Given the recent proliferation of undergraduate psychology and law courses, there is an increased need to empirically evaluate effective methods of teaching psycholegal material. The current study used a between- and within-subject design across four higher education institutions (N = 291 students) to evaluate the effectiveness of incorporating…

A primary barrier to the usage of the well-documented pedagogical technique of service learning is time. Successful experiences require faculty to devote significant time to facilitating the community partnership. Another challenge is student readiness for experiences, both in terms of knowledge and motivation. In this article, 2 adaptations are…

Teaching experts assert that the first day of class impacts students, with potential negative effects lasting the entire term. However, no empirical research supports this supposition. We randomly assigned students to view a video of their professor either providing a positive or negative first-day experience. Students with the positive experience…

What has changed and what has stayed the same in the years since the first publication of James's "Talks to Teachers on Psychology: And to Students on some of Life's Ideals" (1899) and the 10 editions of McKeachie's "Teaching Tips"? Although research and theory have given us better understanding of learning, memory, cognition, and motivation, much…

Suggests the "create-a-game" examination technique as a supplemental or alternative evaluation method for a history of psychology course. Describes a take home test in which students design and construct games that incorporate a range of knowledge from the course material. Recommends playing the games in class as a course review. (DK)

How the topic of intrinsic motivation can be used as the theoretical framework to guide an undergraduate educational psychology course within the teacher education curriculum is described. Three motivation exercises, developed using the concepts of R. deCharms, are included. A preliminary assessment of the technique showed favorable results. (RM)

Describes how the job characteristics model (J. R. Hackman), used by industrial-organizational psychologists to enhance the motivating potential of jobs in industry, can be applied to increase student motivation. The job characteristics model describes the relationship between the core characteristics of skill variety, task identity, task…