofstudents’motivationandattitudestowardwriting.Whenpreparingstudentsforthesubstantialtaskofscientificwriting,itisimperativeforustoexaminewhystudentsfeelinadequate,avoidwriting,andlackmotivationtowrite.WeexaminedthesefactorswithintheSelf-DeterminationTheory(SDT)frameworkandincludebriefrecommendationsforimprovingstudentperceptionsofwritingabilities.
WhatDoesSelf-DeterminationTheoryPropose? AccordingtoDeciandRyan’s(1985,2002)Self-DeterminationTheory(SDT),reachingthehighestpotentialintermsofacademicmotivationnecessitatesfulfillmentofbasicpsychologicalneeds,autonomy,competence,andrelatedness.Asstudents’satisfactionoftheseneedsincrease,theyareexpectedtobecomeintrinsicallymotivated,whichisdefinedasaself-determinedstateofflowthatoriginatesfromaninternalandself-perpetuatingsource(Deci&Ryan,2000,2002;Deci,Vallerand,Pelletier,&Ryan,1991;Levesque,Copeland,Pattie,&Deci,2010).Intrinsicallymotivatedstudentshaveincreasedself-efficacyandwell-being.Theyalsotendtoenjoycourseworkmoreandmaintainahighgradepointaverage.Incontrast,studentsresideinastateofextrinsicmotivationoramotivationwhentheirbasicneedsaredeprived.Extrinsicmotivationoccurswhenindividualsareenticedbyexternalsourcessuchas
T
37
rewards,punishments,ameanstoanend,orguiltamongotherinfluences.Thisleadstostudents’difficultiesattendingclass,completingassignments,andmayeventuallycausethemtodropout.Additionallystudentscouldexperienceamotivation,anapatheticattitudetowardeducation,whentheacademicenvironmentdoesnotsatisfythebasicpsychologicalneeds. Wehypothesizedtheseprinciplesapplywhenaddressingspecificacademictasks(i.e.,writing).Individualswhoexperiencemultiplepositivewritingandfeedbackencountersaremoreinclinedtoobtainneedsatisfactionwithinthisdomainand,therefore,aremorelikelytobeintrinsicallymotivatedtowrite.Conversely,studentswhohavefew,ornegative,occurrenceswillnotpossessneedsatisfaction,drivingthemtotheoppositeendofthemotivationalspectrum.Thus,studentsretainingextrinsicmotivation,oramotivation,towardacademicwritingcouldstruggletoinitiatewritingtasks.
SurveyFindings Wesampledbothlower-andupper-classmenforthisinvestigation(Hayden,Young-Jones,&Byrket,2015).Participantswerepresentedwithfourquestionnaires:AcademicMotivationScale(AMS),theBasicPsychologicalNeedsScale(BPNS),theDaly-MillerWritingApprehensionTest(WAT),andademographicforminwhichstudents’writingavoidancebehaviorswereassessedusing“yesno”questions.Wefoundasmallpercentage(26%)ofstudentsavoidedaclassduetothewritingrequirement.However,thestudyrevealedhalf(50%)ofourparticipantspreferredtoworkonapresentationratherthanapaper,butthemajority(80%)plannedtoapplyforgraduateschool.Bothupper-andlower-classmenindicatedthatgoodwritingskillsarevitalinthefieldofpsychology,theirbachelor’sdegree,andlifeingeneral.Interestingly,upper-classmenconsistentlyassignedmoreimportancetoeachscenariothantheirlower-classmenpeers;yet,studentsdidnotseektoimprovewritingskillsoutsideofcourserequirementsconsideringonlyonethird(34%)ofparticipantswroteforprojectsbeyondclassobligations.Whilehalf(50%)plannedtoutilizeapotentialwritingtutorwithinthepsychologydepartment,significantlyfewer(28%)soughtwritingassistancefromcampusresources(i.e.,tutoringservice).Thisrevealsthatstudentsdonotaccessresourcesreadilyavailableoncampus. Withregardtoparticipantself-perceptionsofwritingskills,moststudentsexhibitedAverageApprehension(AA;109,59%)onthewritingapprehensionmeasure.DalyandMiller(1975),authorsoftheWAT,arguethisistheappropriatecategoryforthemajorityofstudentwriters.TheremainingindividualsscoredwithintheHighApprehension(HA;22,12%)andLowApprehension(LA;55,30%)classifications.BothLAandHAcategoriespredictdifficultiesincompositionaltasks.LAstudentsmayexhibitoverconfidence,thus,leadingthemtoapproachthetaskinahaphazardmannerordisregardproperpreparation.HAsareoverwhelmedbyassignmentsandstruggletoinitiateprojects.Bothcategoriestendtoprocrastinate,albeit,fordifferentreasons.StudentsoutsidetheAAcategoryfrequentlysubmitalowerqualityproductwhichdoesnottrulyreflecttheiroverallabilities.
WerandomlysampledtheAAcategorytocreateevengroupsforcomparisonofmotivationfactors.WATscoresnegativelypredictedacademicmotivation;lowerwritingapprehensioncorrelatedwithmoreintrinsicformsofmotivation.Whenanalyzingthethreebasicpsychologicalneeds,wefoundthatcompetencewasapositivepredictor,relatednesswas
38
anegativepredictor,andautonomyexhibitednorelationshipwithwritingapprehension.Thesefindingssupportourinitialhypothesisthatbasicneedsexertaninfluenceonstudentperceptionsofcompositionadequacies. Awarenessofstudents’academicmotivationallowsforinsighttoourpreviouslymentionedquestions.Basedonthepresentresults,weproposethatstudentsavoidwritingbecausetheyhaveeithertoohighortoolowalevelofapprehensiontowardthetask.Consequently,webelievethatstudentslackmotivationtowritebecausetheyhaveaninsufficientsenseofcompetencewithinthecompositionaldomain.Thisisadoubleedgedswordbecausestudents’areunabletoincreaseproficiencywithoutpracticinganddevelopingtheirabilities.Receivingexpertfeedbackiscrucialtoimprovementthatcannotoccurinisolation.Weproposethatacademicwritinginterventionsshouldbetargetedtofacilitatethisprocess,whilealsointerruptingtheavoidancecycle,andredirectinghesitationtendencies.
RecommendationstoIncreaseWritingMotivation AccordingtoDeciandRyan’sSDT(1985,2002),differenttypesofmotivationaresituatedonafullspectrum.Astudentmayprogressorregressalongthecontinuumandexperiencevariouslevelsofmotivationindistinctphasesoflife.Therefore,studentsmaybeontheintrinsicmotivationportionofthespectrumforattendinggraduateschoolbutresideontheextrinsicoramotivationportionforacademicwriting.Theymaynotconnectthesetwoaspectsoftheirlives.Subsequently,instructorsshouldconveyanddemonstratethenecessityofwriting;thiscanpromptandencourageinternalizationofsufficientpractice.Todothis,werecommendthatteachersincorporateatleastonewritingassignmentintointroductorylevelcoursesandincreasethedepthandorcomplexityofcompositionsforupperlevelcourses.Professorsmustemphasizewritingasanessentialskillforallcollegegraduates;thisisespeciallytrueforstudentsplanningtoapplyforgraduateprograms.Hence,webelieveallindividuals,regardlessofpost-graduationplans,willbenefitfromimmediatedevelopmentofwritingproficiency.Collegeinstructorscanprovidestudentswithresourcesandsuggestionsthroughindependentwritingprojects,visitstocampuswritingexperts,collaborativeassignmentsamongstudentsofsimilarskilllevels,andreviseresubmitrequirements.
Whenstudentssuccessfullycompletetheaforementionedtasks,therewillbeapositiveimpactontheirneedsforcompetence.Sincecompetencefulfillmentisanegativepredictorofwritingapprehension,interventionstargetedatincreasingstudents’senseofwritingcompetencycouldreducewritingapprehension.DeciandRyan(2002)assertthatcompetencerequiresthepursuitofchallengesatoptimalcapacitywhilealsoactivelyenhancingskills.Studentswithstrongapprehensiontowardwritingdonotfeelasenseofcompetencybecausetheyavoid,procrastinate,orfeelanxiousaboutwritingassignments.ProfessorsshouldreducewritingprojectsintosmallercomponentsthusassistingHAandLAstudentstoremainontrackandultimatelypromoteastrongersenseofcompetence.Additionally,instructorscanoffersupportthroughcomprehensive,detailed,andconstructivefeedbackinordertofacilitatethereviseresubmitprocess.Thispracticegivesstudentstheopportunitytoreflectandlearnfromexpertadvice.Conversely,assignmentswithoutappropriatefeedbackorresubmissionobligationsdiminishacademicgrowthanddevelopment,specificallyforwritingtasks.Wealsoencourageinstructorstosupportautonomybyallowingstudentstochoosetheirwritingtopic,
39
providingflexibledeadlines,andorpermittingaselectionbetweenindependentversuscollaborativework.Studentsbecomeextrinsicallymotivatedoramotivatedtowritewhentheyarenotinterestedintheirprojectsorwhentheprojectsareperceivedtolackrelevance.
Inadditiontofocusingonstudentimprovement,professorsshouldalsoconsidertheirowncompositionalskills.Previousresearchindicatesthatfacultymembersstrugglingwiththeirsenseofwritingcompetencymaynotfeelcapableofappropriatelysupportingstudents(Boice,1990).Facultyareexpectedtowriteacademicallyintermsofpublicationsandcritiquingstudents’assignments.Sadly,somecontendwiththeirownwritinganxietiesjustasmuchasstudents.Whenthisoccurs,studentsareunderserved.Regardlessofwritingability,wesuggestthatprofessorstakeadvantageofopportunitiesforprofessionalwritingdevelopment.Pursuitofexternaltrainingisanexcellentwaytoleadbyexample.
Inconclusion,wheninstructorseffectivelyillustratethewritingprocessandseektopromotebasicpsychologicalneeds,theypromptstudentstoevaluatetheirwritingandaddressindividualweaknesses.Anassignmentthatlacksfeedbackisnotproductiveasitimpedespersonalreflectionandimprovement.Abeneficialwritingregimerequiresactiveandproductiveinvolvementbyboththeprofessorandtheirstudents.Throughincorporationoftheserecommendedpractices,webelievewritingstrugglesinthesocialsciences,andoverall,willdiminish.Mostimportantly,weproposethesetechniqueswillimproveoverallacademicmotivationandgeneratevalueinapreviouslyunderdevelopedskill.
References
Allum,J.(2014).Graduateenrollmentanddegrees:2003to2013.Washington,DC:CouncilofGraduateSchools.
Bartlett,T.(2003).WhyJohnnycan'twrite,eventhoughhewenttoPrinceton.TheChronicleofHigherEducation.49(17),A39.
Boice,R.(1990).Facultyresistancetowriting-intensivecourses.TeachingofPsychology,17(1),13-17.
Can,G.,&Walker,A.(2010).Amodelfordoctoralstudents’perceptionsandattitudestowardswrittenfeedbackforacademicwriting.ResearchinHigherEducation,52,508-536.
Daly,J.A.,&Miller,M.D.(1975).Apprehensionofwritingasapredictorofmessageintensity.JournalofPsychology,89(2),175.
Deci,E.L.,&Ryan,R.M.(1985).Intrinsicmotivationandself-determinationinhumanbehavior.NewYork:PlenumPress.
Deci,E.L.,&Ryan,R.M.(2000).The“what”and“why”ofgoalpursuits:Humanneedsandtheself-determinationofbehavior.PsychologicalInquiry,11(4),227-268.
Deci,E.L.,&Ryan,R.M.(Eds.).(2002).Handbookofself-determinationresearch.Rochester,NY:UniversityofRochesterPress.
Deci,E.L.,Vallerand,R.J.,Pelletier,L.G.,&Ryan,R.M.(1991).Motivationandeducation:TheSelf-Determinationperspective.EducationalPsychologist,26(3–4):325–346.
Fallahi,C.,Wood,R.,Fallahi,H.,&Austad,C.(2006).Aprogramforimprovingundergraduatepsychologystudents’basicwritingskills.TeachingofPsychology,33(3),171-175.
40
Gielen,S.,Tops,L.,Dochy,F.,Onghena,P.,&Smeets,S.(2010).Acomparativestudyofpeerandteacherfeedbackformsinsecondaryschoolwritingcurriculum.BritishEducationResearchJournal,36(1),143-162.
Hayden,S.,Young-Jones,A.,&Byrket,J.(2015,January).Fearofwriting:Toonervoustobemotivated.PosterpresentedattheannualmeetingoftheNationalInstituteontheTeachingofPsychology,St.PeteBeach,FL.
Kahn,J.,&Holody,R.(2009).WAC:Astrength-basedapproachtostudentlearning.TheJournalofBaccalaureateSocialWork,14(1),83-94.
Karakaya,I.,&Ulper,H.(2011).Developingawritinganxietyscaleandexaminingwritinganxietybasedonvariousvariables.EducationalSciences:TheoryandPractice,11(2),703-707.
Levesque,C.,Copeland,K.,Pattie,M.D.,&Deci,E.L.(2010).Intrinsicandextrinsicmotivation.InternationalEncyclopediaofEducation,618–623.Oxford:Elsevier.
Morgan,W.,Fraga,D.,&Macauley,W.Jr.(2011).Anintegratedapproachtoimprovethewritingofintroductorybiologystudents.TheAmericanBiologyTeacher,73(3),149-153.
Stellmack,M.,Keenan,N.,Sandidge,R.,Sippl,A.,&Konheim-Kalkstein,Y.(2012).Review,revise,andresubmit:Theeffectsofself-critique,peerreview,andinstructorfeedbackonstudentwriting.TeachingofPsychology,39(4),235.
Torrence,M.,Thomas,G.,&Robinson,E.(1992).Thewritingexperiencesofsocialscienceresearchstudents.StudiesinHigherEducation,17(2),155-168.
Wingate,U.(2010).Theimpactofformativefeedbackonthedevelopmentofacademicwriting.Assessment&EvaluationinHigherEducation,35(5),519-533.
41
Chapter10ServiceLearningResearchProjects:StudentSatisfactionandTipsforEducatorsLindsayA.PhillipsAlbrightCollege
heNationalServiceLearningClearinghousedefinesServiceLearningas“ateachingandlearningstrategythatintegratesmeaningfulcommunityservicewithinstructionandreflectiontoenrichthelearningexperience,teachcivicresponsibility,andstrengthen
communities”(2012,para.1).Whileservicelearningiswidelyused,thereisapaucityofliteratureonusingthispedagogytoteachresearchmethodsandstatistics.
Inthisarticle,Iaddresshowotherpsychologyeducatorscanpartnerwithagenciesintheircommunitiestoprovidearesearchprojectthatisnotonlyaneducationalexperiencefortheirstudents,butalsoavaluableservicetotheagencies.Additionally,Iaddressstudentsatisfactionwithservicelearninginresearchdesignandstatisticscoursesbydescribingthemethodsandresultsofapreliminarystudentsatisfactionsurvey.
Theappliedresearchandstatisticscourseatthecenterofthisprojectandresultantevaluationiscalled,ProgramEvaluation.Theservicelearningprojectgavestudentstheopportunitytoconductanactualevaluationofaprogramtoassistanunder-resourcedprogramintheircommunity.ThestudentswereworkingadultundergraduatestudentsinanAppliedPsychologyprogram.
Imodifiedtheexistingcoursetoincludeservicelearning,partneringwithaprogram,conductingthemodifiedcourse,andgatheringquantitativeandqualitativesatisfactiondatafromstudents.
Byconductingthiscoursewithaservicelearningcomponent,studentswereabletocompleteafullprogramevaluationofanactualprogram(anappliedexperiencewhichdoesnotalwaysoccurinProgramEvaluationcourses),wereabletoassistaprogramintheirpursuitofimprovement,andwereabletocontributetoallstagesofaprogramevaluation(including,interviewingprogramstaff,developingasatisfactionmeasure,goingthroughinstitutionalreview,collectingdata,analyzingdata,completingaresultssection,andcompletingrecommendationsfortheprogramasaresultofthefindings).
SatisfactionEvaluation
Afterthecourseended,studentsreceivedanemailrequestingtheirvoluntary
completionofasurveytoassesstheirsatisfactionoftheServiceLearningcomponentinProgramEvaluation.Sevenstudents(outoftheninestudentsinthecohortofadultstudentswhocompletedtheservicelearningproject)respondedtothesurvey.
EvaluationResults
T
42
StudentsindicatedahighlevelofsatisfactionwiththeServiceLearningcomponentin
ProgramEvaluationonclose-endedquestions(ratedonaLikertscale).Allsevenstudentswhocompletedtheevaluationeitherstronglyagreedoragreedwithstatementsindicatingthattheylearnedmoreaboutprogramevaluation,enjoyedtheproject,feltthattheservicelearningcomponentletthemapplywhattheylearnedintextandlecture,andenjoyedassistingacommunityagencythatwasinneed.Allparticipantsstronglyagreedthatthey“learnedmorebydoinganactualevaluationthan”theywouldhavelearned“withoutthisopportunity.”Allsevenstudentseitherstronglyagreedoragreedthatstudentsshouldhavemoreopportunitiestoexperienceservicelearningpedagogy.
Althoughtheseresponseswereoverwhelminglypositive,onestudentmighthavepreferredtoresearchtheirowntopic,ratherthanhavetheentireclassassignedtoapre-determinedprogramtoevaluate.Additionally,onestudentwasnotcertainthatthiswouldhelpthemintheirfutureendeavors.Thesefindingsalsoemergedinresponsestoopen-endedquestions.
Responsestoopen-endedquestionswere,again,overwhelminglypositive.Iidentifiedprominentthemesinstudentresponsesthroughphenomenologicalanalysis,utilizingtheprocessoutlinedbyCreswell(2007).Thismethodinvolvescompilingalistofstatementsthatparticipantsusedtodescribetheirexperienceandorganizingtheimportantstatementsintocommonlyexperiencedthemes.
Tobegin,fourofthesevenstudentrespondentsexplicitlystatedthathelpingacommunitypartnerbyconductinganactualprogramevaluationforthemgavestudentsanapplied,real-worldexperience:
• “IhighlyenjoyedbeingabletoputwhatIwaslearningtoareallifesituation.I
feelIlearnedmorehelpingthiscommunityagencythanIwouldhavetryingtomakeahypotheticalprogramevaluationforanagency.”
• “IfeelIlearnedmoreaboutsimplyconductingasurveythanifIonlyreadabouthowtodoitinatextbook.”
• “Itwasreal-lifehandsonlearning.”• “Wegottoapplyourknowledgetoarealworldissue.”
Whenaskedtoidentifylimitationsoftheexperience,aspreviouslynoted,onewouldhavelikedtohavechosentheirownareaofinterestforaprogramevaluationprojectandtwootherswishedtheycouldhavehelpedtheprogrammore(bygettingmoredataorbyprovidinganongoingevaluation).
Sixoutofthesevenrespondentsindicatedthattheybelievedthatthisexperiencewouldhelpthemintheirfuturecareersinsomeway.
43
SuggestionstoInstructors
Althoughbothqualitativeandquantitativeresponsestothisexperiencewereoverwhelminglypositive,therearesomesuggestionsforfutureinstructorswhomaywishtoincorporateaservicelearningcomponentintotheirProgramEvaluationcourses.
1. Studentsarelikelytoappreciateappliedexperiences,whetheritisbyseeingexamples
ofactualprogramevaluationsorbyhavingtheopportunitytoconductanevaluationforacommunityprogram,aswasdoneinthisexperience.
2. Studentsmayappreciatebeingsurveyedwellinadvanceofthecoursetoseeiftheywouldbeinterestedinaservicelearningcomponent,andifso,whattheirareasofinterestare.Itwouldbedifficulttofindagroupofstudentswithidenticalinterests,sowhileaninterestsurveymightbehelpful,itmightnotchangethefactthatsomestudentsmaynotfindtheservicelearningprojecttobeinanareaofinterestorbeneficialfortheirfuturecareers.
3. Studentswantasmanyresponsestotheirprogramevaluationsurveysaspossible.Futureinstructorscouldevaluatewhetherthecommunityprogramshaveanamplenumberofpotentialparticipantsandwhethertheprogramparticipantsareapopulationwithastronglikelihoodofrespondingtoaprogramevaluationsurvey.
4. Studentsmaywishtohaveopportunitiestointeractwiththeprogrambeyondtheclass.Theymightliketolearnmoreabouthowtheirfinalreportwasusedtohelptheprogram.Anoptionfordoingthismightbetogatheremailaddressesofstudentswhowantupdatesabouttheprogramtheyassisted.
5. Carefulplanningandcommunicationwithstudentsisnecessarysothatstudentsunderstandhowhelpingacommunityprogramisbeneficialfortheprogram,andforthestudentstogetanappliedprogramevaluationexperience.
WhileIhopedtoreceivesatisfactiondatafromboththecommunitypartnerandthe
students,onlystudentsrespondedtotherequesttocompleteasatisfactionsurvey.Thecommunitypartnersdid,however,repeatedlyexpresstheirsatisfactionandgratitudeinformally.
Limitationsofthisevaluationincludethesmallsamplesize,self-reportingbiases,andvolunteerbias(forexample,itispossiblethatsatisfiedstudentsweremorelikelytocompletetheevaluationthandissatisfiedstudents).Thesecurrentfindingsarealsolimitedbythelackofthecommunitypartners’perspectivesandfromonlylookingatsatisfaction,whilenotassessingwhethertheServiceLearningcomponentenhanceslearningmorethantheclasswithoutaServiceLearningcomponent.FutureresearchshouldlookbeyondsatisfactiontoseeifstudentswhohavetheservicelearningexperiencelearnmoreaboutProgramEvaluationthanthosewhodonot.
Inspiteoftheselimitations,theseresultsprovidepreliminaryevidencethatstudentsmayenjoyservicelearninginsimilarcourses.Futureresearchshouldinvestigatetheeducationaleffectivenessofservicelearning(i.e.,beyondsatisfactiondata)andendeavortogetsatisfactiondatafromcommunitypartners.
44
References
Creswell,J.W.(2007).Qualitativeinquiryandresearchdesign:Choosingamongfiveapproaches(2nded.).ThousandOaks,CA:SagePublications.
NationalServiceLearningClearinghouse(2012).Retrievedfrom:www.servicelearning.org
SuggestedResourcesforServiceLearning
CampusCompact(n.d.).Retrievedfrom:www.compact.orgChapdelaine,A.,Ruiz,A.,Warchal,J.,&Wells,C.(2005).Service-learningcodeofethics.Bolton,
MA:AnkerPublishingCompany.Chupp,M.G.,&Joseph,M.L.(2010).Gettingthemostoutofservicelearning:Maximizing
student,universityandcommunityimpact.JournalofCommunityPractice,18(23),190-212.doi:10.108010705422.2010.487045
NationalServiceLearningClearinghouse(2012).Retrievedfrom:www.servicelearning.org
45
Chapter11MargaretFloyWashburn’sFacebookFriends:TellingtheStoriesofPsychology’sWomenandMinorityPioneersDeborahA.GagnonPsychology,WellsCollege,Aurora,NY
tudentshearingaboutthe‘longpastbutshorthistory’(Ebbinghaus,1885)ofpsychologythatistypicallytoldinhistoryandsystemscoursesorreadaboutinintroductorypsychologytextbookscancomeawaywiththeimpressionthatthestoryisexclusively
peopledbymalesofEuropeanorigin.ThelongpaststartswiththeGreekphilosophersPlatoandAristotle;theshorthistorybeginsin1879GermanywithWilhelmWundtopeningthefirstacademicresearchlaboratory,followedbyanimmigrationofhisprotégéstoawhite,maleAmericanacademe.Butwomenandpeopleofcoloralsomadelastingandsignificantcontributionstoscientificpsychology,contributionsthatmighthavegiventhemprominenceintoday’stextbooksifonlytheirskinand/orgenderhadbeendifferentatthetimethosecontributionsweremade.Theirstories,lives,andcontributionsdeservetobetold,known,andcelebratedintheirownright,butalsobecauseadiversityofideasandperspectivesmakesforahealthierscience. Ameaningfulwayofachievingthis‘consciousnessraising’wasdevisedinthecontextofafoundationsandmethodsinpsychologycoursethatIteachatWellsCollege(NY).Ifirstretellthehistoryofscientificpsychologyusingthe‘psychologyhasalongpastbutshorthistory’quoteasastructure.IdescribehowPlatoandAristotleposedquestionsabouthumanbehavior,natureversusnurture,andepistemologythatpsychologistsarestilltryingtoanswertoday,howpsychologyasafieldwas‘born’in1879inLeipzig,Germanytoamalefather(WilhelmWundt),andhowthenascentfieldmigratedtotheUnitedStatesthroughtheembodimentofmensuchasEdwardTitchener,followedbyalonglitanyofnamesthatlikewisetendtobemaleandofEuropeandescent.BecausetheinstitutionthatIteachatwas‘home’tothefirstfemalePh.D.inpsychology(MargaretFloyWashburn)whosefirstjobafterearningthatPh.D.(fromCornellUniversity,workingunderTitchener)wastoserveasprofessorandchairofthepsychology,philosophy,andethicsdepartment(1894-1900),Ialwaysmakementionofthisresidentheroinealmostasapointoftriviabecausewhileshemaybenotabletomystudentsgivenherconnectiontoourinstitution,fewbesidesthemwillbehearingherstory.Ithenthrowupaslidecontainingheadshotsofallthepeoplewejustdiscussed–Plato,Aristotle,Wundt,Fechner,Wertheimer,Pavlov,Watson,Skinner,James,Chomsky,amongothers–andaskthemwhattheysee.Thestudentsalmostalwayspointoutthateverysingleoneoftheindividualsiswhite,middleagedorolder,andmale(sometimestheypointoutthatmostaresportingabeardtoo).Ithenquestionthestudentsaboutwhatimpactsuchahomogenousgroupcouldhaveonthedevelopmentofafield.Wouldtheirpresumablysimilarperspectives
S
46
leadtoatunnelvisionofsorts?Whatwouldhappenifothervoiceswerepartofthestory?Arethereothervoicesandwhosewerethey? Ihavelongmadethisawarenessapartofmyownversionofthehistorypsychology,butachanceconversationwithafriendwhoteachesinthefieldofAmericanhistorygavemeanideaforamorepersonallymeaningfulandimpactfulwayofimpartingthatmessagetomystudent:AskthemtocreateandshareFacebookprofilesforthewomenandminorityfigureswhosestoriesareseldomtoldinordertolearnabouttheirlastingandimportantcontributionstothefield.
Methods:LearningthroughTellingtheirStories
Studentsareassignedthetaskofresearchingawomanorminorityfigureinthehistoryofpsychologyoftheirchoosing,andthencreatingFacebookpagestorepresenttheirlivesandcontributions;thepagesincludeTimelines,Walls,Friends,Books/Music/Movies,andPhotos.Forcandidatestostudy,IreferthemtoresourcessuchasGuthrie’sEventheRatWasWhite(1976)andScarboroughandFuromoto’sUntoldStories:TheFirstGenerationofAmericanWomenPsychologists(1989;seeAppendixAforalistofsomeofthehistoricalfiguresstudentschose).Facebookisasocialmediatoolwithwhichtoday’sstudentsarefacile;whentoldtocreateFacebookpagesfortheirhistoricalfigure,theyneedlittleinstructiononhowtodothis.Ratherthancreate‘live’Facebookpagesforrealpeople(whichwouldbeprohibited),studentscreatestaticpagesusingatemplatethatIprovide.Such‘Fakebook’templatesarereadilyavailableontheinternet(IchoseonethatillustratedJohnF.Kennedy’sfictionalFacebookpages). Studentswereinstructedto‘becreative’indevelopingrealisticpagesfortheirhistoricalfigure.Therealworkforthestudentswasdoingtheresearch:diggingdeepintothelivesoftheirhistoricalfigureinordertounderstandthesocial,political,andculturalcontext,pressures,andinfluencesinwhichtheseindividualslivedandworked.Whatbooks,movies(imaginingtheiravailabilityatthetime),andmusicmightthispersonpostontheirFacebookpages?What‘Likes’wouldtheyhave?Giventhenotableeventsintheirlifeandwork,whatTimelineandWallpostingsmighttheyhavemade?Whomighttheir‘Friends’be?Instructions:Befun,creative,andimaginative! PresentingthefinishedFacebookpagestotheirclassmatesallowedstudentstosharewhattheylearnedandforeveryonetogainadeeperappreciationoftheseunder-representedhistoricalfiguresandtheircontributionstopsychology.Allalong,studentswereaskedtoconsider:howwouldpsychologybedifferenttodayifthesediversevoiceshadbeenheardorgivenmorecoverage?IdescribeGuthrie’sargumentthatwhoasksthequestionsmakesadifferenceinwhatthequestionsare,howthequestionsgetanswered,andwhichparticipantsgetstudied(Guthrie,1976).Ifurthermakethepointthatevenwhatgetsmeasured(reactiontime,accuracy),andmeasurementitself,istheproductofawesternviewpoint(Gagnon,2007).Thiscanleadtoadiscussionofthedifferingphilosophiesandprinciplesbehindquantitativeandqualitativemethodologies. Toassesstheeffectivenessoftheassignment,studentswereaskedtoprovidefeedbackviaaquestionnaireadministeredattheendofthecoursethataskedthemtomake5-point
47
scaleratingsaswellastoendorsestatementsandprovidequalitativecommentsabouttheproject.
ObjectivesandResults
Iproposethatthroughresearchingthelifeofanunder-representedfigureinthehistoryofpsychologyandpresentingtheresultsofthatresearchthroughthecreationofFacebookprofiles,studentswould:
1. gainbetterinsightintohowthetypesofquestionsaskedinpsychologyandtheapproachestoansweringthemdependonthepersondoingtheasking/answering;
2. gainadeeperappreciationandunderstandingforthelivesoftheunder-representedinthehistoryofpsychology;
3. provideamoreeffectiveandenjoyablelearningexperienceWeretheseobjectivesachieved?Resultsofthepost-projectassessmentrevealedthatstudentsfelttheprojecthelpedtheminlearningaboutunder-representedcontributorsinthefield(4.0),raisedtheirawarenessofthesecontributors(4.4),raisedtheirawarenessofunder-representationinthehistoryofpsychology(4.7),andallowedthemtocometoabetterunderstandingofthequestionsandapproachesofminorityandwomenfigures(88%).Theyendorsedthatthiswasamoreenjoyablemethodforlearningaboutthehistoryofpsychologyandhearingabouttheirclassmates’historicalfigures(81%);theyespeciallyenjoyedthecreativeelementtotheassignment(94%).Theydidnot,however,endorsethatthetechniquewasanoveralleffectivemethodforlearningabouttheindividuals(60%),andmyevaluationoftheirlearningattestviaa20-itemmatchingexerciseborethisout.Itseemsthatthestudentswerenotquiteclearjustwhatdetailsoftheindividual’slivestheyshouldfocusonwhilelearningaboutthem.Thisleadstomyfinalconclusions.
Conclusionsand‘LessonsLearned’
ResearchingandpresentingFacebookprofilesallowedstudentstogainadeeperappreciationofunder-representedhistoricalfiguresinpsychologyandtheircontributionstothefield;inparticular,inraisingtheirawarenessofboththeseindividuals’livesandofamorediversehistoryofpsychology.Studentsstronglyendorsedthecreativeelementtothisprojectandappreciatedworkinginacontextwithwhichtheywerefamiliar.Qualitativecommentsregardingeffectivenessofthemethodrevealedthatformanyofthem,whiletheyenjoyedlearningabouttheirownhistoricalfigureinthisway,theydidnotfeeltheylearnedasmuchfromhearingaboutothersinthisformatastheywouldhavefromatraditionallecture.Nervousnessinpresentingdetractedfromabsorbingthelessonsfromothers.However,theycertainlyappreciatedthecreativityand‘lessdry’aspectofthismethod.Inevaluatingstudents’learning,itwasclearthatstudentsdidnotknowwhat‘facts’tocapturefromtheirclassmates’presentations.Lessonlearned:Bemoreintentionalinsharingtheexpectationsofwhatistobelearnedfromtheproject.
48
References
Ebbinghaus,H.(1885).ÜberdasGedächtnis:UntersuchungenzurexperimentellenPsychologie.Duncker&Humblat.
Gagnon(2007,January5).Whatshouldadiversecognitiveandbiologicalpsychologylooklike?PresentedattheNationalInstituteontheTeachingofPsychology,St.PeteBeach,FL.
Guthrie,R.V.(1976).Eventheratwaswhite:Ahistoricalviewofpsychology.NewYork:Harper&Row.
Scarborough,E.,&Furomoto,L.(1989).Untoldstories:ThefirstgenerationofAmericanwomenpsychologists.NewYork:ColumbiaUniversityPress.
Author’snote
Portionsofthisessaywerepresentedatthe2014NationalInstituteontheTeachingof
PsychologyconferenceinSt.PeteBeach,Florida.IwouldliketothankandcreditfriendandhistoryprofessorHollyDawsonfortheideaofcreatingFacebookpagesasawayoflearningabouthistoricalfigures.HollyhasusedthistechniqueinherAmericanhistorycoursesatErieCommunityCollege(NY)tohelpstudentslearnaboutAfrican-AmericanandNativeAmericanunder-representedvoicesinthathistory.
AppendixA.WomenandMinorityFiguresinPsychologyInezBeverlyProsserMami&KennethClarkJanetHelmsMaryAinsworthChristineLadd-FranklinMargaretFloyWashburnLetaHollingworthMaryWhitonCalkinsAnnaFreudMelanieKleinKarenHorneySandraBemCarolGilliganHelenBradfordThompsonWoolleyMariaMontessoriLillianMollerGilbrethFlorenceGoodenoughCharlotteBühlerBethWellmanMilicentShinnEthelPufferFrancisCecilSumner
CharlesHenryTurnerRobertGuthrieDeraldWing&StanleySueHermanGeorgeCanadyDavidMatsumotoMartinJenkinsClaudeSteel
49
AbouttheAuthorsJacquelineByrketisagraduatestudentintheexperimentalpsychologyprogramatMissouriStateUniversityinSpringfield,Missouri.SheobtainedherBachelorofScienceinPsychologyMay2012fromMissouriStateUniversity.Herresearchfocusisacombinationofsocialpsychologyandphysiologicalpsychologytoevaluateobstaclesinstudentsuccessandacademicmotivation.KristieL.CampanareceivedherPh.D.inIndustrial-OrganizationalpsychologyfromtheUniversityofMinnesota,andiscurrentlyanAssociateProfessoratMinnesotaStateUniversity,Mankato.Shetypicallyteachesundergraduatecoursesinintroductorypsychology,personalitypsychology,IOpsychology,andsocialpsychology,aswellasgraduatecoursesinstatisticsandemployeeselection.Dr.Campanaispassionateabouthelpingstudentslearnhowtoapplytheirknowledgetosolvepracticalproblems,andenjoysworkingwithstudentsintheOrganizationalEffectivenessResearchGroup,astudent-runIOconsultingbusinesshousedatMNSU.D.LisaCothranreceivedherA.M.andPh.D.fromtheSocialandPersonalityPsychologyProgramatWashingtonUniversityinSt.Louis.Since2005,shehastaughtcoursesacrossthecurriculumincludingGeneralPsychology,SocialPsychology,PersonalityPsychology,ResearchMethods,PsychologyofWomen,andPsychologyoftheBlackExperience.SheisanAssociateProfessorofPsychologyatAlabamaStateUniversity.Herresearchinterestsareinpersonalityandemotion,prejudiceandattitudes,andinnovativewaystoteachthepsychologyofblackwomen.DeborahGagnonisAssociateProfessorofPsychologyandChairoftheDivisionofSocialSciencesatWellsCollege(Aurora,NY).Sheisprimarilyresponsibleforthebiologicalandcognitivepsychologycurriculumatthecollege,butalsoteachesa200-levelcourseinfoundationsandmethodsinpsychologywhichallmajorsarerequiredtotake.Thecourseprovidesgroundinginhistoryandsystemsandmethodologybeyondwhatiscoveredintheintroductorypsychologycourse.ProfessorGagnonisalsoCoordinatoroftheCognitiveandBrainSciencesandtheScience,Health,andValuesprogramsatWellsandamemberoftheHealthSciencesfaculty.ElizabethHarwood,Ph.D.isanAssistantProfessorofPsychologyatRivierUniversityinNashua,NH.Havingtaughtsinceherfirstyearofgraduateschool,Dr.Harwoodhasdevelopedatrueappreciationandlovefortheartofteaching.Herdesiretoimprovehercrafthasledtoherlineofresearchonthescholarshipofteachingandlearning.Dr.Harwoodhasalsoconductedresearchonvariousareasinclinicalpsychologyincludingdepression,attachmentandeatingdisorders.Herproudestaccomplishmentsareprojectsthatincludethecontributionsofherstudents.
50
ShannonHaydenisagraduatestudentintheexperimentalpsychologyprogramatMissouriStateUniversityinSpringfield,Missouri.ShegraduatedwithaBachelorofScienceinPsychologyfromMissouriStateUniversityinMay2013.Herresearchinterestsinvolvetheuseofcontemplativepracticesineducationalsettingswithaspecificfocusonmindfulnessandstudentwell-being.WalterL.IsaacisaProfessorofPsychologicalScienceatGeorgiaCollegeinMilledgeville,Georgia.EarninghisB.S.(1978)inPsychologyattheUniversityofGeorgia,hisM.A.(1983)andPh.D.(1989)inPhysiologicalPsychologyattheUniversityofKentucky,hejoinedtheGeorgiaCollegefacultyin1998.HecurrentlyinvolvesundergraduatestudentsinhiscomparativeresearchstudyinglearningandbehavioralpharmacologyinHousecricketsandBettafish.AnaKehrbergisanAssistantProfessorofPsychologyandNeuroscienceatMuskingumUniversityinNewConcord,OH.SheearnedherBachelor’sdegreeinBiologyatTheCollegeofWoosterandherPh.D.inNeuroscienceatTheUniversityofIowa.HerteachingrotationusuallyincludesIntroductiontoPsychology,PhysiologicalPsychology,Psychopharmacology,LearningandMemory,AdvancedExperimentalPsychology,andTopicsinNeuroscience.Herresearchfocusesaroundfetalalcoholsyndrome,includingalcohol’seffectsonthedevelopingbrainandpeople’sattitudestowardalcoholuseduringpregnancy.MichelleM.MerwinisaProfessorofPsychologyatTheUniversityofTennesseeatMartin,where,amongotherclasses,sheteachesclinicalpsychologyandthehistoryofpsychology.Herteachingandresearchinterestsincludetheteachingofpsychology,humanistic-existentialpsychology,andneuropsychology.JosephOstensonisanAssistantProfessorofPsychologyatTheUniversityofTennesseeatMartin,where,amongotherclasses,heteachesexperimentalanddevelopmentalpsychology,andthepsychologyofmarriage.Hisinterestsintheteachingofpsychologyextendbeyondissuesoftheclassroomtoissuesrelatedtoculturegenerally,andacademicculturespecifically,andhowtheyaffecteducationatalllevels.BonnieM.PerdueisanAssistantProfessorofPsychologyandCognitiveNeuroscienceatAgnesScottCollegeinDecatur,GA.SheearnedherM.S.inExperimentalPsychologyandPh.D.inCognitionandBrainSciencefromGeorgiaTech.ShehastaughtarangeofcoursesincludingIntroductoryPsychology,ResearchMethods,ResearchStatistics,LearningandMemory,CognitiveNeuroscienceandAnimalBehavior.Herresearchinterestsincludecomparativecognitionandanimalbehaviorandwelfare.LindsayA.Phillips,Psy.D.,ABPPisanAssociateProfessorofPsychologyatAlbrightCollegeandisinprivatepracticeasalicensedpsychologistinPennsylvania.SheearnedherdoctorateinClinicalPsychologyfromChestnutHillCollegeandisboardcertifiedinClinicalPsychology.LindsayreceivedtheJudyE.Hall,Ph.D.,EarlyCareerPsychologistAwardfromtheNationalRegisterofHealthServicePsychologistsin2012.Havingclinicalexperiencewithindividualswhoareincarceratedandindividualswithmentalillnessandsubstanceusedisorders,herresearch
51
focusesoncommunityintegrationofthesepopulationsandstigma.Shehaspresentedonandpublishedseveralpeer-reviewedarticlesandchaptersfocusingonthesetopics.Shealsoenjoysorganizingservicelearningactivitiesforherworkingadultstudents,andhaspresentedandpublishedonusingservicelearningpedagogyintheteachingofpsychology.TheprojectdiscussedinthisarticlewonanHonorableMentionfromtheSocietyforthePsychologicalStudyofSocialIssues’2013InnovativeTeachingAwardTaylorSmithisagraduatestudentintheexperimentalpsychologyprogramatMissouriStateUniversityinSpringfield,Missouri.ShegraduatedwithaBachelorofScienceinPsychologyfromMissouriStateUniversityinDecember2013andupongraduationtookayearandahalftofocusonresearchwithinEducationalPsychology.Herinterestsincludeminoritypopulations,diversityissues,andsocialrelationships.LionelG.StandingisaProfessorofPsychologyatBishop'sUniversity,inSherbrooke,Québec,Canada.HeobtainedadoctorateinexperimentalpsychologyfromQueen'sUniversityinOntario,andhasalsospenttimeattheuniversitiesofManchester(UK),StAndrews(Scotland),Sussex(UK),andRochester(US).Hecurrentlyteachescoursesinresearchmethods,cognition,socialpsychology,andhealthpsychology,andhasalsotaughtperception,computing,introductorypsychology,andstatistics.Hisresearchinterestsrangeoverexperimentalmethodology,self-controlprocesses,humanmemoryforpictures,self-servingbias,andpsychohistory.AdenaYoung-JonesisanAssociateProfessorinthepsychologydepartmentatMissouriStateUniversityinSpringfield,Missouri.ShegraduatedwithaPh.D.inEducationalPsychologyfromTexasA&MUniversity-CommerceinMay2008andupongraduationwasemployedatMissouriStateUniversity.Herresearchinterestsincludediversityissuesandacademicmotivationwithanemphasisinthecombinedimpactonstudentachievement,retention,andsuccess.
52
AbouttheEditors
WilliamS.AltmanisaProfessorinthePsychologyandHumanServicesDepartmentatSUNYBroomeCommunityCollege.Dr.AltmanearnedPh.D.andM.S.degreesinEducationalPsychologyandMeasurement,andanM.P.S.inCommunicationArts(OrganizationalCommunication)fromCornellUniversity,aswellasaB.A.degreeinHistoryfromtheUniversityofPennsylvania.Hisresearchinterestsincludeeffectiveteachingandlearning,andcreativity.BillcurrentlyservesastheSocietyfortheTeachingofPsychology(STP)-NationalInstituteontheTeachingofPsychology(NITOP)Liaison,andtheco-editorofSTP’sE-xcellenceinTeaching.Healsohasservedastheconsultingeditorfortwointroductorypsychologytextbooks,andhascreatednumerouslearningandteachingmaterialsforseveralpublishers.Inadditiontoscholarlypublicationsandpresentations,Dr.Altmanhaswrittenforseveralnon-scholarlypublications,spentoveradecadesharinginformationabouteducation,technology,andpsychologicalscienceonlocalradio,beenaprofessionalphotographer,andperformedintheaterandasastandupcomic(ostensiblytoworkonclassroompresentationskills,butmostlybecauseit'sfun).Inadditiontopresentingmanyworkshopsandseminarsabouteffectiveteachingandlearning,hehasalsocontributedoveradozenvideosoneffectiveteaching,aspartoftheWadsworthGuestLectureSeries.Dr.Altmanalsoconsultsonthedevelopmentofeffectiveteachingmaterialsandtechniquesforapplicationsinotherfields.Forexample,heassistedtheNewYorkStateDepartmentofEnvironmentalConservationindevelopingtheirtrainingmanualfornuisancewildlifecontroloperators(availableonlineatNWCO.net)andincreatingandvalidatingtheirstatewidelicensingtest.Mostrecently,withaward-winningsciencefictionauthorJillShultz,hebeganofferingworkshopstotrainfictionwritersandactorstousepsychologicalscienceforcharacterdevelopment.BillAltmanisdrivenbyawideandunpredictablecuriosity,analmostpathologicalneedtosolveproblems,andasensethatitalloughttobefun.LyraSteiniscurrentlyafacultymemberinthePsychologydepartmentatRutgersUniversity.Dr.SteinearnedaB.S.degreeinPsychologyandBiochemistryandMolecularBiologyfromRutgersUniversity,anM.S.inNeurosciencefromAlbertEinsteinCollegeofMedicineandanM.S.andPh.D.inSocialPsychologyfromRutgersUniversity.Herresearchinterestsincludeperformanceandlearningbasedonpersonalityorientation.Dr.SteincurrentlyservesonSocietyfortheTeachingofPsychology’s(STP)earlycareerpsychologistcommitteeandistheco-editorof(STP)’sE-xcellenceinTeaching.Inadditiontopublications,presentationsandadvisingstudentprojects,Dr.Steinconsultsoninstructorresourcemanualsandtestingmaterialsforavarietyofpsychologytextbooks.Sheiscurrentlyworkingtoenhanceonlineeducationandonlinecourseconversion,includingtheRutgersUniversitysignaturecourseSoulBeliefs.In2012,Dr.SteinwontheRutgersUniversityawardfordistinguishedcontributionstoundergraduateeducationandhasdevelopedmanynewclassesincludingPsychosocialFoundationsofMedicineandMythsandMisconceptionsinPsychology.JonathanE.WestfallisanAssistantProfessorofPsychologyatDeltaStateUniversityinCleveland,Mississippi.AnativeofOhio,Dr.WestfallearnedhisB.A.inPsychologyatThe
53
UniversityofAkron,andhisM.A.andPh.D.inPsychologyatTheUniversityofToledo.AfterfinishinghisPh.D.,hespent3yearsastheAssociateDirectorforResearchandTechnologyatTheCenterforDecisionSciences,atColumbiaBusinessSchoolinNewYork.Dr.Westfall’sresearchiscenteredaroundjudgmentanddecisionmaking,specificallyindividualdifferencesandconsumerfinancialdecisionmaking.Inadditiontohisworkinpsychology,Dr.WestfallisalsoaMicrosoftCertifiedSystemsEngineerontheWindows2000platform,andanactivewriterandeditorinthefieldofinformationtechnology.MoreinformationonhisactivitiesbothwithinpsychologyandtechnologycanbefoundonhisblogatJonWestfall.com.