The pedagogical value of capstones has been regularly discussed within psychology. This study presents results from an examination of a national random sample of department webpages and an online survey that characterized the typical capstone course in terms of classroom activities and course administration. The department webpages provide an…

Describes an educational psychology course which incorporates students' requests for competency requirements, self pacing, grading based on a combination of criterion- and norm-referenced measures, flexible class format, and field experience within educational environments. (Author/AV)

Focuses on the use of small, independent project lab groups in two different courses: (1) Introduction Methodology; and (2) Psychometrics. States that this type of group enables students to receive feedback from their peers, while also allowing them to explore an area of individual interest. (CMK)

Details a course for teaching ethics to undergraduates. Argues that participation in service-learning experiences teaches students about moral philosophy and ethical principles for psychologists, and helps them become more sensitive to complex ethical dilemmas involved in psychology and related fields. Reports that students' course evaluations are…

Describes a writing project, based on the reader's guide, that helps students get an overview of the literature on a psychology topic. Highlights the five components of the reader's guide (content outline, theorists and contributors, central concepts, hot topics, and major resources). Addresses the role of the assignment and student reactions.…

Discusses the guidelines for two class projects used in an undergraduate cognitive psychology class: (1) Museum of the Mind, where students created interactive museum-like displays; and (2) the Cognition Book, an edited book about cognition. Finds that students enjoyed the former activity but learned more from the latter. (CMK)

Contends that the study of the psychology of humor integrates areas such as child development stereotyping and creativity. Describes an undergraduate college-level course in which students apply psychological theories of humor to understand both popular humor and experiences in everyday life. (CFR)

Describes a psychology course that implemented a problem-solving approach to provide students with a hands-on experience of community psychology in a multicultural South Africa. Traces the students' reactions to the course from their initial enthusiasm and emergence of frustration to their eventual understanding of other cultures. (CMK)

Reviews the course, Psychology of Ethnic Groups in the United States (University of San Francisco). Explains that the goals of the course are to educate, sensitize, and stimulate critical thinking about the role of culture and ethnicity in human social behavior. Addresses course content and issues, the class project, and student evaluation of the…

Describes the 12-week long collaborative learning project used in a persuasion and propaganda course. Explains that the students worked in groups on a persuasive campaign to change a target population. States that the student projects were persuasive. (CMK)

Describes an exercise designed to encourage active learning in which groups of students compared and contrasted the content of historical introductory psychology texts with contemporary ones. Reports that student evaluations suggest the exercise helps students understand the history and development of psychology. (CMK)

Describes a create-a-children's game assignment for a college-developmental psychology course. Discusses instructions for the project, provides examples of student games, and reports student evaluation. Contends that the assignment produces a high level of student engagement and accomplishment. (CFR)

Describes an undergraduate Psychology of Social Problems course. The course focuses on the psychological aspects of legal abortion for adolescents and women, the consequences of denied abortions on unwanted children, and psychological ramifications of alternatives to abortion. Summarizes student evaluations of the course. (CFR)

Describes a project within an undergraduate developmental psychology course in which students build toys suitable for newborn to four-year-old children. Includes instructional procedures, descriptive examples of toys made during the class, grading procedures, and student evaluations of the project. (CFR)

Describes the use of a student-designed questionnaire to generate data for teaching statistical procedures and concepts. Maintains that students learn firsthand that data analysis is an integral part of the research process. Concludes that students find real data more interesting. (CFR)