Undergraduate Psychology Course Research Articles

Comparing Undergraduate Student Participation in Online Discussion Boards Hosted on Reddit and Canvas

Background Instructors often try to promote student engagement with discussion boards in learning management systems (LMS) like Canvas. Although convenient, alternatives like the social media platform Reddit may be more effective. Method A non-randomized controlled trial compared the use of Canvas and Reddit in two sections of two undergraduate psychology courses ( N = 77). Engagement was measured as the number and word-count of posts and responses and complemented with self-reported data. Results There was no difference between platforms in total number of posts or replies. In one course, the average word count per post was higher in Reddit than Canvas ( r = .44). However, in the other course, the average word count per post ( r = .47) and per reply ( r = .39) was significantly lower in Reddit. Neither course observed a significant difference in students’ perceived value of the discussion board. Conclusion This study provided no consistent evidence that Reddit supports student engagement relative to Canvas, and combined with additional survey data, it is possible that hosting the discussion board on Reddit may even be detrimental. Teaching Implications Given the issues we identified with moving discussion boards to Reddit, and the benefits of using Canvas, we recommend using a traditional LMS like Canvas.

Using Indirect Service-Learning to Promote Evidence-Based Digital Mental Health Tools on College Campuses

Background College students have increasing mental health needs; however, there has not been a related increase in services available. Mental health apps offer an avenue to support access to student mental healthcare. Objective This study incorporated an indirect service-learning project involving evaluating and recommending mental health apps to the college counseling center into an undergraduate clinical psychology course in order to (1) increase student self-efficacy and depth of learning, and (2) increase evidence-based mental health app usage on a college campus. Method The project was implemented during an online, synchronous 3-week course and 15 students participated in the study. Student self-report of self-efficacy was measured pre- and post-course and quantitative and qualitative reflections on the project were gathered post-course. Results Student self-efficacy increased from pre- to post-course. Additionally, students reported that the project met pedagogical objectives by engaging students, aligning with course content, and addressing APA learning goals. Conclusion The project holds promise as a means to improve student self-efficacy and enhance clinical psychology learning, while simultaneously disseminating evidence-based digital mental tools on college campuses. Teaching Implications App evaluation as indirect service-learning could be implemented in many applied psychology courses across multiple of course formats and lengths.

What to Blend? Exploring the Relationship Between Student Engagement and Academic Achievement via a Blended Learning Approach

The present study investigated whether student engagement with different online blended learning activities predicts academic performance as measured via a multiple-choice online exam for an undergraduate cognitive psychology course. Higher completion rates of weekly online quizzes predicted final exam performance. Findings are discussed in relation to using online learning resources to enhance student engagement and performance and learning analytics to identify students in need of further support. Since findings only revealed one significant predictor, more research is required to identify additional factors influencing academic achievement in an online blended learning approach.

Implementation of Interdisciplinary Health Technologies as Active Learning Strategies in the Classroom: A Course Redesign.

The number of health psychology courses offered in higher education institutions has dramatically increased over the past 30 years. Health psychology courses provide students a unique opportunity to learn about important public health issues and health disparities affecting our society from a biopsychosocial perspective. Prior research indicates that students taking these courses, many of whom are non-biology majors, often report feeling anxious about learning the underlying biological mechanisms that affect health outcomes, particularly as they relate to stress and disease. Therefore, innovative teaching strategies, such as the use of active learning approaches, are needed to promote student confidence and engagement in learning these interdisciplinary models of health. Despite rapid advancements and innovations in health technologies, few health psychology courses have integrated these technologies as a modality of active learning. This article describes the implementation of health technologies (e.g., biosensors, biofeedback equipment, wearable technologies) as an active learning modality and innovative teaching approach to promote student engagement and learning outcomes in an undergraduate health psychology course taught in the U.S. Eighty students from a minority-serving university participated in this pilot course redesign. Student responses to the use of health technologies in their course were very positive. A description of the course curriculum is provided and results from student responses and feedback are presented. Implications and recommendations for implementing these technologies and pedagogies in future health courses are also discussed, including university support for sustaining these high impact teaching practices.

Teaching Puberty for LGBTQIA + Diversity, Inclusion, and Beyond: A New Model of Expansive Pubertal Understanding

The following article presents a paradigm shift in order to engage in more expansive pedagogy in the teaching of puberty; specifically, to create a more inclusive and affirming space for LGBTIQA + youth. Attention to LGBTQIA + populations has slowly been integrated into many areas of research, theory, and teaching in psychology and related disciplines. While positive strides have been made, lessons on adolescent psychology, and puberty specifically, remain stuck in older binary models. The following is an examination of the dominant approach utilized for teaching puberty in senior-level high school and early undergraduate adolescent psychology courses, a critique of that model, as well as a presentation of a new model for teaching pubertal development. A proposed Model of Expansive Pubertal Understanding is shared here, and allows for a fuller, more accurate, and more positive, approach to pubertal development. It is further proposed that the information shared in this model be infused much earlier in youth education, and through a breadth of disciplines, to effectively promote psychological and physical wellbeing among children and youth of diverse genders, sexes, and sexualities.

A Naturalistic Analysis of Mental Illness Stigma in Undergraduate Psychology Courses

Background Psychology coursework may include opportunities to reduce mental illness stigma attitudes among college students. However, some strategies are known to backfire, and little is known about how these attitudes evolve during psychology coursework. Objective The purpose of this study was to examine whether psychology students’ mental illness stigma attitudes change over the course of a semester. Method This research examined changes in mental illness stigma across four undergraduate psychology courses: Introductory Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Basic Helping Skills, and Internship. Students ( N = 400) completed two mental illness stigma measures at the beginning and end of the semester. Results Regardless of course, students showed slightly decreased anxiety-related stigma regarding individuals with mental illness and lower social distancing attitudes toward individuals with schizophrenia, as well as increased perceptions of the treatability of mental illness, over the course of the semester. Conclusion The findings suggest limited stigma reduction through the psychology curriculum. Teaching Implications Greater emphasis on systematic efforts for stigma reduction across the psychology curriculum is warranted and instructors may want to consider developing gender-related stigma reduction methods.

LICENCIATURA EM PSICOLOGIA: A DIMENSÃO EDUCATIVA DA PRÁTICA PROFISSIONAL

ABSTRACT Among the work processes currently recognized by the National Curriculum Guidelines (DCNs) for Undergraduate Psychology Courses, there are the formative and educational processes, which clearly involve an educational dimension of the profession. However, the qualification in graduation - teacher training - is optional for the bachelor and provided for in a complementary pedagogical project to the training of the psychologist. Therefore, we aim to argue in this essay that, in addition to complementing the training of psychologists, enabling them to teach, a degree in psychology is essential to forge the educational dimension of professional practice.

'We Had More in Common Than I Thought': Scamming as an Undergraduate Service Learning Topic Involving Older Adults

An ongoing activity that cuts across several courses in the Gerontology Certificate Program at our College is the completion of implicit association exercises focused on age. Most college students show a distinct preference for those who are younger adults. It is difficult to get across to these students that the construct of being an adult is appropriate for all people beyond adolescence without relevance to age. College students enrolled in healthcare programs often have distorted views of aging and may not fully appreciate that all adults may share common aspects of their current lives. We describe qualitative analyses of reflections taken from an undergraduate psychology course that included a service learning component involving older adult learners. The service learning lessons focused on victimization associated with fraud and scamming. The classroom structure involved round table discussions with direct contact between college students, older adults and local law enforcement personnel. Reflective practices were used to integrate course content (development in adulthood) into this service learning activity. We report on qualitative data taken from student reflections. Content analyses of reflective essays identified five themes which operated to produce stronger identification between age groups: frequency of being scammed across all 21 participants; insight that learning continues across the lifespan; understanding that broad learning challenges impact people (for different reasons) at both ends of the adult age spectrum; respect for adoption of strategies that facilitate learning/compensate for cognitive changes that occur with aging; acknowledgement that familiarity breaks down barriers between people.

Experienced qualitative researchers’ views on teaching students qualitative research design

ABSTRACT The increasing prominence of qualitative inquiry in psychological research has been accompanied by reflection on teaching and learning practices within undergraduate and postgraduate psychology courses. To date, there is limited empirical understanding of how experienced qualitative researchers approach teaching students about qualitative research design. The present study draws on interviews with qualitative researchers (N = 12) from multiple disciplines, occupying various positions within academia. Using thematic analysis, seven themes were developed, under the superordinate theme present qualitative research as a legitimate approach to enquiry. The themes illuminate practical pedagogical implications for teaching qualitative research, including introducing qualitative research in bite-sized chunks and initiating students to qualitative inquiry through foundational methods. The findings contextualise the teaching of qualitative methods as a site of multiple tensions, for example, balancing pragmatism and idealism, and providing structure to students while enabling flexibility. Educators and supervisors of qualitative research navigate these tensions in their teaching practice to provide students with what they see as the best possible learning experiences. We call for further research to build a profile of evidence-based pedagogical practice for teaching qualitative research, while also acknowledging the fluidity needed to embrace changing epistemologies, methodologies, methods, and data sources.

Promoting Students’ Collective Cognitive Responsibility through Concurrent, Embedded and Transformative Assessment in Blended Higher Education Courses

This study investigates different instructional designs to promote students’ collective cognitive responsibility for Knowledge Building in blended university courses. Using an iterative, design-based research methodology with reference to the conjecture mapping technique, the blended learning design of an undergraduate educational psychology course was refined over three years in three design iterations. The iterations differed substantially in the embodiment of the Concurrent Embedded and Transformative Assessment Knowledge Building principle that engaged students in knowledge assessments and strategy assessments of their community’s work. The design of the knowledge assessment involved face-to-face small group and whole class discussions in all three iterations. In the first and second iterations, students also worked online by writing individual reflections and contributing to a community portfolio. The design of the strategy assessment changed in each iteration. In the first iteration, the students’ strategy assessment took place in face-to-face discussions; in the second iteration, students contributed to an online community portfolio; and in the third iteration, the strategy assessment took place in an online community portfolio and face-to-face discussions before beginning the course and in the online community portfolio in the middle of the course. Collective cognitive responsibility was analyzed in terms of productive and informative participation, interdependence between participants, self-regulation skills. The results show that the second iteration’s design was most effective for fostering the students' collective cognitive responsibility, showing an increase in productive participation and self-regulation skills in the first part of the course and also an increase in the interdependence of participants during the course. Some implications concerning the relationship between the implementation of the CETA principle and Knowledge Building are identified for future directions of inquiry and for blended learning environments design.

The Impact of Strengths-Based Assessment Education on Undergraduate Students’ Knowledge of Disorders and Mental Illness Stigma

Background: While abnormal psychology courses have traditionally focused on psychopathology, there are several benefits to adopting a strengths-based approach. Objective: This study examined the teaching of a strengths-based assessment approach (the DICE-PM Model), compared to teaching as usual, in an undergraduate abnormal psychology course. Method: Two sections of an abnormal psychology course were taught a strengths-based assessment approach while two sections were taught as usual. All participants completed measures of knowledge of psychological disorders and mental illness stigma at the beginning and end of the semester. Results: Both groups demonstrated significant improvements in knowledge of disorders and a significant decrease in mental illness stigma with the exception of one category assessed (recovery), generally with small effect sizes. Those in the strengths group, compared to the control, showed a significantly greater decrease in mental illness stigma involving anxiety related to others with mental illness, though also with a small effect. Conclusion: Findings suggest strengths-based assessment education does not compromise the instruction of psychological disorders and is equivalent to a traditional abnormal psychology course in reducing mental illness stigma. Teaching Implications: Such an approach may be beneficial early in students’ education to reduce mental illness stigma and promote comprehensive assessment practices.

The Value of An Undergraduate Degree in Psychology: Enhancing Student Learning Through Service

A total of 226 undergraduate students enrolled in undergraduate psychology courses that utilize practicum/internship and service-learning as primary instructional methods took part in the study. Interns improved their understanding of the integration of diversity content in the course, awareness of gender and racial inequality, and general empathy from the beginning to the end of the practicum/internship program. Interns also had higher ratings of ethnocultural awareness and lower ratings for interpersonal engagement and civic responsibility compared to service-learners from the beginning to the end of the semester. Implications for infusing service-based pedagogies in beginning, middle, and ending psychology courses are discussed.

Incorporating curriculum mapping as a method to increase approval plan precision

This study incorporates curriculum mapping as a method to assess the effectiveness of approval plans supporting undergraduate psychology courses offered at a large research university. Usage data is aggregated over a nine-year period for 2,917 monographs acquired between 2011 and 2017. Results show that curriculum mapping is effective for examining usage at a more granular level than using broad Library of Congress classification breakdowns. Analysis by content level and publisher provided insights into unused or low-usage monographs allowing for more precise profile adjustments. Though psychology profile adjustment decisions are discussed, this study can serve as a model for other subject areas.

Empathic Communication Skills Across Applied Undergraduate Psychology Courses: A Replication Study

Background:Although undergraduate psychology curriculum should cultivate performance-based skills to prepare students for helping professions, little work to date has addressed this standard.Objective:This research replicates the methods used in a previous study by examining pre-post changes in empathic communication skills and perceived communication competence across two applied psychology courses: Basic Helping Skills and Internship. This study extended this work by also exploring learning gains from different formats (i.e., face-to-face vs. online), internship types (mental health-related vs. not mental health-related), and the longevity of learning gains.Method:Psychology students ( N = 171) completed a measure of communication competence and provided written empathic responses on a vignette-based performance measure at the start and end of the semester.Results:Students perceived their communication skills as improving over time; however, only students in the Basic Helping Skills course showed improved empathic communication skills, especially when the instruction was in a face-to-face format. Students with previous skill training maintained their learning gains over time.Conclusion:Student empathic communication improves most with face-to-face instruction in Basic Helping Skills rather than an internship experience.Teaching Implications:For the development of empathic communication skills, prerequisite requirements for Internship and instructive scaffolding for the application of skills may be recommended.

“I am a change agent”: A mixed methods analysis of students’ social justice value orientation in an undergraduate community psychology course.

“I am a change agent”: A mixed methods analysis of students’ social justice value orientation in an undergraduate community psychology course.

A pedagogical-reflexive experience at a Psychology course: analysis of learning logs

The present article aimed, through the analysis of learning diaries, to discuss about the possibilities that a psychology university degree which promotes reflection and shelters students' thoughts and emotions can have in the training of psychology students. Were analyzed thirteen learning logs written by students of the sixth semester of an undergraduate degree course in Psychology enrolled in a discipline related to the Person Centered Approach.The logs were written based on the Sense's Version, after each class, with indication of free writing. Thematic Analysis was used, and from it six themes emerged that demonstrated the importance of building an academic context that promotes the facilitating conditions for personal and professional development. Palavras-chave : Psychology Degree; Learning Log; Reflection Process; Core Conditions to Facilitate Learning; Person Centered Approach.

Relato de experiência acerca das vivências na prática da disciplina de avaliação psicológica / Experience report about experiences in the practice of the psychological evaluation discipline

A avaliação psicológica é função exclusiva do psicólogo e é uma ação fundamental para estruturar sua prática, sendo o ensino da avaliação fundamental na graduação de Psicologia. O objetivo deste artigo é apresentar um relato de experiência sobre a prática de atividade de avaliação psicológica realizada na disciplina de Técnicas de Exames Psicológicos (TEP) em um curso de graduação de Psicologia. Para relatar essa experiência será descrito todos os passos das atividades realizadas pelos alunos da disciplina com intuito de vivenciarem o processo de avaliação psicológica ainda na graduação. Todas as etapas foram realizadas no espaço do Serviço Escola de Psicologia da Instituição de Ensino Superior em que as disciplinas foram ministradas. Como resultado dessa experiência notou-se um maior comprometimento dos alunos e melhor compreensão do processo de avaliação psicológica, que não se restringe ao ensino do uso de testes. Conclui-se que a atividade favoreceu o aprendizado da avaliação psicológica como um processo amplo, possibilitando contextualizar a sua prática de forma ética e cuidadosa.

Improving Quantitative Abilities and Attitudes in Clinical Psychology Courses: Longitudinal Assessment of a Blended Learning Intervention

Background: Many students report negative attitudes toward research methods and statistics (RMS), and these attitudes are associated with impaired performance. Student interest in clinical psychology suggests that clinical courses may provide a promising venue for integrating RMS instruction. This approach may be particularly valuable for students from underrepresented groups in psychology. Objective: We evaluated whether integrating core RMS concepts into undergraduate clinical psychology courses using a blended learning intervention improved students’ quantitative knowledge and attitudes. Exploratory analyses assessed whether the intervention had differential efficacy for students from underrepresented groups. Method: Students completed pre- and post-course assessments of content knowledge, perceived RMS competence, implicit theories of quantitative skills, and statistics anxiety. We compared changes in student outcomes before ( n = 101) and after ( n = 91) implementing the blended learning intervention. Results: Overall, the intervention did not result in greater improvements in content knowledge, perceived RMS competence, or statistics anxiety. However, exploratory analyses suggested that the intervention was more effective for first-generation and racial/ethnic minority students. Change in endorsement of a growth-oriented mindset for quantitative skills was marginally stronger among students in courses implementing the blended learning intervention. Conclusion: These findings suggest that integrating RMS content in clinical psychology courses may confer modest benefits for students’ knowledge and attitudes toward quantitative skills, especially among students from underrepresented groups.

Integrating Health Policy Education Into an Undergraduate Adult Development and Aging Psychology Course

Active engagement in health policy by psychologists is vital to the well-being of the aging population; however, few feel prepared to engage in policy making or know how to get involved. A novel policy curriculum was developed and integrated into an undergraduate psychology course. N = 34 students completed assessments of policy knowledge and assignments designed to increase their skills, knowledge, and critical thinking about health policy. Students reported strong beliefs that psychological research can impact health policies and a desire to understand how to use research to inform policy; however, they reported less understanding of how policy is made. Preliminary evidence suggests students are interested in applying psychological research to policy processes; however, they do not know how to get involved. Policy education was easily integrated into the course, and further study is needed to determine students’ future engagement in health policy and change health policy skills.

Stony Brook University Forging Intergenerational Links Through Life-Story Sharing Project

According to the World Health Organization, the global population is aging, but ageism may now be the most socially “normalized” of any prejudice, more pervasive than sexism or racism. Ageism produces avoidant and disrespectful treatment of older adults and contributes to a shortage of college students seeking careers with older adults. To foster positive intergenerational contact and combat ageism, we organized life-story sharing by older adult community members in four undergraduate psychology courses with lifespan themes (Psychology of Aging, Memory, Death & Dying, Developmental Psychology; n≅500). A panel visited each class; instructors and graduate students facilitated discussion between students and panelists. Students completed pre- and post-surveys of ageism and attitudes toward aging. A majority of students recommended integrating the activity into future semesters. In free-responses, students also frequently expressed surprise that panelists reported not feeling different than they had at age 20, and that this information challenged previously held stereotypes.