> More and more lately I am coming to agree with my students that we are > trying to cover too much material in Introductory Psychology.......... He > countered that he thought college was supposed to make you think and > learn--not memorize all the parts of the brain, the glandular system, > neurons, etc., t
Michael et al., This is an issue that I struggle with every year - how much of the Intro book should I address in my class? It seems that the longer I teach, the less I "cover" - that is, my emphasis has shifted to covering fewer topics in more depth and supplementing the textbook with other readings and materials my students and I bring to class. I make a systematic effort to incorporate key ideas and concepts from chapters I don't cover into those that I do so students are introduced to additional areas of psychology and hoping learn something about the interconnections among these areas. The chapters I don't hold students responsible for are then made available as "extra credit" opportunities if they have an interest in exploring these chapters and their topics in more detail. In the past, I have either skipped whole chapters or assigned specific pages within chapters (my students did not like this last option). This semester I am using Dave Myers new Psychology in Modules which is essentially his traditional textbook divided into 55 smaller chapters (modules) and it seems to be working well while giving me easier choices on what I wish to cover and not cover, so you may wish to look at this book if you decide to not feel obligated to cover all of the book in the future. > Should we turn things upside down and make Overview of Psychology the > capstone course that students could use to prepare for the GRE? I think this is an excellent option. We require a capstone course in our department and the topic varies according to who is teaching it. Though I haven't taught it yet, an advanced general psychology course similar to what you describe is what I would most likely offer for many of the reasons you stated. > What would the ideal Introduction to Psychology text look like? Probably a different answer for many of us, thus, one that gives instructor's maximum flexibility. For me it is one where I can pick and choose what chapters I want in the book and what additional readings (both popular and scientific) I can have in the book as well. And the cost has to be comparable to present textbooks. I used one of the custom print textbooks offered several years ago and liked it but it was much more expensive than I had been led to believe so I quit using it after one semester. Bill *************************** Bill Southerly Department of Psychology Frostburg State University Frostburg, MD 21532 301-687-4778 [EMAIL PROTECTED] *************************** --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
