Supports for Discipline-Specific Reading in Introductory Psychology

Abstract

Introductory psychology students need supports to read and think in a discipline-specific way when learning psychology theories. We tested the effectiveness of using a task-model steps chart to help students understand, evaluate, and use theories presented in their introductory psychology textbook and lecture videos. We randomly assigned 52 undergraduates enrolled in an asynchronous online introductory psychology course to either the task-model steps chart (experimental) or a business-as-usual assignment (control) section of the course. The outcome measures were Exams 2 and 3 and applied-summary activities. Results demonstrated that although scores were not different between the two conditions at the middle of the course (Exam 2), students in the experimental condition performed better than students in the control condition on Exam 3 on non-targeted (transfer) items and the applied summaries. This study provides initial evidence of the value of supporting students’ disciplinary-specific understanding of the role of theories and studies in psychology. This task-model steps chart is a general tool that can be adapted to help introductory students read and think in psychology.