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…

Interdisciplinary pedagogy can enhance Introduction to Psychology curricula. We developed an interdisciplinary project to make meaning in a learning community (LC) clustering Introduction to Psychology with Introduction to Criminal Justice. Our purpose is to describe the project as a model and report on students' evaluations of the project and…

Because 98% of teachers use textbooks for the introductory psychology course and the majority of introductory teachers do not assign reading beyond the textbook, examining the topical coverage allocation pattern in introductory textbooks versus that in introductory course lectures is important for our understanding of how introductory students are…

To determine how topical coverage in introductory textbooks may have changed from the 1980s to the present, the author examined topic coverage in full-length and brief introductory textbooks from this time period. Because 98% of the teachers use textbooks for the introductory course and the majority do not assign reading beyond the textbook, the…

Two experiments examined whether framing effects, in terms of losses and gains, can be extended to student learning and grading preferences. In Experiment 1, participants rated psychology course syllabi to investigate preferences for differently framed grading systems: a loss versus gain grading system. The results showed a clear framing effect…

Introductory psychology is one of the most popular undergraduate courses and often serves as the gateway to choosing psychology as an academic major. However, little research has examined the typical structure of introductory psychology courses. The current study examined student learning objectives (SLOs) and course content in introductory…

This article describes the design and implementation of a 1-credit-hour seminar in comparative psychology as a supplement to an introductory biopsychology course. The purpose of the course was to introduce students to the ecological and evolutionary aspects of animal behavior by building on topics that are introduced in many biopsychology courses.…

Live demonstration is a useful method for introducing concepts of psychotherapy to students in introductory psychology classes. Both audience and role-players get to experience first-hand some of the emotional dynamics of a therapy situation. Describes classroom role-playing that illustrated client-centered therapy. (CS)

Instructions concerning how to teach neuron anatomy and physiology via a one-half hour dramatic presentation involving 30 student volunteers are provided. Data are provided to support the demonstration's value as both a pragmatic aid to comprehension and as an entertaining educational technique. (RM)

One lemon, an assortment of other fruits and vegetables, a tennis ball, and a Galvanic Skin Response meter are needed to implement this approach to teaching about classical conditioning in introductory psychology courses. (RM)

Students read Mark Vonnegut's "The Eden Express," an autobiographical account of a young man's schizophrenic breakdown, and wrote papers comparing how different perspectives, e.g., the biomedical and behavioral, would describe the cause and cure of Vonnegut's schizophrenia. Students liked the book and the assignment. (RM)

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)

This introductory psychology course consisting of 16 contemporary films available at each student's convenience; readings; discussion sessions; and laboratory experience, assisted by upper-division psychology students, is an attempt to minimize some of the problems of the usual introductory lecture course. (JH)

We propose that a brief take-home syllabus quiz can be a catalyst for students to read and refer to their syllabus as a source of essential information about the class. In this article, we detail the development of such a quiz and provide evidence that students who complete a syllabus quiz have a better understanding of course policies than…

During the first class devoted to assertiveness, the professor came into class, sat down, and proceeded to write notes on a pad for the duration of the period. Their rights to an education being violated, students were confronted with the option to intervene in their own best interests. (RM)