It has been 12 years since the last objective analysis of brief introductory psychology textbooks was published and 13 years since the textbook copyright period used in that study, 1997-2000. Given the importance of informed textbook evaluation and selection to the introductory course but the difficulty of this task because of the large number of…

There are but a handful of experimental or quasi-experimental studies comparing student outcomes from flipped or inverted classrooms to more traditional lecture formats. In the current study, I present cumulative exam performance and student evaluation data from two sections of a statistics course I recently taught: one a traditional lecture (N =…

It has been 13 years since the last objective analysis of full-length introductory psychology textbooks was published and 15 years since the textbook copyright period used in that study, 1995-1997. Given the importance of informed textbook evaluation and selection to the introductory course but the difficulty of this task because of the large…

Introductory psychology textbooks have been criticized for being too long and too expensive. A national survey of introductory teachers found that 89% of introductory courses are only one term in length and that teachers could only cover 68% of a text's topics. This situation has been made more problematic by the soaring prices of…

Introductory psychology students at a technical college, 2-year community college, and a regional university rated how important textbook chapters or topics were to them now and in the future and how interesting they were. Importance and interest ratings were highly correlated, and the whole course was rated of greater importance and interest than…

The "Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association" (American Psychological Association [APA], 2010) provides a widely utilized template for preparing research reports in the behavioral sciences. Because learning APA style is integral to disciplinary socialization, our department recently implemented a 1-hr course in scientific…

This study examined diversity course influence on student prejudice against lesbians and gay men, awareness of heterosexual privilege, and support for gay marriage. The study included heterosexual female students in psychology of women, introduction to women's studies, and nondiversity psychology courses. Students in diversity courses expressed…

Scholars of teaching and learning have endorsed self-assessment assignments as a way to encourage greater reflection by students. However, no studies to date have compared writing in self-assessment with traditional academic assignments. We performed a quantitative text analysis of students' language in self-assessment versus traditional…

As universities increase expectations for evidence of student learning, journals like "Teaching of Psychology (ToP)" have come to expect outcome data from authors describing teaching techniques. Our comparison of ToP articles published in 1996 and 2006 showed a significant decrease in reliance on student opinion and an increase in the use of more…

Our study compared the quantitative and qualitative outcomes associated with course evaluations collected over the Internet with those collected using a paper-and-pencil method. We randomly assigned students to 1 of the 2 different formats. There was no significant difference in quantitative student responses based on administration method, but…

Can short, ungraded, free-writing assignments promote learning of course material? We randomly assigned introductory psychology recitation sections (N = 978 students) to writing or thinking conditions. For all sections, teaching assistants presented students with a discussion topic based in current coursework. Students either wrote or thought…

This study examined the utility of Web-based quizzing. We assigned 3 classes to a no-quiz, in-class quiz, or Web-based quiz condition. Midsemester results demonstrated a positive effect for in-class quizzing but not Web-based quizzing. After several adjustments in quiz presentation and duration, the Web-based group increased exam performance to a…

We tested the effects of instructional method (lecture vs. mastery) and aptitude (high, medium, low GPA levels) on students' academic performance and achievement motivation goals. Students enrolled in a developmental psychology course received either traditional lecture or mastery (Keller's Personalized System of Instruction [PSI]) instruction.…

Undergraduate students (N = 47), enrolled in 2 separate psychology research methods classes, evaluated a power analysis lab demonstration and homework assignment. Students attended 1 of 2 lectures that included a basic introduction to power analysis and sample size analysis. One lecture included a demonstration of how to use a computer-based power…

We discuss a technique for teaching students everyday applications of statistical concepts. We used this technique with students (n = 50) enrolled in several sections of an introductory statistics course; students (n = 45) in other sections served as a comparison group. A class of introductory psychology students (n = 24) served as a second…