Aiming for outstanding: Action research from students of the MSc in the Teaching of Psychology

Abstract

The first cohort of a new MSc programme is due to complete the course in August 2014. During the threeyear online course students conduct several pieces of action research in their classrooms. There is little research specifically related to classroom practice in the pre–tertiary psychology classroom. The following describes the rationale and context of the MSc in the Teaching of Psychology and reports on three students’ final year research. The first considers the benefits of Psychology Applied Learning Scenarios (PALS) as applied to an A–level Psychology lesson. This is followed by research on the academic impact the flipped classroom can have on AS and A–level progress and the perceptions of this teaching technique learners have. Finally a plenary designed to develop critical thinking skills and meet the criteria for an ‘outstanding’ lesson is discussed. Conducting action research into one’s own teaching produces reflective, self–critical practitioners and these skills are also transmitted to their own students.