We describe how students can be encouraged to actively review course contents on inferential statistics by creating application-oriented exercises and sample solutions on the basis of concrete and realistic research articles and their data. For evaluation purposes, we use students' reactions to the activity and investigate its effects on the final…

This article describes 14 problem-based group activities for a sensation and perception course. The intent was to provide opportunities for students to practice applying their knowledge to real-world problems related to course content. Student ratings of how effectively the activities helped them learn were variable but relatively high. Students…

Presents five learning activities which are designed to enable the student of psychology to better understand the aging and the aged. Activities are concerned with current demographic data, stereotyping, perceptions of personal aging, attitudes about age found in greeting cards, and an examination of popular culture's messages about the elderly.…

In three college level psychology courses the author has used a "media project" technique to relate course content to popular media. Students search popular media for items applicable to the course and then rate them for relevance, centrality, and degree of misrepresentation. (AV)

Discusses the secondary agenda technique where students express their biases on various topics, but their realization is the secondary purpose of the class activity. Illustrates the use of this technique by describing activities where students confront their biases and perceptions about gender and sexual orientation. (CMK)

Describes an activity that enables students to exercise their data entry, computational, graphical, and writing skills to learn the importance of graphs in good statistical analysis. Students use four data sets to enter data, compute Pearson correlation values, plot scatter graphs, and write results paragraphs. (CMK)

Believes that there are benefits to having introductory psychology students generate a lifeline at the beginning of the course and again after they learn about developmental psychology. Presents results from evaluations where the students rate the lifelines favorably. States that creating the second lifeline encouraged students to personalize the…

Discusses the use of case studies to teach students in introductory psychology courses. Explains the process of using this active learning strategy. Includes how the teacher should create the case study to meet the types of questions that should accompany the case study. (CMK)

Maintains that a comprehensive understanding of abnormal psychology requires coverage of recent advances in primary prevention. Describes a conceptual scheme and recommends resources and teaching methods for instructors. Asserts that clinical and community psychology are conceptually distinct but complementary fields. (CFR)

Discusses writing techniques and assessment methods used in an interdisciplinary writing course. Recommends freewriting, small-group writing assignments, and peer tutoring. Supports assessment by more than one faculty evaluator, peer feedback, and optional versus mandatory rewriting. (CFR)

Maintains that literacy and informed decision making in an uncertain world require the ability to reason statistically. Describes a course designed to help students use statistical concepts as tools for social reasoning within simulations of real-world problems. Describes four types of instructional activities used. (CFR)