Participant Idea Exchanges-11:20 AM to 11:50 AM

Posters – 11:50 AM – 12:20 PM

Student Center
Blue Lounge, C101, First Floor

The Use of Gamification in an Asynchronous Research Methods Course
Deana Vitrano (Western New England University)

A pressing issue in education is how to keep students engaged and motivated in the classroom. Gamification has been proposed as one potential way to increase student engagement overall in educational settings. Gamification refers to using typical elements of a game (e.g., scoring points, progressing through levels, completing quests, etc.) in other areas of activity, such as in a classroom. Previous literature on gamification in educational settings shows that it can be an effective method for increasing student engagement (e.g., see Saxena & Mishra, 2021). The current study focuses on “low-tech” gamification (i.e., a simple way to include gamification without overtaxing the instructor, see Wilson-Doenges, 2022) in an online, asynchronous research methods course. Specifically, several small activities were created each week that students had the option to participate in. Students collected one gold star for each activity they completed, and then would progress through levels based on their star count (e.g., Level 1: 0-10 stars). At the end of the semester, students received extra credit depending on the level they reached by the last day of class. The aim of the current study was to assess this gamification piece in the course by asking students for their feedback. Students will fill out a survey asking about their involvement in the activities, their overall feedback, and their level of agreement with statements about their overall motivation and success in the course. I predict that gamification will be tied to better student outcomes overall. Preliminary results and conclusions will be discussed.

Innovative Pedagogy to Facilitate Peer-to-Peer Learning in Online Cross-cultural Psychology Class

Dr. S. Virginia Gonsalves-Domond (Ramapo College)

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic sent educators reeling, as many transitioned to online platforms for the first time in their academic careers. Ways of facilitating peer-to-peer learning ensuring that plural narratives of cultural experiences in the global north and south were integrated in an online “Cross-Cultural Psychology” course.

Narrative Storytelling to Empower Minority Students

Audra Dankwardt & Jesslynn Rocha Neves (UMass Amherst)

This poster explores the power of narrative storytelling for youth who experienced collective and individual trauma. Storytelling interventions are framed as a means to promote equity and combat oppression in schools. Practitioners can leverage narrative storytelling to help youth connect with, create meaning from, and heal from trauma. Additionally, this presentation will help educators think about how to guide students in expressing their stories, and integrate storytelling interventions in classrooms and individual relationships with student’s.

Becoming a Better Teacher Means Becoming a Better Learner: Metacognitive Abilities Predict Effective Learning Strategy Use by College Instructors

Claire E. Consadine, Sara G. Goodman Ph.D. (St. John Fisher University)

Metacognitively-supportive teaching practices encourage effective student learning. Primary and secondary educators often receive formal training in these and other teaching strategies. However, college faculty are infrequently provided with sufficient pedagogical training to encourage the development of metacognitively-supportive teaching methods. In this study, we aim to understand what factors contribute to the effective use of metacognition by college instructors. We asked college instructors from an array of disciplines to evaluate their own degree of metacognition, their use of metacognitively-supportive teaching practices, and their promotion of metacognition among their own students.

Assessment of Quantitative Literacy in a General Education Statistics Course Across Different Modes of Instruction

Anne E. Stuart, Sandra A. Sego, Dora Butkovic, Grace Dervan, & Taylor Wildes (American International College)

At our school, like many colleges, the introductory-level psychology statistics course fulfills the General Education Quantitative Reasoning requirement. As part of a course redesign, we evaluated quantitative reasoning assignments from 341 students taking our statistics course from Fall 2018 through Fall 2022 using the AAC&U Quantitative Literacy VALUE Rubric. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, our instructional method changed several times during this period. We examined the averaged Rubric scores for differences across the modes of instruction. Significant differences were found across the modalities. Reasons for differences are discussed along with the relationship between Rubric scores and overall course performance.

 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM

Lunch for all registered NECTOP participants Student Center

Lancer’s Loft, C315, Third Floor and then please join us in Student Center, Foster Room, C317, Third Floor for the Active Learning Demonstrations

How Much Consciousness Is Out There, Really?

Douglas A. Kowalewski (University at Albany)

This activity involves learners ranking several entities on how conscious they are (via team-based learning techniques). Through providing rationales for their responses, students learn not only what psychologists generally include in definitions of consciousness (ability to pay attention, having a subjective experience, etc.), but also how things like generative AI (e.g., ChatGPT) and inanimate objects might sometimes challenge those definitions. Through this activity, learners gain a greater appreciation for the “in-progress” nature of psychological theory and research and are able to confidently apply their knowledge of consciousness toward better understanding their daily psychological experience (and the experiences of others).

An Engaging, Vomit-Proof Way to Teach Part of the Human Birthing Process

Nicole Depowski (Wells College)

Birth is a key concept covered in developmental psychology courses addressing all stages in the lifespan. However, due to the potential for students (or instructors) becoming ill during this topic, it is easy to gloss over it or not address the lifespan implications of the process. This engaging activity uses a mixture of medical diagrams, hair ties, and vegetables to bring students’ attention to the difficulties of birth and the lifespan (i.e., both parent and child) experiences and implications of the birth process.

Hands-On Learning: Make and Take Neurons

Sara Steele (Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts)

The literature strongly suggests that hands-on activities are a valuable way to engage students with educational content (Satterthwait, 2010). One area that many students struggle with in Psychology is the concept of neurons. Neurons are microscopic and not something you see in the everyday world. This can make it challenging for students to understand their structure and function in a typical lecture. This simple in-class activity brings neurons to life with 2 simple items: pipe cleaners and beads. Students manipulate the shape of the pipe cleaner to form the main components of the neuron (dendrites, cell body, axon, terminal) and the beads serve as the myelin. The best part of this activity is that students get to take their finished product home with them! This handmade neuron can then be used as a study tool for future exams or other assessments. Student feedback suggests this hands-on activity helps them understand these complicated cells in a fun and memorable way. Incorporating this idea into a course is a simple and relatively low-cost approach to increase student engagement and interest in the topic. Attendees will leave with an instruction sheet of how to make these neurons in their own classroom.

Teaching the Difference between Human Knowledge and AI Information Using Psychology Assignments

Jennifer McLeer (University of Hartford)

In this teaching exercise, students analyze ChatGPT’s responses to discussion board prompts in organizational psychology. Students first respond to the prompt on their own. Then, they are presented with ChatGPT’s response. After contrasting those two responses, they edit ChatGPT’s response so that it overcomes identified weaknesses. They show their work process using techniques, such as tracking changes, comment boxes, and outlines. The assignment’s primary point is to review the course materials. The assignment’s secondary point is to examine differences between the contextual and nuanced knowledge produced by humans and the broad and generalized information produced by AI.

Concurrent Sessions – 2:40 PM – 3:40 PM

Concurrent Sessions – 3:50 PM – 4:50 PM

Reception

Ted Bosack Address