Assessment of student learning outcomes can be a powerful tool for improvement of instruction when a scientific approach is taken; unfortunately, many educators do not take full advantage of this approach. This article examines benefits of taking a scientific approach to critical thinking assessment and proposes guidelines for planning,…

Online graduate programs in psychology are becoming common; however, a concern has been whether instructors in the programs provide adequate research mentoring. One issue surrounding research mentoring is the absence of research laboratories in the virtual university. Students attending online universities often do research without peer or lab…

Describes the use of the jigsaw teaching technique (which requires each member of a small group to provide a key piece of information) in undergraduate psychology laboratory and discussion classes. Results indicate that students evaluate the approach favorably and that their academic performance improves with use of the jigsaw technique. (JDH)

In this article, I describe how I used a portfolio assignment to facilitate learning and provide a useful resource for future research experiences. Forty-eight students from 2 introductory methods and statistics courses compiled a portfolio that reflected their individual approach to understanding the major topics of the class. The portfolio…

Reports on a study of peer teaching through small group instruction in a college level psychology program. Describes how upper level undergraduate students designed, implemented, and evaluated projects to teach psychology to introductory students. Finds that both the introductory and advanced students enjoyed the experience and recommended that…