Describes a small-group exercise that allows students to discuss affective and cognitive aspects of puberty. After reading textbook chapter on puberty, students wrote a group letter to a male or female child explaining changes child would encounter during puberty. Procedure increased student knowledge about puberty and made them feel more…

Discusses various ways that writing can facilitate learning in a developmental psychology course. Argues that writing assignments are valuable because they promote active learning and provide another way to teach psychology. (Author/GEA)

We examined the effects of in-class writing instruction, practice, peer review, and feedback on writing skills of undergraduates enrolled in a general psychology course. We rated writing for grammar, writing style, mechanics, and American Psychological Association referencing style. Significant differences emerged on the 4 writing skill domains (p…

Describes a writing assignment based on the main character of a novel, an autobiography, or a biography about mental illness. Requests students to describe the characters' symptoms, to provide a diagnosis, to suggest a treatment plan, and to describe the treatment received. Notes the assignment promotes critical thinking and empathy for the…

Described are practical ways in which writing can be used to help students learn the concepts and methods of social psychology. These include keeping a course log (a type of journal), writing analyses of published articles, doing an observational study, and writing a formal research report. (Author/RM)

The portfolio writing assignment given to students in a life span developmental psychology course required that they complete 10-15 typewritten pages of writing for the course. Students were allowed to choose their own projects; for example, they might write about an interview they had conducted, or discuss an outside reading. (RM)

Suggests an intervention method designed to teach undergraduates how to write literature review papers. Develops a series of exercises addressing typical student difficulties in completing assignments. Provides a sequence of assignments designed to teach students to formulate a topic, summarize articles, and integrate findings. (Author/NL)

Contrasts immediate and delayed effects of focused freewriting and focused thought on lecture comprehension. Finds the immediate effect was increased comprehension. However, on a one-week delayed test, the performance of the focused freewriting group was below that of the focused-thought group. (Author/NL)