Describes a class demonstration in which students learn about Jean Piaget's concepts of schemata, assimilation, accommodation, and equilibration. Explains that students work in pairs (but cannot see one another) where one teaches the other how to make a duplicate of an already constructed block model. (CMK)

Believes that it may be daunting for some students to learn about the history of psychology. Describes a teaching strategy that uses jigsaw puzzles to teach about the historical terms of structuralism, functionalism, and gestalt psychology. Finds that students performed better on test questions related to these three concepts after using this…

Describes a mock trial focused on Jack Kevorkian and an euthanasia case that was included in a psychology and law course. Discusses the course format, provides the reactions to the mock trial by students and consultants, and includes suggestions for improving the mock trial. (CMK)

Discusses a game in which students must guess the flavor of LifeSaver candy without the aid of sight and smell. Explains that this demonstration assists students to understand the phenomenon of random occurrences. Describes how the presentation is conducted as well as the outcomes of the demonstration. (CMK)

Presents activities to help students gain understanding about auditory perception. Describes demonstrations that cover topics, such as sound localization, wave cancellation, frequency/pitch variation, and the influence of media on sound propagation. (CMK)

Describes an activity called the jigsaw classroom technique for use with working groups of undergraduate statistics students that divides a worksheet into two to four steps. Reveals that the students viewed the technique positively because it helped them understand statistical procedure and offered a variety of learning experiences. (CMK)

Discusses the use of focused interactive learning (FIL), in which students participate in focused discussions with their peers to learn about psychological concepts. Evaluates the use of FIL at Florida Atlantic University (Boca Raton, Florida). Addresses student benefits resulting from this technique. (CMK)

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)

Focuses on the use of student publications in journals as a teaching tool. Explores the use of this technique in three contexts: (1) enabling students to understand experimental methodology; (2) teaching students about statistics; and (3) helping students learn more about the American Psychological Association (APA) writing style. (CMK)

Describes an exercise named CARDS that was used in two sections of an introduction to psychology course. After a concept was presented in lecture, students were asked to respond to a question written on an index card and discuss their answers in groups. Presents the results of the assessment of student learning. (CMK)

Provides suggestions for using active learning as the primary means to teaching statistics in order to create a collaborative environment. Addresses such strategies as using SPSS Base 7.5 for Windows and course periods centered on answering student-generated questions. Discusses various writing intensive assignments. (CMK)

Describes the course content, student response, and instructional effectiveness of an undergraduate psychology and law course built around a series of active learning projects. Students chose either to attend a jury trial or to interview three people involved in the legal system. These formed the basis for papers and presentations. (MJP)

Maintains that the history of psychology course is a common capstone course in the undergraduate psychology curriculum. Describes exercises designed to encourage active learning and critical thinking. Presents basic steps in completing the exercises and students' reactions to them. (CFR)

Defines and discusses a definition of critical thinking. Maintains that college students improve their learning effectiveness when they are engaged actively and invested personally. Describes student evaluation techniques used to enhance thinking skills. (CFR)

Describes techniques for creating collaborative student-constructed hypertexts. Maintains that student goals include courseware development, promotion of critical thinking skills, and facilitating student-directed learning. Reports that students' reactions to the assignments were overwhelmingly positive. (CFR)