Best Practices for Teaching Beginnings and Endings in the Psychology Major

Research, Cases, and Recommendations

Dana S. Dunn, Bernard B. Beins, Maureen A. McCarthy, G. William Hill, IV, and Foreword by James Goodwin

Offers guidance on orientation and advising, mentoring relationships, developmentally appropriate practices, learning communities, active learning exercises, scientific reasoning, capstone opportunities and issues, assessment, and future employment
A comprehensive companion Web site available to owners of the book provides sample course syllabi, classroom exercises, writing assignments, lecture outlines, reading lists, grading criteria, and assessment materials
A portion of the proceeds will go to the Society for the Teaching of Psychology

Best Practices for Teaching Beginnings and Endings in the Psychology Major

Research, Cases, and Recommendations

Dana S. Dunn, Bernard B. Beins, Maureen A. McCarthy, G. William Hill, IV, and Foreword by James Goodwin

Description

Introductory and capstone experiences in the undergraduate psychology program are crucial ways to engage students in their major and psychology department, impart realistic expectations, and prepare them for life beyond college. Providing the right orientation and capstone courses in psychology education is increasingly a concern of instructors, department chairs, program directors, and deans, and both types of courses have become important sources for gathering pre- and post-coursework assessment data for degree learning outcomes.

The strategies presented here have been designed to help educators examine issues around teaching the introductory or careers course and developing a psychology-specific orientation program. The authors also provide concrete suggestions for building capstone experiences designed to fit the needs of a department, its pedagogical philosophy, or the educational agenda of the college or university. Undergraduate psychology curriculum designers and instructors can benefit from learning innovative and effective strategies for introducing the major to first-year students and, at graduation, for bringing closure, reinforcing the overall departmental learning outcomes, and helping students apply their disciplinary knowledge in capstone experiences and post-graduate life.

In this collection of articles, psychology instructors involved in the improvement of teaching and learning review the research and share their own successes and challenges in the classroom. Discussions include effective practices for helping students become acclimated to and engaged in the psychology major, application of developmental knowledge and learning communities to course design, and use of quality benchmarks to improve introductory and capstone courses. Other chapters describe innovations in the design of stand-alone courses and offer concrete advice on counseling psychology graduates about how to use what they have learned beyond their higher education experiences.

Best Practices for Teaching Beginnings and Endings in the Psychology Major

Research, Cases, and Recommendations

Dana S. Dunn, Bernard B. Beins, Maureen A. McCarthy, G. William Hill, IV, and Foreword by James Goodwin

Contributor List
About the Editors
Foreword, James C. Goodwin
Preface
Acknowledgements

Chapter 1. Undergraduate Education in Psychology: All's Well that Begins and Ends Well
Dana S. Dunn, Bernard C. Beins, Maureen A. McCarthy, & G. William Hill IV

Part I: Beginnings

Chapter 2. Addressing the Multiple Demands of Teaching Introductory Psychology
Michael L. Stoloff

Chapter 3. Reading from the Same Page: Building an Integrated Curriculum
Brian T. Loher, Karri Verno, Francis W. Craig, and Peter A. Keller

Chapter 4. Advising in the Classroom: A Career Exploration Class for Psychology Majors
Drew C. Appleby

Chapter 5. Building a Psychology Orientation Course: Common Themes and Exercises
Brian T. Loher & R. Eric Landrum

Chapter 6. Engaging Students in Psychology: Building on First-year Programs and Seminars
Regan A. R. Gurung & Georjeanna Wilson-Doenges

Chapter 7. Learning Communities as an Innovative Beginning to the Psychology Major: A Tale of Two
Campuses
Kenneth R. Barron, Kim Buch, Jeffrey T. Andre, & Sue Spaulding

Chapter 8. Displacing Wikipedia: Information Literacy for First-Year Students
Charles M. Harris & S. Lynn Cameron

Chapter 9. Crafting and Implementing a Career Development Course in Psychology
Eric Goederis & Stanley Cohen

Part II: Endings

Chapter 10. The Capstone Course as Liberal Education Opportunity
Dana S. Dunn & Maureen A. McCarthy

Chapter 11. History of Psychology as a Capstone Course
Ludy T. Benjamin, Jr.

Chapter 12. Research Teams: Developing a Capstone Experience with Programmatic Research
Bernard C. Beins & Phil D. Wann

Chapter 13. Honors Thesis as a Capstone Experience: A Possible Perfect Ending
Sherry L. Serdikoff

Chapter 14 - The Capstone Research Course: A Case Study in the Evolution of Educational Efficacy
Wayne S. Messer and David B. Porter

Chapter 15. Ten Things I Hate about My Capstone Course-And a Few Ways to Fix Them
Tracy E. Zinn, Monica J. Reis-Bergan, & Suzanne C. Baker

Chapter 16. Writing for Psychology Majors as a Developmental Process
Bernard C. Beins, Randolph A. Smith, and Dana S. Dunn

Chapter 17. Capping the Undergraduate Experience: Making Learning Come Alive Through Fieldwork
Joann Grayson

Chapter 18. Helping Undergraduates Transition to the Workplace: Four Discussion Starters
Paul I. Hettich

Chapter 19. Helping Undergraduates Make the Transition to Graduate School
Brennan D. Cox, Kristin L. Cullen, William Buskist, and Victor A. Benassi

Chapter 20. Teaching Psychology's Endings: The Simple Gifts of a Reflective Close
Neil Lutsky

Part III: Coda

Chapter 21. Developing Scientific Reasoning Skills in Beginning and Ending Students
Suzanne C. Baker, Maureen A. McCarthy, Jane S. Halonen, Dana S. Dunn, & G. William Hill IV

Author Index
Subject Index

Best Practices for Teaching Beginnings and Endings in the Psychology Major

Research, Cases, and Recommendations

Dana S. Dunn, Bernard B. Beins, Maureen A. McCarthy, G. William Hill, IV, and Foreword by James Goodwin

Author Information

Dana S. Dunn is President-Elect of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology. Professor of Psychology and Director, Learning in Common Curriculum at Moravian College. Dana Dunn is winner of the 2013 Charles L. Brewer Award for Distinguished Teaching of Psychology from the American Psychological Foundation (of the APA).

Bernard C. Beins is Professor of Psychology and Chair at Ithaca College.

Maureen A. McCarthy is Professor of Psychology at Kennesaw State University.

G. William Hill, IV is Professor of Psychology and Director, Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning at Kennesaw State University. Beins, McCarthy, and Hill are all past presidents of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology.

Contributors:

Jeffrey Andre
Associate Professor
Department of Psychology
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA

Drew C. Appleby
Professor
Department of Psychology
Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis

Suzanne C. Baker
Professor and Assistant Department Head
Department of Psychology
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA

Kenneth E. Barron
Associate Professor
Department of Psychology
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA

Bernard C. Beins
Chair and Professor
Department of Psychology
Ithaca College
Ithaca, NY

Victor A. Benassi
Faculty Director
Center for Teaching Excellence
Professor
Department of Psychology
University of New Hampshire
Durham, NH

Ludy T. Benjamin, Jr.
Professor
Department of Psychology
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX

Kimberly K. Buch
Associate Professor
Department of Psychology
University of North Carolina-Charlotte
Charlotte, NC

S. Lynn Cameron
Coordinator of Library Instruction
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA

Stanley Cohen
Professor
Department of Psychology
West Virginia University
Morgantown, WV

Brennan D. Cox
Doctoral Student
Department of Psychology
Auburn University
Auburn, AL

Francis Craig
Associate Professor
Department of Psychology
Mansfield University
Mansfield, PA

Kristin L. Cullen
Doctoral Student
Department of Psychology
Auburn University
Auburn, AL

Dana S. Dunn
Professor
Department of Psychology
Moravian College
Bethlehem, PA

Eric Goederis
Doctoral Student
Department of Psychology
West Virginia University
Morgantown, WV

Joann Grayson
Professor
Department of Psychology
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA

Regan A. R. Gurung
Chair, Human Development
Professor, Department of Psychology
University of Wisconsin, Green Bay
Green Bay, WI

Jane S. Halonen
Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
University of West Florida
Pensacola, FL

Charles M. Harris
Professor
Department of Psychology
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA

Paul Hettich
Professor Emeritus
Department of Psychology
DePaul University
Chicago, IL

G. William Hill IV
Professor
Department of Psychology
Kennesaw State University
Kennesaw, GA

Peter Keller
Professor
Department of Psychology
Mansfield University
Mansfield, PA

R. Eric Landrum
Professor
Department of Psychology
Boise State University
Boise, ID

Brian T. Loher
Professor
Department of Psychology
Mansfield University
Mansfield, PA

Neil Lutsky
William R. Kenan Jr., Professor
Department of Psychology
Carleton College
Northfield, MN

Maureen A. McCarthy
Professor
Department of Psychology
Kennesaw State University
Kennesaw, GA

Wayne Messer
Associate Professor
Department of Psychology
Berea College
Berea, KY

David B. Porter
Professor
Department of Psychology
Berea College
Berea, KY

Monica Reis-Bergan
Associate Professor
Department of Psychology
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA

Sherry L. Serdikoff
Associate Professor
Department of Psychology
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA

Randolph A. Smith
Chair
Department of Psychology
Lamar University
Beaumont, TX

Michael L. Stoloff
Professor and Head
Department of Psychology
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA

Sue Spaulding
Lecturer
Department of Psychology
University of North Carolina-Charlotte
Charlotte, NC

Karri Verno
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychology
Mansfield University
Mansfield, PA

Phil D. Wann
Professor and Chair
Department of Psychology
Missouri Western State University
St. Joseph, MO

Georjeanna Wilson-Doenges
Associate Professor and Chair
University of Wisconsin, Green Bay
Green Bay, WI

Tracy E. Zinn
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychology
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA

Best Practices for Teaching Beginnings and Endings in the Psychology Major

Research, Cases, and Recommendations

Dana S. Dunn, Bernard B. Beins, Maureen A. McCarthy, G. William Hill, IV, and Foreword by James Goodwin

Reviews and Awards

"Given the practical approach, readers may be surprised at how enjoyable the book can be to read...This book is an excellent resource not because it explains how to teach orientation and capstone courses. The value of Best Practices for Teaching Beginnings and Endings in the Psychology Major is that it provides food for thought on how beginnings and endings can improve the psychology major."--PsycCRITIQUES