This is my 3rd post of the day so I won't be able to reply
publicly in the near future.
The class is supposed to be a senior capstone course and the
enrollment is capped at 20 students. The class size is one
reason I thought I could get away from the lecture format.
One observation from last semester about students taking a
History of Psych course. My students seemed to focus on almost
irrelevant details, like birth and death dates, and seemed to
miss the big picture, like why Piaget or Hull think this approach
is the important way to think about issues. Freud was a complete
disaster, with students wanting to memorize the age ranges of
psychosexual stages.
A public thanks to all that have replied (or may reply in the
near future).
Ken
PS - two short teaching tales for the non HoP people:
1. My second course in psychology as an undergrad was the
senior-level H&S course. (Obviously, I never met with an
advisor.) My instructor didn't know what was going on until I
went to meet with him to discuss my paper project and then it was
past the drop date. I loved H&S because it was all about big
ideas, and their historical interrelationships. This carried over
to the rest of my education. I could see why there was a separate
"cognition" and "learning" course, and what this might mean about
psychology.
2. Small courses invite different approaches. I remember an
instructor who was used to teach, by lecture, classes of 25-30
students. One semester, for some reason, this instructor had
about 5 registered students. Only 2 to 3 students would actually
show up for an individual class. I would see him "lecturing" to
2 or 3 students in a 70-seat room.
On 1/8/2015 12:40 PM, Paul C Bernhardt wrote:
You don’t indicate the level of the class. I have been teaching
it as one of our capstone courses for seniors. Therefore, YMMV.
I do a strict discussion format. No lecture at all. I treat it as
if all students have read before coming into the room and I raise
questions about various historical turns, outside historical
issues that may have influenced psychology, ask students to
compare and contrast, etc. Students are graded daily for
participation (though I’ll probably go for a weekly grade in the
future to reduce my evaluation load and their stress). I am
fortunate that the class is generally small (about 15 students).
--
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Kenneth M. Steele, Ph.D. [email protected]
Professor
Department of Psychology http://www.psych.appstate.edu
Appalachian State University
Boone, NC 28608
USA
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