Big Learning, Little Brains

William Schreiber
Assistant Professor of Psychology
(Elon University)

Campus Center
(Hagglund Room)

Undergraduate research can be an inclusive, high-impact teaching practice, and hands-on instruction in laboratory research is a desirable element of a psychology curriculum. There are some barriers to laboratory instruction at teaching-focused institutions that can be addressed using invertebrates. This presentation will discuss the rationale, logistics, and outcomes associated with the use of harvester ants to support equitable and inclusive teaching opportunities. Harvester ants are an excellent option for instructors who are interested in conducting animal research, and they have provided opportunities for students to quickly become involved in every stage of the research process, including the collection and analysis of primary data. This animal model has created opportunities for people from a variety of backgrounds to become practicing scientists, to develop expertise, and to explore novel research questions.

Friday 11:10 AM – 12:00 PM

Participant Idea Exchanges

PIE #1
What Happened in Psychology the Day You Were Born?
Sarah Hastings, Ph.D. (Saint Michael’s College)

This PIE describes a psychology student project suitable for undergraduate or high school settings. The assignment prompts students to investigate how the science of psychology has evolved over time, to search for relevant information beyond widely available online resources, and to practice using APA style in an expository essay. Using the online Daily Calendar of Events in Psychology webpage, students develop a project focused on one of the events that occurred the day they were born. Methods for adapting this project in two different courses—History and Systems of Psychology and Abnormal Psychology.

PIE #2
Deeper Learning through Authentic Assessment
Rachelle M. Smith (Husson University) & Lauren Holleb (University of Maine at Augusta)

Authentic Assessment has many benefits for student success beyond the classroom (Villarroel et al., 2017). Not only does authentic assessment more readily prepare students for professional life, but it also positively influences the quality and depth of learning. Additionally, authentic assessment connects to enhanced self-regulation skills, and to increased higher order cognitive skills, motivation and academic engagement (Agger & Koenka, 2019). In this Participant Idea Exchange, the facilitators will share examples, materials, and outcomes of authentic assessments that have been implemented to promote deeper learning for different academic levels. We invite others to share examples and will brainstorm ways to use authentic assessment to encourage deeper learning throughout the curriculum.

PIE #3
An Equity-based Approach to Class Participation: Class Citizenship
Melissa Lovitz, Doctoral Candidate (Tufts University)

In this Participant Idea Exchange, we will discuss the ways in which the concept of “class citizenship”, a particular conceptualization of class participation, is equity-based and where it can be improved. We will discuss approaches to equitably evaluating “class citizenship.” Participants will be encouraged to contribute to a discussion about operationalizing the concept of “class citizenship” in course syllabi and in practice. Educators often use the concept of class participation to incentivize student discussion and enrich the classroom environment. However, most traditional expectations and evaluation tools for class participation in higher education are inequitable (White, 2011; Vandrick, 2000). For example, class participation tends to favor students who are more confident speaking up in class and who are more comfortable speaking in English (Vandrick, 2000). The traditional notion of class participation is prone to implicit bias (e.g., calling on White students more than students of color, considering students of color as representatives of an entire culture or country, or calling on men more than women) (White, 2011; Vandrick, 2000). Furthermore, what counts as class participation is usually limited to speaking aloud; if the aim of class participation is to encourage students to be active members of their class, the traditional notion of class participation is too narrow. In response to these criticisms and to promote student responsibility for learning and enhance classroom climate, I have replaced formal class participation with the idea of “class citizenship” in an undergraduate developmental psychology class. Citizenship in the classroom is about being respectful, responsible, honest, compassionate, attentive, kind, and helpful. A commitment to inclusion is a crucial aspect of class citizenship. Students can demonstrate class citizenship by showing respect to their peers. Among the ways that students can show respect are actively listening while other students are talking, limiting side-conversations during class time, or using language that is inclusive of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, nationality, social-economic status, and ability. Students can also be active classroom citizens by sharing notes if a student is absent, respectfully offering a different perspective in a class discussion, fully engaging in classroom activities led by their peers and the instructor, and enhancing the class content using the online class discussion board to share articles or topics for discussion. Finally, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, wearing a mask in class (regardless of the university masking policies) was considered good class citizenship. Students are given the opportunity to reflect on their class citizenship twice during the semester in the form of written self-evaluations. They are asked to identify strengths and areas of improvement in their own class citizenship and name specific things they would like to focus on to strengthen their class citizenship during the remainder of the semester. (WC 450)

PIE #4
No Grades, Just Growth: Perspectives in ungrading, self-assessment, specs grading, among others
Nicholas Koberstein (Keuka College)

The concept “Ungrading” is often met with resistance due to its somewhat rebellious name. However, self-assessment and specs grading have long been stand-bys of high-impact instruction. This Participant Idea Exchange aims pull the curtain back on what using “ungrading” assessment methods really means. Examples of successes will be shared as well as cautions and places to take care.

PIE #5
Are deadlines dead? Discussing how we move forward with compassion and curriculum
Theresa E. Jackson (Bridgewater State University), Holly Grant-Marsney (Bridgewater State University) & Ashley Hansen-Brown (Bridgewater State University)

Recent evidence-based research has shown that incorporating flexibility and compassion into academic courses serves to support students’ overall wellbeing and academic success (Gelles et al., 2020; Srinivasan et al., 2021). Compassionate teaching in particular has gained much traction in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted higher education to a degree rarely seen before. This has forced faculty, administrators, and students alike to grapple with what the future of higher education should look like. In this PIE we will discuss the role of deadlines in compassionate teaching and how our views related to them have changed over time. We will share strategies that we have implemented and invite others to share theirs.

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

1:00 PM – 2:00 PM

Concurrent Session 1

Campus Center
(Mid-Century Room)

Students are likely to engage with their classes when they are active. When students provide data about themselves, they are likely to show interest in the outcome of data collection. Because laptops, cell phones, and tablets are ubiquitous, in-class data collection is feasible. In this session, I will present resources that instructors can use in classes to generate interest. The sources presented can also provide useful materials for student research projects. I will provide examples of the use and outcomes of these activities.

Concurrent Session 2

Campus Center
(Hagglund Room)

Previous research has demonstrated that including prevention-oriented content in the classroom is beneficial for students. Programs have included alcohol prevention (Riley, Durbin, & D’Ariano, 2005), prevention of long-term tobacco use (Elder, et al.,1993), bullying (Rivara & Le Menestrel, 2016), and sexual assault (Vladutiu, Martin, & Macy, 2016). The presenter included The Body Project as part of her upper-level psychology course on Eating Disorders that she has taught for 10 years. The Body Project is an evidence-based prevention program designed for adolescent females and young adult women shown to reduce risk factors for eating disorders, eating disorder symptoms, and future onset of eating disorders (Becker & Stice, 2017). There are three primary educational goals for using this prevention program: 1) allowing students to experience what a prevention program is like, 2) using the program as a vehicle to help students familiarize themselves with factors related to course content, and 3) allowing students an opportunity, if desired, to explore their own concerns related to the focus of the prevention program. The presenter will discuss: considerations for inclusion of a prevention program in your course, how the prevention program was incorporated into the course, how participation in the prevention program was facilitated and graded, how to effectively include members of the classroom at whom the prevention program may not have been aimed; in this case males were encouraged to participate and explore their own eating- and body- related concerns, and students’ reactions to participating in the program as part of the course.

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Share Out

Campus Center
(Hagglund Room)

Reception
Mid-century Room