In-Person Conference Program
Pittsburgh, PA - Omni William Penn
October 20-22, 2022
Table of Contents
Lunch PIEs (Participant Idea Exchanges)
Keynote Addresses
Teaching to Make a Difference: A Social Justice Approach
Linda M. Woolf, STP President and Professor of Psychology and International Human Rights, Webster University
As teachers, we recognize that psychology has value to people’s lives individually and collectively within a multi-cultural global community. Increasingly, we endeavor to integrate topics such as human rights and social justice into our courses with an eye toward making a difference in our student’s lives not just in the classroom but also in their day-to-day lives both locally and globally. This address will explore the concept of social justice as well as methods of integration into psychology courses, the curriculum, and as an approach to facilitate learning and social responsibility.
Critical, Inclusive, and Open Pedagogies: Centering Social Justice in the Teaching of Psychology
Rajiv Jhangiani, Vice Provost of Teaching and Learning, Brock University
Do you wonder why an undergraduate major as popular as Psychology continues to struggle with a diversity problem? Or why a discipline with such transformative potential has often been complicit in serving destructive ends? As teachers of psychology, we carry a special responsibility into the classroom, one that isn’t well served by the maintenance of a facade of neutrality. Our goal as critical educators ought not only concern teaching practices that are effective and engaging, but also the intentional design of learning environments that are inclusive, antiracist, and just.
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: Reflections from Psychology Faculty of Color
Kelley Haynes-Mendez, Director of the Ethnicity, Race, and Cultural Affairs portfolio and Acting Director of the Human Rights Team at the American Psychological Association (APA)
Panelists: Arlen Garcia, Gabrielle Smith, Vanessa Hintz, Judith Pena-Schaff
In 2021, the American Psychological Association published its framework for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion which aims to promote an accessible, equitable, and inclusive psychology that promotes human rights, fairness, and dignity for all. The EDI framework is relevant across all segments of psychology including education, science, practice, and advocacy. In this keynote panel discussion, invited panelists will explore the impact of equity, diversity, and inclusion in creating structural change in academia and other educational contexts. Panelists will also reflect on their personal experiences as faculty and scholars of color working in the area of teaching and learning in psychology.
Workshops
Take Control of Service Before it Takes Control of You
Pamela I. Ansburg, Mark E. Basham, Regan A. R. Gurung
Want to learn how to select service activities that align with your skills and interests? In this workshop, you will complete a self-assessment to identify how you want to contribute to your institution, how to find service opportunities, and how to avoid those that don’t fit your service plan.
How to Dream up, Design, and Disseminate a Powerful Peer-Reviewed Teaching Resource
Ashley Waggoner Denton
In this workshop, I will guide participants through the process of creating a teaching resource suitable for publication in STP’s Resources for Teachers of Psychology. From idea generation to receiving feedback from reviewers, we will cover every stage of the process. We will spend significant time reviewing what makes a teaching resource effective, including the importance of empirically-supported practices and designing a user-friendly document. My goal is for every workshop participant to leave feeling confident and excited about their ability to create an excellent teaching resource that will benefit both themselves and the teaching of psychology community!
The Student Cognition Toolbox (SCT): Empowering Students to Become Self-Regulated Learners
Catherine E. Overson, Victor A. Benassi
Students often report using ineffective study strategies. In response, we developed an online, open resource: The Student Cognition Toolbox (SCT), instructing students about effective study strategies, with practice components to facilitate mastery. Modules cover retrieval practice, self-explanation, elaborative interrogation, worked examples, blocking, spacing, and interleaving. After conducting a tour of the SCT and providing evidence of its efficacy on academic performance, we will work with participants to develop a strategy of how they will incorporate and assess the SCT in courses they teach. Participants will leave the workshop ready to deploy the SCT in one or more courses.
Learn It, Share It, Plan It, Bring It: Building an Innovative Teaching Toolkit for ECPs
Albee Mendoza, Christina Shane-Simpson, Courtney L. Gosnell, Ciara Kidder, Janet M. Peters, Amanda Mae Woodward
Early career psychologists are uniquely positioned to design or revise courses that take advantage of innovative teaching techniques and course design strategies. However, it can be difficult for faculty to filter through teaching techniques and tools. This workshop is designed to support ECPs in expanding their teaching toolkit with innovative ideas for learning activities, course design, and student assessment. By the end of this workshop, attendees will leave with ideas, resources, strategies, and an implementation plan that will help them to bring their teaching ideas to life.
Making Better Writers in Psychology: A Departmental Initiative
Jane S. Halonen, Vanessa R. Rainey, April D. Schantz, David B. Strohmetz
Based on long-standing complaints around the lunchroom (e.g., “Why do our students write so badly?”), our department committed to a three-year process to improve student writing. Beginning with a baseline year, we assessed the quality of writing from students completing their thematic capstone course, which included writing a ten-page senior thesis. In a second year, we audited writing assignments throughout the curriculum and formulated a game plan for what needed to be changed to strengthen writing skills. In the final year of our initiative, all faculty committed to experiment with a selection of strategies to improve writing performance. In this Best Practice presentation, we will offer lessons learned that may help others rehabilitate their writing education practices in psychology courses. These suggestions emphasize the importance of scaffolding writing demands to move students from novice status to having greater expertise and confidence in their writing. We offer strategies on delivering efficient feedback. We also share some ideas on how to get faculty onboard with a shared curricular mission.
45-Minute Symposia
Better, More Inclusive Classes through Midcourse Feedback: Four Learner-Centered Methods
Jordan D. Troisi
Formative, midcourse feedback is an inclusive practice. Yet, in many courses, midcourse feedback is not built into the teaching process. This symposium will describe, compare, and provide the audience with tools to implement 4 evidence-based methods for gathering midcourse formative feedback: Bare Bones Questions, Small Group Instructional Diagnosis, Student Management Teams, and the implementation of Learning Assistants. Take-home tools will be provided, and substantial time will be dedicated to brainstorming and directly planning how audience members can implement these processes in their courses, this term or next.
Teaching Schemas & Misconceptions: Hook, Line, and Sinker
Kimberly M. Alberts, Alexandra A. Lee
This symposium may be of particular interest to those who teach topics related to schemas and misconceptions! Audience members will first participate as mock students in a “hook” activity. Whereas typical “hooks” make learning psychology fun, they often fall short of meaningful learning. This activity, however, is designed to both spark interest in, and lead to a deeper understanding of, the concepts of schema and the formation of misconceptions. In other words, it functions as hook, line, and sinker! The session will end with a debrief and brainstorming session to equip participants to try this activity in their own classrooms!
Social Connection: An Essential Component of Student and Faculty Success
Natalie A. Kerr
Having a strong sense of connection is a key predictor of both student and faculty success. Yet, many of us feel disconnected from our institutional peers and community. In this symposium, I will discuss methods for increasing social connectedness among students and faculty, many of which are drawn from the social and positive psychology literatures. I’ll also invite participants to share their own ideas for combating the crisis of disconnection on our campuses.
CUT the Act with Mission: Reducing Faculty Imposter Experiences by Clarifying Personal and Pedagogical Strengths
Garth Neufeld
Imposter phenomenon is experienced by many high-achieving professionals. This phenomenon refers to the fear of being exposed as a fraud or an imposter in one’s work, despite objective evidence to the contrary. This is more than just a psychological inconvenience, as imposter feelings can have serious implications. Using the introductory psychology course as an example, this talk will present a strengths-based strategy for increasing feelings of instructor effectiveness to decrease imposter experiences. This CUT strategy advocates for development of a personal mission statement that aims to clarify values, recognize unique contributions, and identify a true north for professional decision making.
Undergraduate Mentoring: Research-Informed Strategies and Tools for a Pivotal Faculty Role
Sarai Blincoe
This workshop provides the time and tools for new and experienced faculty alike to examine, define, and refine, their approach to mentoring undergraduates. Participants will consider particular manifestations of the mentoring role in their professional life and evaluate how they build rapport and problem-solve with mentees. Workshop participants will depart with: (a) new knowledge of the mentoring literature, (b) improved awareness of their own tendencies as mentors, (c) SMART goals to guide changes to their mentoring strategy, and (d) a set of tools to use in ongoing and future mentoring relationships.
Benefits of Specifications Grading: Boasted or Backed? A Content Analysis of Students’ Reflections on Different Grading Systems
Carla M. Strickland-Huges, Julie C. Hill, Annie S. Ditta, Emily Mroz ,
This symposium brings together teachers of Research Methods and Statistics to: (i) discuss inclusive teaching practices to promote equity in the classroom and (ii) suggest concrete changes to teaching materials that align with these practices. Research Methods and Statistics are foundational courses and strong predictors of later academic success in psychology. We will discuss evidence-based strategies for instructors to rethink their courses to promote equity in large and small ways, from syllabus policies to in-class exercises to assignments and exams. Attendees will leave with concrete tools to implement the approaches presented.
AP Psychology Update: New Course & Exam Highlights
Amy C. Fineburg
The AP Psychology Course and Exam have been updated for implementation in the 2023-2024 academic year. Participants will be informed of the updates and given practical tips for incorporating the changes into current teaching and learning practices.
Demystifying the Process of Becoming Competitive for Teaching Focused Academic Positions
Megan Nazdan
During this symposium,, I will provide advice on 5 stages of preparation for becoming competitive for a teaching focused career. There will be breaks built in for participants to reflect on each piece and how they can create an action plan to engage in each of these pieces over time. Each person will be at a different point in their career, so this will be a space to create a unique timeline to increase the competitiveness of their applications.
Instructing the Instructions: Getting it Right Before it Goes Wrong
Leslie Martinez, Bethany Johnson
How can instructors write effective instructions that students will read and follow, without sacrificing rigor? This interactive symposium will enumerate the challenges and successes we have encountered in our effort to write good instructions and explain the main factors we account for when revising assignments. Our example assignment is a full research proposal. We apply the principles of behavior modification, consider students’ motivations, demonstrate the value in making learning objectives explicit, and re-examine the pedagogic hegemony that is hidden in many familiar approaches to instruction. Audience contributions are welcome and will expand our discussion of this surprisingly complex challenge.
Neurodiversity in Higher Education: Accessible Pedagogy
Emily R. Bovier
The purpose of this symposium is to present an overview of neurodiversity and discuss pedagogical practices that enhance the accessibility of both the classroom environment and class materials. Neurodiverse conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorders and ADHD will be discussed, along with other mental health conditions related to depression and anxiety that may benefit from accommodations.
Including Large Classes in Conversations About Inclusive Teaching
Molly A. Metz, Leslie Berntsen
Over the past two years, many instructors have recognized the value of proactively designing flexible courses and responding to students’ requests for accommodations with radical compassion while others have reaffirmed their existing commitment to these practices. However, without very deliberate structure, boundaries, and forethought, it can be possible for the most well-intentioned inclusive teaching strategies to come at the expense of instructors who may be facing some of the same personal difficulties and/or structural inequities as our students. These dynamics can uniquely affect instructors who strive to inclusively teach large-enrollment courses, both because of the sheer number of students who may need additional support and the disproportionate expectations that students may place on these instructors. So, how can teachers of large courses approach inclusive pedagogy knowing that even the most lauded strategies are not always universally applicable?
Adopting and Selecting OERs for Undergraduate Psychology Courses
Alison E. Kelly, Brittany N. Avila
Adopting Open Educational Resources (OERs) makes courses more accessible to students. However, finding the right OERs can be a daunting task. This workshop aims to help you choose OERs for one of your courses in under two hours! We’ll start by explaining what OERs are, the benefits of using OERs, and research on faculty and student perceptions of OERs. We’ll also discuss and problem solve common barriers to OER adoption. Then we’ll help you determine needs from an OER and find the right materials. Finally, you’ll evaluate the OERs for quality and learn how to integrate them into your course.
Equitable Teaching Practices in Psychological Research Methods and Statistics
Vanessa E. Woods, Nicole Alea Albada, Victoria Cross, Annie S. Ditta, Emma Geller, Melissa Paquette Smith, Celeste Pilegard
This symposium brings together teachers of Research Methods and Statistics to: (i) discuss inclusive teaching practices to promote equity in the classroom and (ii) suggest concrete changes to teaching materials that align with these practices. Research Methods and Statistics are foundational courses and strong predictors of later academic success in psychology. We will discuss evidence-based strategies for instructors to rethink their courses to promote equity in large and small ways, from syllabus policies to in-class exercises to assignments and exams. Attendees will leave with concrete tools to implement the approaches presented.
The Metaphors We Teach By: Uncovering the Structure of Metaphorical Lay Theories of Teaching
Bridgette M. Hard, Michelle Wong, Stephen J. Flusberg
How do beliefs about the nature of teaching influence college education? One way that beliefs are conveyed is via metaphors, which both reflect and shape how people think about complex subjects. I will share research examining four metaphors for the college teacher-student relationship (gardener, coach, sculptor, and tour guide) that reflect systematically different intuitions about college teachers, students, and who holds more responsibility for learning. We have found that framing a discussion of teaching with these metaphors can influence students’ expectations in a metaphor-congruent fashion. Metaphorical language can reveal beliefs that guide educational practices and inform novel educational interventions.
Meeting Students Where They Are: How Far is Too Far?
Kiersten Baughman, Amanda Mae Woodward
This session will offer space to discuss what works to optimize classroom experiences and reach learning objectives while maintaining healthy boundaries and prioritizing self-care. Participants will build useful strategies to employ in their spaces.
25-Minute Symposia
Writing an Op-Ed: Teaching Psychology Students to Write for Public Audiences, not for Researchers
Steven Zhou
Traditional writing curriculum for psychology students is focused on the "academic writing" style found in peer-reviewed journals. However, students are more likely to need public writing skills in future careers, which differs dramatically from academic writing. This workshop is a hands-on opportunity to write your own popular press op-ed based on a psychological research study. The facilitator is a graduate student who received op-ed writing training from former press editors and has published op-eds in national outlets. The workshop is geared to students and ECRs who are interested in learning popular writing skills and incorporating it into their own curriculum.
But That's Not My Experience: Epistemological Issues in the Teaching of Psychology
Nora M. Isacoff
This project investigates factors affecting whether psychology students view psychology as a science and how they evaluate psychological evidence. It compares the information and methods used in Introduction to Psychology classes with those in other scientific disciplines, such as inclusion of historical concepts. The study grapples with what introductory psychology classes should look like and how these choices inform what students ultimately remember, whether or not they continue studying psychology. Additionally, it explores connections with students' general views about belief and evidence. The study aims to clarify the curricular role of psychology within a larger epistemological framework.
We’re All in This Together: A Critical Conversation about Combatting Academic Burnout
Melissa L. Maffeo
“Burnout” is a term that is often used to describe feelings like exhaustion, lack of motivation, cynicism, and just plain old “I don’t want to.” Raising awareness about the experience of burnout is important for understanding it, but ultimately, burnout is an institutional problem and change needs to come from above. I’d like to share what is understood about the symptoms and experience of burnout and some ideas to combat it (spoiler alert: I don’t have the answer). Together, we can brainstorm ideas for what each of us can do at an individual level to help fight academic burnout.
Helping to Understand Math Anxiety
Melissa L. Paiva-Salisbury, Devi Spletzer
Over the past several years, many instructors have embraced flexible and compassionate pedagogy, while others have reaffirmed their existing commitment to these practices. However, without deliberate structure, boundaries, and forethought, the most well-intentioned inclusive teaching strategies may come at the expense of instructors who may be facing some of the same personal difficulties and/or structural inequities as our students. Drawing on our experience as instructors of large-enrollment courses, we will interrogate common inclusive teaching practices through the lens of instructor identity and ability and discuss how we attempt to balance compassionate pedagogies with our own human limitations.
A Framework for Understanding Latinx Issues in Psychological Concepts
Kenneth A. Pérez
Courses in Latina/o/x Psychology are a space for instructors to present the complex factors which impact the mental health and well-being of this population. This presentation will overview a recent undergraduate seminar offering of this course. Students completed a semester-long research project which included conducting an informed interview with a Latina/o/x individual. The course emphasized an intersectional lens to explore these issues through factors including racial and gender identity, socioeconomic status, nation of origin, immigration status and spirituality. Instructors are encouraged to adopt the framework of this class to promote awareness of issues unique to Latina/o/x communities and of Latina/o/x psychologists that have paved a path for scholars of similar background.
Better Together: More Motivation and Greater Perceived Learning for Collaborative than Individual Active Learning
Nguyen Nancy Vo, Carla M. Strickland-Hughes
Is active learning still “broccoli” (disliked and effective for actual learning but not perceived learning) when conducted collaboratively in established, peer-mentored teams? This research compared the impact of individual and collaborative active learning for undergraduate students in developmental psychology (both synchronous online and in-person formats) using pretest-posttest surveys. Both groups reported increased subject knowledge, and their actual learning performance was similar. However, the collaborative group reported greater engagement, more motivation, and higher judgements of learning at posttest. Thus, collaborative active learning, an appetizing salad, may result in motivational benefits – even online – that could support class engagement and later learning.
Examples of Translational Assignments Across the Psychology Curriculum
Andrew N. Christopher, Susan A. Nolan
We will present examples of 4 projects we use in our undergraduate classes to promote translational skills in our students. By “translational skills,” we mean the ability to take psychological science processes and empirical results and explain and use them in a “real world” context. We will highlight how translational skills can be used to improve the work or organizations and improve the lives of others. These projects allow students not only to gain workplace-related skills, but to have a finished project that they can detail as they prepare for the next step in their professional lives.
Bridging Developmental Psychology and Childhood Studies through Teaching Practice
Bengi Sullu
Scholars are realizing that the disciplines of developmental psychology and childhood studies can benefit from a dialogue with each other (Tatlow-Golden & Montgomery, 2021). In this presentation, I argue that the diverse public urban university classroom presents an opportunity for a critical review of developmental psychological literature via integration of readings, discussion questions and assignments crosscutting the theory and methodological approaches from these two disciplines. This model of undergraduate teaching practice can pave the way for an organic and evolving inquiry of childhood(s) as socially constructed, culturally relative, situated and political.
Effectiveness of Data Collection Methods on Student Learning Outcomes
Sean P. Coyne
The objective of this project was to investigate the effectiveness of different pedagogical strategies in a research methods course. This project takes the form of a “natural experiment” where the COVID-19 pandemic required changing pedagogical delivery systems (Face-to-Face, hybrid, remote synchronous) across three different semesters. The study presented here analyzed if data collection method for a research project affected student performance. All courses used the same assignments and rubrics and differ only in their delivery methods. Results indicate that the way students collected data did not significantly affect their performance.
Cognitive Play Day: Activities and an App for Hands-On Learning
Joshua D. Fetterman, Meredit E. Kneavel
Students sometimes find cognitive psychology dry and boring. Luckily most courses include a chapter on problem solving where instructors can include hands-on problem solving activities. In this talk we will present several activities that are designed to illustrate different aspects of problem solving and are based on classic psychology research. We will discuss their implementation in various class modalities (graduate and undergraduate, face-to-face and online), and present qualitative and quantitative student reactions. We will also discuss a downloadable app that provides students easy access these activities. Our research indicates that students immensely enjoy these activities and find them highly engaging.
It's Never Too Early: Benefits of Becoming an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant
Jenel T. Cavazos, Hannah M. Baskin
This symposium will discuss a course model for high-enrollment class sections that uses undergraduate teaching assistants (UTAs) as Team Leaders. Previous research has shown that the presence of UTAs benefits the students in UTA-embedded courses; the current project reviews findings from a study focusing on outcomes for the UTAs themselves. Past UTAs reported gaining skills across a variety of domains, including leadership, time management, speaking, and subject matter confidence. The vast majority found the UTA experience extremely rewarding. Specific duties and expectations for the UTAs, as well as the practical considerations involved in transitioning to this model, will be discussed.
Doing Good with Data: Bringing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to Graduate Statistics
Ann Holmes, Lauren Girouard-Hallam
Datasets within graduate level statistics courses tend to be abstract or lacking relevance to the lives of students. Course designs therefore should consider example data that touch on matters of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), exposing students to statistical techniques while connecting back to meaningful social issues. This project describes the ways in which data simulation can be used to create datasets to bring into the classroom, and how to get started with transitioning or designing a statistics course that incorporates DEI materials.
The Personal Stories in Teaching (PST) Survey: Exploring Why Instructors Share Personal Stories with Students
Nicole Alea Albada, Payton Adams, Hajera Mohiuddin
Instructors share personal stories with their students, but why? To answer this question, we developed the Personal Stories in Teaching Survey (PST). The PST asks instructors to rate how often they share personal stories for different reasons, such as: to better teach course content; to create a more positive learning environment; to foster empathy among students; and to help students better know their instructor. The most often-used reasons that instructors share personal stories with students will be identified, and associations with instructor (e.g., years teaching, age) and course-related (e.g., type and size of class) characteristics will be explored.
Everyday Encoding: Using Transformative Experience Pedagogy to Foster Value for Psychological Theory
Alissa B. Crawford, Alicia M. Welch
Students may view theories in developmental psychology as unrelated to their everyday life. This misconception often leads to cramming information to pass an exam, but not retaining knowledge needed for future careers where understanding human behavior is a requisite skill. Implementing Transformative Experience Pedagogy in a child psychology course led to relevant and meaningful connections to developmental theory fostering an inherent value for deeper understanding of the content. Come learn the pedagogical process to implement TE in your virtual and/or in-person courses and leave with your first example to share with your students.
Artifacts as Authentic Assessments
KatieAnn R. Skogsberg, Sabrina N. Grondhuis
Authentic assessments require students to demonstrate their knowledge through activities that simulate real-world problems or applications. Artifacts are the products of these authentic assessments. Two faculty at different institutions implemented similar versions of artifacts as authentic assessments in their courses, and collected qualitative data on the students' perceptions of the assignments and quantitative data on their content knowledge. We will present the results of these analyses and include a discussion of our experiences related to implementing this approach.
Efficacy of Service-Learning Practices in an Adult & Aging Psychology Course
Candace Lapan
We describe the development, implementation, and analysis of a service-learning course on the topic of aging psychology. We present the theoretical foundation for our service-learning model, an adaptation of the K-12 Service-Learning Standards for Quality Practice (NYLC, 2008). Then, we present an experimental study which compared a “business-as-usual” aging psychology course with a service-learning aging psychology course. Results showcase the impact of service-learning on student outcomes (e.g., need satisfaction, 21st Century skills, achievement, and civic engagement) and the broader community (e.g., organizational benefits and benefits to older adults). Finally, we discuss potential course design improvements.
Competency-Based Learning: Fostering a Mastery Mindset
Kate Sharp -sponsored by Hawkes Learning-
Discover how a mastery-based, 3-step approach to learning fosters genuine competency by removing learning aids, adapting to individual proficiencies, and providing immediate, corrective remediation. Consider a competency-based learning strategy to set goals for students and give them the flexibility and resources to succeed. Win one of three $25 gift cards!
Hack Your Career: Leveraging Service into Professional Development
Sandra A. Sego, Anne E. Stuart
Most faculty positions involve teaching, scholarship, and service. Many faculty – especially junior faculty on the tenure clock - view service as a distraction from teaching and scholarship. What if faculty could use service to aid their professional development? Membership and leadership on key committees builds one’s leadership resume with the skills needed to move into administrative roles such as chair, director, or dean. At small schools, this background in committee work may be the only preparation available to faculty seeking to advance into administration. We will discuss how faculty can use service to build their brand as future leaders.
Perceptions of Trauma-Informed Teaching in Postsecondary Instructors
Chelsea Robertson, Wallace Dixon
Many studies have noted the detrimental impact Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) can have on individuals’ developmental trajectories and, as a result, the utilization of trauma-informed practices has been of increasing interest within the field of education. Most research on trauma-informed pedagogy is derived from K-12 samples, whereas research on trauma-informed teaching practices within higher education is comparatively scarce. This presentation will describe the findings of a pilot study of a brief (i.e., one hour, single session), asynchronous intervention that aimed to increase university instructor knowledge of ACEs, subsequent effects on learning, and evidence-based, trauma-informed teaching practices.
A Digital Interactive Content Learning Tool Benefits Student Knowledge, Confidence and Motivation
Linda Goldberg, Victoria Cross
Textbook. eBook. PDF. OER. Quizlet. Kahoot. How do we make decisions around adopting course resources? What should we look for? What impact can a digital interactive learning tool have on student knowledge, confidence, and motivation? This session provides empirical evidence from a multi-site, multi-year survey of students who have used APA’s PsycLearn: Research Methods. Most students reported that using a fully-featured digital interactive learning tool was positive and boosted perceived learning, confidence, and motivation. Adopting a learning tool that takes full advantage of the digital medium may be a best practice for delivering this challenging content.
Can a Growth-Mindset Based Syllabus Improve Students’ Perceptions of Taking Research Methods?
Dina Gohar
This experiment investigates whether a syllabus designed to facilitate a growth mindset--the belief that intelligence can be improved --can ameliorate students’ perceptions of and desire to take a Research Methods in Psychology course that many dread. Students who read a growth-mindset-based syllabus reported not only more of a growth mindset but also significantly less anxiety and higher both predicted grades in and desire to take research methods, which was also perceived as less challenging, than did students who read a conventional syllabus with the same requirements. Additionally, the growth-mindset syllabus instructor was perceived as significantly more qualified, reasonable, and nice.
STP Mid-Career Mentoring Reading Groups
Crystal A. Quillen, Darcey N. Powell, Sadie Leder Elder, John E. Edlund, Carolyn R. Brown-Kramer, Meagan M. Patterson
The STP mid-career working group kicked off the spring 2022 semester with reading group sessions aimed at discussing mid-career challenges and professional development opportunities. Selected articles from Inside Higher Ed written by Kerry Ann Rockquemore were chosen to discuss. Data were collected at the beginning and culmination of the reading group, asking participants about their perceptions of mid-career, reasons for joining the reading group, and overall impressions of the reading group. During this session, we will share the results of the reading group survey and discuss how you could organize such a group on your own campus.
Fostering a Mastery Mindset: Today’s Psychology Students
Kate Sharp -sponsored by Hawkes Learning-
Discover how a mastery-based, 3-step approach fosters genuine content comprehension by providing error-specific feedback, adaptive remediation, and encouraging a higher standard of success. Engaging, interactive practice and a multimodal learning path cultivates meaningful exploration of concepts and helps students achieve positive learning outcomes. Win one of three $25 gift cards!
Critical Thinking and Knowledge in Psychology: Efficient, Reliable, and Openly-Accessible Measures for Outcome Assessments
Daniel Gruehn, Dana Kotter-Gruehn
To simplify the assessment of basic knowledge and critical thinking, we report the development of two time-efficient, reliable, and openly-accessible measures: The Term Recognition In Psychology (TRIP) scale assesses basic knowledge by asking students to differentiate between psychological terms (e.g., longitudinal study) and bogus terms (e.g., lateral study). The forced-choice version of the Psychological Critical Thinking Exam (FC-PCTE) modifies the original open-response format by asking students to identify the stronger of two statements for each scenario. Both the TRIP and the FC-PCTE are reliable, valid, and resource-conscious alternatives for the assessment of psychological knowledge and critical thinking.
How to Train your Cockroach: Using Invertebrates for Undergraduate Neuroscience Research Capstone
Christina Ragan, Dexter Dean
Invertebrates are inexpensive, low-maintenance organisms that can provide rich experiences for undergraduate students to contribute to the field of neuroscience. Here, I will share the findings from undergraduate neuroscience capstone projects including areas of learning and memory, olfaction, and addiction all using cockroaches. Students designed apparatuses to assess behavior and later conducted analyses such as neuronal firing with Backyard Brains Spiker Boxes or using high-performance liquid chromatography to detect neurochemicals in the cockroach ganglia. I will discuss the student project outcomes, benefits, challenges, and ways to implement the use of invertebrates in a one-semester laboratory course.
Measurable Gains in Cognitive, Interpersonal, and Intrapersonal Skills for Undergraduate Teaching Assistants (UTAs)
Ellen M. Carpenter
This presentation will illustrate how a training program delivered in Fall 2021 for undergraduate teaching assistants (UTAs) in a large, upper-level asynchronous online class increased the UTAs perceived skill level across five skills that represent the cognitive, interpersonal, and intrapersonal domains as outlined in Martin Hard and Gross (2016). Details related to selecting, training, and assessing the UTAs, as well as ideas for future UTA development, funding sources, and SoTL will be discussed.
Promoting Open Science in Undergraduate Statistics
Amanda Mae Woodward
Undergraduate statistics courses are important for helping students become critical consumers of information. Beyond learning how to calculate and interpret statistics, these courses offer an opportunity to introduce students to open science practices that make data analysis more transparent and reproducible. In this talk, I will discuss how including information about pre-registration, using R, and sharing code on sites like Github can be incorporated into the classroom in order to facilitate students’ skill building and increase their knowledge of open science.
Lunch PIEs (Participant Idea Exchanges)
Teaching Students Psychology Wellbeing
Carrie Caudill
Undergraduate psychology students often become interested in psychology in attempt to understand themselves and support their psychological wellbeing. This time will review some strategies the author has used from the research literature in positive psychology to help students reflect and develop their wellbeing as well as engage participants in their ideas and pedagogical practices.
Navigating the Teaching-Focused Job Market
Jordan D. Troisi
Many doctoral programs do not adequately prepare their students for applying for teaching-focused faculty positions. This PIE is designed to open up the door for conversations on how to navigate the teaching-focused job market, including topics such as examining and interpreting teaching job ads, crafting application materials, interviewing and communicating, and negotiating your offer (including salary, benefits, opportunity hires, etc.). The goal is for attendees to improve their understanding of how to navigate the job market and to experience improvements in outcomes on their current or future job searches.
Enhancing Student Growth Through Connection with the Department Community
Prutha S. Deshpande, Graham C. Bartels
Psychology departments commonly recognize the value of inclusive environments for students’ growth. For many reasons however—large size, lack of faculty diversity, limited opportunities for interaction, pandemic-related disconnect, to name just a few—departments fall short. Scholarly work has focused on inclusion and belonging in classroom communities, but the larger context of the department is unexplored, even though students, faculty, and staff spend far more time outside the classroom. In this PIE, we share our efforts as graduate instructors to enhance all student’s growth through greater connection with the department community. We invite participants to share and brainstorm with us.
How Psychological Statistics Faculty Can Incorporate Data Visualization Into Undergraduate Statistics Curriculum
Steven Zhou
Traditional undergraduate psychological statistics curricula focus on the basic inferential tests one might run for research. However, most students will go on to applied careers, where data visualization is one of the most important skills with rapidly growing career opportunities. Unfortunately, data visualization and its associated tools/technologies (e.g., Tableau, Power BI) is rarely taught. As a graduate student who worked in applied data analytics and received my Tableau certification, I have incorporated data visualization in the undergraduate statistics classes that I teach. This Lunch PIE session will be a discussion on how faculty can improve data visualization education for undergraduates.
The Joys of Being an AP Reader!
Amy C. Fineburg
Come and learn about the wonderful world of the AP Psychology Reading! Current AP Readers and the AP Course Lead will share the benefits of working to to score the free-response questions from the AP Psychology Exam.
How Did Covid Change the Way you Teach (for the Better)?
Jennifer J. Thomas, Blythe Duell
The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted student learning and revealed inequalities in student access to resources and support (Pokhrel & Chhetri, 2021). This has allowed many opportunities for teachers to rethink how they design courses, deliver content, engage students, assess student learning outcomes, and better support student learning. In this Participants Idea Exchange, we will lead teachers in a discussion of how the pandemic has opened doors to new ways of teaching and supporting students. For example, participants will be asked about course policies that improve student success and how course assignments have been changed to be more individualized and flexible.
Turning Psychology Inward: Reflecting on Our Cognitive Biases to Enhance Student Success
Jordan R. Wagge, Jason Spiegelman, Alexander Swan
As psychology instructors, many of us teach about cognitive biases and heuristics, but we may not purposefully reflect on these biases in our own work with students. For our discussion, we would like to spend time brainstorming with participants ways in which cognitive biases might impact pedagogy and relationships with students, particularly surrounding issues related to academic integrity such as cheating or plagiarism in the remote environment.
Anti-Racist Teaching With Racist Students: Perspectives of Centering a Race-Based Psychological Pedagogy
Tangela Roberts
After intentionally developing course syllabi aimed at de-centering Whiteness for a graduate counseling psychology program, l began to notice a significant increase in both adversities to discussing racism and the number of racial micro aggressions that I experienced from students. Observed student reactions to anti-racist pedagogy, both conscious/intentional and unconscious/unintentional will be discussed, in addition to shared problem-solving for ways that educational institutions can better support ethnic or racial minority faculty engaging in anti-racist psychological pedagogy.
Childhood Autobiographies As Key Teaching Tools in Developmental Psych Courses
Chris J. Boyatzis
This round-table should help instructors integrate childhood memoirs in their developmental psychology courses to enhance students’ understanding of theory and research and, importantly, diversity in human development. Our curricula are often centered around White WEIRDness (Nielsen, 2017), so to help students understand issues of diversity we will discuss childhood memoirs I have used in developmental psychology courses for decades. We employ theoretical frameworks and empirical studies to analyze rich narratives that illuminate diversity of race, gender, social class, historical context, and other aspects of human intersectionality. Recommended reading lists and assignments will be shared.
Critical Consciousness and Decolonization in the Classroom: Practices for Justice, Transformation, and Liberation
Teceta T. Tormala
In recent years, racial justice movements such as Black Lives Matter and Land Back have spotlighted staggering historical and structural inequities, and the path towards justice and liberation. Within psychology, this collective force has strengthened the call to decolonize and to indigenize the field, and to build critical consciousness. The goal of this interactive discussion is to share experiences, practices, and challenges towards those goals within the teaching of psychology. Possible topics include decolonization of the syllabus, curriculum, or self-as-teacher; careful attention to classroom dynamics; critical assignments, lectures that (re)educate students about indigenous knowledge, perspectives, and practice within psychology.
There’s Nothing Normal about the New Normal: How do we Best Support Students (and Ourselves) in Still Unstable Times?
Sandra A. Sego
The pandemic highlighted the social and emotional needs of students and faculty. In addition to the standard academic concerns, institutions are more aware of issues of housing insecurity, food insecurity, and lacking social support in the lives of our students. Extending the flexibility provided to students during the pandemic now feels overwhelming to faculty. How can faculty continue to provide support for students or encourage their institutions to provide the necessary support without suffering burnout themselves? Participants will share actions to support students that have worked, ones that haven’t, and the need for self-care while also generating new ideas
Teaching Personality Psychology (for the First Time in a Long Time)
Andrew N. Christopher
In Spring 2023, I will be teaching a sophomore-level survey course in personality for the first time since I was a graduate student (i.e., Fall 1997). Thus, suggestions from other teachers of this course are greatly needed. In particular, I am interested in how other teachers – of all experience levels -- organize the content of their course and how they assess their students’ learning. In addition, I hope to discuss assignments that can be given to help students develop skills that will serve them well in upper-level courses and as they prepare for the next step in their professional development.
Community-Engaged Pedagogy in the Psychology Classroom
Shlomit Flaisher-Grinberg
Community-engaged pedagogy is an instructional approach that seeks to create mutually beneficial collaborations between institutions of higher education and their larger communities, thus emphasizing the exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity. In difference from volunteerism, community outreach, community service and service-learning, community-engaged pedagogy aims to replace the unidirectional “doing for” concept with a bidirectional “doing with” model, engaging non-academic communities as partners, rather than subjects or recipients. Discussion will focus on participants’ experience, practices and recommendations in regards to the pedagogy, expanding into advantages, disadvantages, difficulties and obstacles inherent to its integration into academia.
Investigating the Role of Professor Empathy in Supporting Thriving Students of Color at Predominantly White Institutions
Ruby I. Vega, Aliza Gonzalez Valdez
We will share findings from our recent study on the impact of professor empathy on student sense of belonging and participation. These findings will serve as a starting point for discussion on professor practices that communicate empathy towards students and the ways these practices support student sense of belonging. The goal of the discussion is to center the experiences of students of color, particularly those at predominantly white institutions. To this end, participants will be invited to consider their own classroom behaviors and practices that might communicate empathy towards students and how these practices can be scaled up in institutional efforts to better support the success and well-being of students of color.
Interteaching: A Behaviorally-based Method for Teaching and Learning
Skyler H. Mendes
This PIE will be facilitated by a graduate student member of the GSTA board with former experience as a undergraduate student within an interteaching (IT) class and as an IT coach, as well as current experience as an instructor implementing IT activities. Those unfamiliar with IT as well as those with experience are all welcome to join. The basics of IT will be covered briefly before opening discussion for idea exchange to help facilitate a productive dialogue on more detailed issues specific to implementation, theory, or any other topics of interest to the participants.
Posters
- Engaging the Expert Blindspot on a $7 Budget
Lew Ludwig, Benjamin Haywood
- Encouraging Self-Care in Research Methods: Exercises that Also Apply to Course Concepts
Marianne E. Lloyd
- Evaluation of a Professional Development Program for Undergraduate Teaching Assistants
Claire W. Lyons, Aisha Ullah
- Inclusive Teaching through Active Learning for the Graduate Teaching Assistant
Lauren N. Girouard-Hallam, Megan N. Norris
- Building Empathy through Virtual Reality Technology: A Pilot Study
Stephanie E. Afful, James Hutson
- Joy with Intention: Building Rapport and Satisfaction While Learning
Rachel Bradley, Jana Hackathorn, Katherine Link
- Academic Locus of Control Predicts Confidence in Job Skills
Dan Segrist, Thad Meeks
- Student Reflections on Alternative Grading and Assessment Methods
KatieAnn R. Skogsberg
- Pedagogy Through Programming: Integrating Coding into the Classroom
Michael Dubois, Bryan Hong
- An Evidence-Based Activity to Help Students Identify and Articulate their Transferable Skills
Ashley Waggoner Denton, Hanqi Chen
- Cultural Analysis: An Immersive Experience for Undergraduate Students
Joy B. Krumenacker, Richard J. Harnish
- Wording Matters: Framing and Test Anxiety
Spencer J. Campbell, Julie Heniff
- A Qualitative Analysis of Mentoring Themes and Insights from the PsychSessions Podcast
Xiaomeng Xu, Makenzie Peterson
- Post-Pandemic Assessment: Does Assessment Strategy Impact Undergraduates' External Resource Use?
Brooke E. Hansen, Kelly Roth, Kerrie DeVries
- Designing a Lifespan Development Course around Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Claire W. Lyons
- Predictors of Faculty-Undergraduate Publication and Presentation in Psychology
Traci A. Giuliano, Isham E. Kimbell, Emily S. Olsen
- “For the Love of Rats!”: Rat-Training Labs Impacts Students’ Learning Outcomes, Attitudes Towards Rats and Affinity Towards Animals
Shlomit Flaisher-Grinberg
- Using an Elimination-Style Tournament to Facilitate Integration across Primary Scientific Literature
Timothy J. Valshtein
- Honors and Psychology: Sharing Student Research Virtually
Lisa M. DiDonato
- Exploring Presence in Asynchronous Video Exchanges
Mary Streit, Madia Levin, Yulia Watters, Alycia Harris
- Using Student Created Podcasts as an Example of Constructivist Learning Activities
Vicki L. Sheafer
- Making a Mentor: Understanding Successful Peer-Mentoring
Katherine M. Daniels, Zachary A. Pilot
- The Impact of Syllabus Statements of Support and Allyship on Student Perceptions of Instructor and Course
Shana Southard-Dobbs, Tess Gemberling
- Revamping Syllabi to Include Inclusive Messages: Are there Pronounced Effects for First Generation and Minortized Students?
Vanessa E. Woods
- The Influence of Learner-Centered Syllabi on Students’ Perceptions of a Supportive Classroom Environment
Amy Silvestri Hunter, Madison Fruchter, Paul Corrente, Autumn Cataldo, Elizabeth A. McCrea
- Film Pedagogy Practices Within the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (STP): An Exploratory Investigation
Alexander Swan
- Open Sourcing Statistics & Research Methods
Sara A. Peters
- Comic Relief: Learning Research via Creative Comics
Suzanne C. Baker, Dana S. Dunn
- Efficacy and Feasibility of an Infographic Syllabus in Psychological Statistics
Jennifer Hauser Kunz, Katherine Pinkowsky
- Research Methods and Statistics Transformed: Prioritizing Inclusivity, Accessibility, Academic Success, and the Student Experience
Bethany C. Johnson, Amy L. Button-Ervin
- Using Service-Learning to Promote Student Knowledge Application
Mary E. Shuttlesworth
- Revising an Experimental Psychology Course Final Deliverables and Course Design to Incorporate Undergraduate-Focused Journal Publishing Opportunities
Kevin L. Zabel
- The Impact of SES & other Barriers to Entry on Goal Pursuit and Achievement in the Healthcare Professions
Caroline E. Virone, Alysson Light
- Metacognitive Experiences in Young Children: Taking Account of Feelings of Difficulty in Teaching and Learning of Psychology
Ana Clara Ventura
- Spectrum Impact in the College Classroom: The Student Perspective
Kalob Cooper, Angie Fair
- Spectrum Impact in the College Classroom: The Faculty Perspective
Lanae Arena, Brooke Wagner
- Teaching Tips for Community College Biopsychology
Vishal Thakkar, Des Robinson
- Forging Partnerships and Collaborations with Student Services on Campus
Leslie Martinez
- Promoting Inclusion in a Lifespan Development Course
Taneisha Vilma, Natalie Low
- Academic Dishonesty and Student’s Satisfaction with Learning, Motivation for Studying and Evaluation of Faculty
Dawoon Lee