Ashley Rockwell
Data Literacy & Learning Specialist
Research Data Services Department
Georgia State University Library

College students’ math skills have declined while the demand and necessity for data literacy skills are growing increasingly important for our students’ success outside of the classroom. This talk will discuss how and why psychology courses are an ideal place to bridge that gap and strategies to incorporate data literacy skills in any class. Join us as we make math and data less scary and more bewitching.

Ashley Rockwell is the Data Literacy and Learning Specialist at Georgia State University (GSU). Her work in the University Library’s Research Data Services Department primarily focuses on building data literacy curriculum and programming for students and supporting faculty who want to incorporate data skills into their courses. For the past ten years, Ashley has taught a variety of undergraduate social science courses. She is also a GSU Sociology PhD Candidate, with a MA in Sociology, BS in Neuroscience, and a BS in Psychology.

This concurrent session introduces “the strong one” as a case-based pedagogical framework for helping psychology students examine over functioning, role strain, invisible labor, and help-seeking. Participants will explore how the role of “the strong one” appears across family, academic, workplace, cultural, and caregiving contexts, and how it can be used to teach core psychological concepts. Attendees will engage with a classroomready vignette, map the case to multiple psychological constructs, and identify ways to adapt the activity for courses such as Introductory Psychology, Social Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Counseling, Health Psychology, Psychology of Gender, and Multicultural Psychology

How do we move beyond teaching shared leadership to intentionally designing environments where it is practiced every day? This session highlights structures that position students as true partners in shaping their educational experience.

Drawing on innovations from a Leadership Psychology doctoral program, presenters will share replicable strategies for cultivating meaningful student-faculty partnerships through shared governance, restorative engagement, and collaborative decision-making.

These approaches strengthen belonging, deepen accountability, enhance program effectiveness, and build both individual and collective leadership capacity. Participants will leave with practical frameworks for advancing authentic student voice through sustained partnership.

As generative AI becomes increasingly common in higher education, psychology instructors face the challenge of helping students use these tools without undermining creativity or critical thinking.

This Scholarship of Teaching and Learning project redesigned an assignment in a general education interdisciplinary psychology course to encourage students to use generative AI as a collaborative partner rather than a shortcut.

Students could choose whether to use AI to create an original “hero” addressing their sense of self and identity through a poem, short story, or visual art. They also completed structured reflections describing how they evaluated, accepted, modified, or rejected AI-generated ideas.

Findings from student reflections, surveys, and evaluations of creative work illustrate how the reflective use of AI can promote metacognition, intentional decision-making, and student ownership. The findings also reveal the strengths and limitations of AI-assisted creative work.

Participants will leave with adaptable assignment materials, reflection prompts, and assessment strategies that can be implemented across psychology courses.

The isolation, lockdowns, and related challenges with connection associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have had a lasting impact on some students’ ability to focus in the classroom. These experiences have also contributed to increased mental health concerns for some students, particularly those related to anxiety, depression, trauma, and self-medication.

During their formative years, some students were taught for extended periods through electronic learning platforms, including classes conducted through Zoom. They were also exposed to the growing presence of social media and its curated and potentially biased sources of information. Together, these factors may have affected students’ ability to focus, synthesize complex information, and develop independent and abstract thought processes.

The growing use of artificial intelligence in studying, writing, and analyzing complex information has been helpful for some students but detrimental for others. This has created additional challenges as students transition into psychology and other training programs.

This session will examine the psychological factors and key impediments currently affecting classroom learning. It will also explore narrative interventions and relational models as potentially useful and engaging ways to address these issues at the graduate and undergraduate levels.

Case examples and interactive dialogue will help participants unpack and explore these important issues. We hope you can join us!

How can we help students move from relying on anecdotes to thoughtfully evaluating evidence, reflecting on their reasoning, and considering alternative explanations?

Psychology students frequently bring personal experiences, family stories, social media claims, and other anecdotal evidence into classroom discussions. These examples can increase engagement and help students connect course material to everyday life, but they also create a familiar classroom tension. How can instructors respect students’ experiences while helping them understand that anecdotes are not equivalent to scientific evidence?

During this Participant Idea Exchange, attendees will be invited to reflect on classroom moments in which students used anecdotal evidence to support psychological claims. Participants will discuss how they responded, what felt challenging, and what they might do differently.

Together, participants will explore how anecdotal claims can become entry points for data literacy, epistemic cognition, and metacognitive development. Facilitators will share ready-to-use activities that help students examine what they are treating as evidence, why certain claims feel persuasive, and what additional evidence would be needed to evaluate those claims scientifically.

Participants will leave with practical strategies for transforming anecdotal claims into opportunities for inquiry, reflection, and scientific reasoning.

This Participant Idea Exchange invites faculty to consider how undergraduate and graduate courses on neurodiversity and behavior can move beyond the passive presentation of terminology toward active, reflective, and applied learning.

Grounded in Universal Design for Learning, strengths-based neurodiversity pedagogy, compassionate pedagogy, active learning, student choice, and a contextual view of behavior, the session will explore ways to create more inclusive and engaging learning experiences.

Participants will complete activities such as a syllabus barrier audit and redesign exercise. They will also consider how choice, clear expectations, collaboration, and authentic application can support student learning.

Examples include media analysis assignments, school observation and reflection activities, and a graduate Mock Behavior Intervention Plan assignment. In this assignment, students analyze assessment data, develop an evidence-based and culturally responsive plan, and present their recommendations.

Participants will also discuss the challenges associated with complex applied assignments and strategies such as clear rubrics, staged checkpoints, peer roles, rehearsal opportunities, and revision.

Attendees will leave with practical ideas for redesigning course activities to support engagement, reflection, feedback, and professional skill development.1

(1) Abstract condensed from the original submission for inclusion in the conference program.

Undergraduate psychology clubs can provide students with meaningful opportunities to build community on campus through social events, develop leadership skills, and explore career and graduate school pathways.

However, maintaining student engagement and supporting effective student leadership can present ongoing challenges for faculty advisors.

This Participant Idea Exchange will facilitate a discussion about the strategies and challenges involved in advising psychology clubs. The session will emphasize student-centered approaches that support student autonomy while providing meaningful faculty guidance.

Statistics and research methods are essential for conducting and interpreting research, yet many students experience statistics anxiety that can interfere with learning and performance. Active, hands-on learning may help make statistical concepts more accessible and engaging.

Research conducted at a private rural college in New England found that using a Statistical Learning Educational Device (SLED) significantly reduced undergraduate students’ statistics anxiety, with anxiety scores decreasing following the activity.

During this interactive demonstration, participants will use SLEDs to experience statistical concepts through active learning rather than passive observation. Activities will illustrate normal distributions, the influence of sample size on distribution shape, probability and alpha levels, one-sample and two-group hypothesis testing, and effect size using a physical model.

Examples will demonstrate how statistical reasoning can be applied across disciplines and career interests, including psychology, education, business, health sciences, child development, and athletics.

Participants will leave with practical strategies for incorporating hands-on learning into statistics and research methods courses. They will also gain an evidence-based approach for reducing statistics anxiety while supporting student engagement and conceptual understanding. (3)

(3) Abstract condensed from the original submission for inclusion in the conference program.

This teaching demonstration highlights a Mock Summit, an interactive, discussion-based final assessment that challenges students to apply psychological concepts to complex societal issues such as the opioid crisis, mental health concerns, and social isolation.

In this assignment, students assume the roles of stakeholders from different sectors of society, research their perspectives, and collaborate to develop evidence-based solutions through a conference-style summit.

This organized conference embraces application-based and team-based learning as a memorable culminating activity. It is designed to promote student self-efficacy and camaraderie as participants work together to address significant questions facing our society.

An ongoing concern within a graduate-level course sequence that prepares students for credentialing in applied behavior analysis (ABA) is that students may demonstrate an understanding of topics in the introductory course but may not always effectively recall or apply that information in later courses.
To address this concern, a new assessment method was introduced in the introductory ABA course. This presentation will review the method and the resulting data.
Each week, students completed a self-evaluation rating their competence in the topics covered during the course. These evaluations were then compared with students’ actual grades on two types of assignments: written, scenario-based assignments developed by the instructor and multiple-choice modules developed by a third-party company.

This assessment was designed to:

1. Identify areas in which students struggle and where course modifications may be needed.
2. Give students another way to continuously evaluate their perceived competence.
3. Provide an assessment method that other instructors within and outside the program can use in their courses.
4. Generate more useful data to support curriculum development and mapping.

This presentation examines the application of trauma-informed teaching practices in higher education psychology classrooms and their relationship to students’ perceptions of psychological safety, comfort, and engagement.

Trauma-informed pedagogy emphasizes safety, trust, empowerment, and inclusivity, principles that are increasingly recognized as foundational to effective teaching and learning.

Drawing on data from the Student Testimonials on Trauma-Informed Teaching survey, this session will present quantitative and qualitative findings related to the instructional behaviors that contribute to students’ sense of psychological safety and perceived learning outcomes.

Student narratives illustrate how faculty practices influenced classroom engagement, participation, and academic confidence. The presentation will conclude with evidence-informed strategies instructors can use to strengthen trauma-informed practices within their own courses.

Attendees will leave with practical approaches for fostering psychologically supportive learning environments and a clearer understanding of how trauma-informed teaching can support student learning in psychology education.

It is common for students to feel uncertain about their future career paths, and internships can provide an opportunity to “sample” a potential career without making a long-term commitment.

This interactive session explores internships from the student perspective, highlighting both the challenges and the personal and professional rewards of experiential learning.

Three psychology students at different stages of the internship process will share their experiences searching for placements, beginning internships, navigating challenges, and reflecting on how these experiences shaped their career goals, professional identities, and readiness for life after college.

A faculty member with more than 13 years of experience teaching a psychology internship course will also discuss the educational value of internships and their role in helping students apply classroom knowledge, develop professional skills, and gain confidence.

The session will acknowledge challenges such as anxiety, self-doubt, and balancing coursework with professional responsibilities while emphasizing the growth that can result from these experiences.

Attendees will gain practical insight into how internships can serve as a bridge between academic preparation and meaningful careers in psychology and related helping professions. (4)

(4) Abstract condensed from the original submission for inclusion in the conference program.