Who is the publisher? Sounds very interesting; I'd like to get a desk copy for consideration.
Annette Annette Kujawski Taylor, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology University of San Diego 5998 Alcala Park San Diego, CA 92110 619-260-4006 [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---- Original message ---- >Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2008 14:47:53 -0600 (MDT) >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: [tips] Novel-like books for course >To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" <[email protected]> > > One unusual book I would recommend is "Fables for > Developing Skeptical and Critical Thinking in > Psychology" by John Marton. > > > > This slim volume consists of a series of 10 > fictional but completely realistic vignettes which > are geared to chapters of most intro psych > texts. For example, chapter 1 involves critical > thinking (a vignette about a student seeing a > psychic-the episode is then deconstructed by another > student applying hindsight bias, illusory > correlation, confirmation bias, probability, etc) to > the experience of the student who saw the psychic > and initially felt the readings were useful > predictions. > > > > Subsequent chapters are vignettes about > consciousness, sensation, perception, learning, > memory, etc. Each vignette is quite attention > grabbing for students in that the vignettes > (fables) involve typical situations that students > might encounter (seeing the psychic, seeing an > alternate health practitioner, male-female > communication confusions, memory errors, typical > attributions. In the learning chapter, students are > asked to consider and deal with a tantrumming child > through the window of operant conditioning and a > phobic child through classical conditioning; in the > personality chapter students read about and consider > how dating and relationships of young couples with > various configurations of the big 5 personality > traits might work out and what issues might arise, > there are also chapters about emotions, > psychological conditions etc. > > > > What I really like and find useful about the book is > that abstract concepts that some students often have > real difficulty using are applied to typical, > student-relevant and identifiable experiences. Each > chapter is followed by a series of questions that > closely follow the learning objectives of most intro > psych courses for example, Myers' Psychology. > > > > I have used this book whenever I had classes of 35 > and fewer students for the last 4 years and have > been pleased with the increased level of energy, > involvement, and general liveliness and improved > questioning/discussion in the classes. > > > > There has been so much more active learning. > Students who are struggling have concepts clarified; > the star students can stretch their understanding to > new areas. I have used the book both as a basis > for discussion and as a basis for brief written > exercises to check comprehension (and to motivate > students to keep up with the material-if they don't > read the text and vignettes they are left out of an > engaging discussion). > > > > Dennis Ueyama > > > > It ain't what you don't know that gets you into > trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't > so. -Mark Twain > > > > --- > To make changes to your subscription contact: > > Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
