Dear Colleagues, Like many of you, we've struggled with the teaching of research methods and experimental psychology for many years. We have one of the largest majors in our smallish college, but few of our students intend to go on to doctoral programs. Most either wind up in education; in social work, school psychology or other master's level programs; or in areas totally unrelated to psychology. A few students each year, mostly men, go on to doctoral work. All students are required to take experimental psych for the major, and most don't particularly like it. Our faculty who teach the course vary, from deeply committed scientists who are prominent researchers to those who would be happy to train students to read and analyze research critically but have no realistic expectation that students will do, much less enjoy, serious research. The more serious they are about research, the less popular they are likely to be with students.
I've decided to try to teach some sections of the course myself (for the first time in many years) and see whether I can arrive at some combination of intellectual honesty, understanding of research and a sense of excitement about its value while adequately preparing those of our students who go on to grad school. This may be an impossible goal, and we are also considering offering a second course for those planning graduate work. I've begun to review the available texts and have been struck by the high quality of many of them and also how different the various approaches taken are, whether in terms of length, depth, actual experimentation, coverage of theory vs. substantive areas, etc. I'd appreciate hearing from those of you who've worked on this problem over the years. I'd especially like to know what forms of class structure, balance of literature analysis and actual lab work, theory vs. practice, etc. worked in institutions that were teaching colleges rather than research universities. Back channel replies are fine. Thanks in advance for your help. Mark M. Press, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology and Chair, Touro College 1602 Avenue J, Brooklyn, NY 11230; 718-252-7800, x 275 [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
