This article discusses how assessment tools can be used to improve student learning in undergraduate bachelors (BA/BS) in psychology programs. The article first reviews particular advantages associated with using curricular and cocurricular maps for performing systematic program assessment. After identifying various assessment tools created by the…

Although syllabi provide students with important course information, they can also affect perceptions of teaching effectiveness. To test this idea, we distributed 2 versions of a hypothetical course syllabus, a brief version and a detailed version, and asked students to rate the teacher of the course on qualities associated with master teaching.…

Early study of the curriculum focused on the ideal array of experiences that should comprise the psychology major. We developed a standardized coding scheme to identify common curricula and course titles across institutions and current implementation of the curriculum. We compared psychology major programs in 2005 to programs described a decade…

Described and evaluated is a course structured around SPSS (the Statistical Packages for Social Sciences) that helps psychology students review what they have learned in an introductory statistics course and apply these quantitative skills to other courses. Student evaluation showed that course objectives were met. (Author/RM)

A computer is used to individualize student assignments in statistics. The principal benefit of individualized activities is that they emphasize decision-making processes rather than correct answers. Students in an individualized assignment group scored higher on an examination than those in a comparison group. (RM)

Describes a method for teaching adolescent psychology which requires that students interview adolescents on course topics. The reports of these interviews become the basis of classroom discussions which are designed to demonstrate that concepts of adolescence vary as a function of time. (Author/DH)

The three computer-assisted instruction packages met the goals set for them. They fit the course objective of giving students more experience dealing with the experimental method; they added a new dimension to the learning resources available to students; and they integrated computer and written work. (RM)

Deindividuation is a complex process in which a series of social conditions lead to changes in perception of self and of other people. Described is a classroom demonstration that illustrates this concept, revealing that even normal, well-adjusted college students are capable of highly inappropriate, antisocial behavior under certain conditions.…

Self-study materials, consisting of abridged didactic information concerning basic aspects of exceptionalities, accompanied by written exercises aimed at fostering accepting attitudes toward exceptional children, were successfully used in a preservice teacher education course. The course was conducted without allocating large blocks of course time…

A technique used in an undergraduate psychology class to reduce student incentives to fake data as they undertook a research project concerning marriage relationships is described. An evaluation of the technique suggested that it works. (RM)

Students perform better under the multiple final method (MFM) of teaching statistics. MFM covers all course material in five weeks. Students who do well on the final are excused from further course work, but are required to tutor their peers. Other students have the opportunity to repeat the course several times. (RM)

A college level introductory psychology course taught in conjunction with introductory biology and philosophy is described. This triad arrangement allows for an interdisciplinary treatment of various issues without diluting the presentation of content specific to the individual disciplines. Information on evaluation of the course is also…

After we gave 2 classes of introductory psychology students the syllabus, the first class (the experimental group) generated rules for classroom behavior. The instructor presented the second class (the comparison group) with the list of rules and said they were instructor generated. Students rated the rules, several aspects of the course, and the…

Students in an abnormal psychology course worked in teams to produce dramatizations of diagnostic interviews and then presented them in class. Positive and negative aspects of the activity are discussed. (RM)

Explains how psychology teachers at the University of Georgia designed preliminary examinations in the psychology graduate program to demonstrate research skills. The prelims centered around choosing, analyzing, and elaborating three research problems. (DB)