Examines whether introductory educational psychology undergraduate students (n=83) read assigned articles if they knew in advance about a quiz or whether they read the articles because they were beneficial to their profession or to class discussion. Finds that students read articles more thoroughly if they knew there would be a quiz. (CMK)

Examines and compares student and faculty attitudes towards students missing classes and class attendance. Surveys undergraduate students (n=231) in lower and upper level psychology courses and psychology faculty. Reports that students found more reasons acceptable for missing classes and that the amount of in-class material on the examinations…

Focuses on students' use of a research participation record sheet where students keep track of their own participation in research projects and have researchers sign the sheet to prove student's participation. Surveys the student participants and the researchers involved. Addresses the problems that occurred using this system. (CMK)

Explores the relationship between high school psychology and natural science classes and student performance in introductory college psychology classes. Finds that at the secondary level a strong background in natural science rather than in psychology is associated with higher grades in college psychology courses. Attributes this finding to the…

Asks students to rate their attention to 29 syllabus items before receiving their introductory psychology syllabus, and again at the end of the semester. Notes differences in responses for first-semester students, continuing students, and nontraditional students, as well as for students as a whole. (DSK)

Examines the catalogs of a random sample of 292 national and regional universities and liberal arts colleges to collect curriculum data on the prevalence of focused specialty versus general degrees in psychology and on the course requirements for the various degree options. Presents the findings and addresses the status of nongeneral degrees. (CMK)

Provides comments and ways to address some issues that affect new faculty in undergraduate psychology departments who have doctorates in license-eligible applied specialties. Suggests that issues of licensure requirements, and how they may be met, must be included in the hiring negotiations of new faculty members. (CMK)

Describes an activity called the jigsaw classroom technique for use with working groups of undergraduate statistics students that divides a worksheet into two to four steps. Reveals that the students viewed the technique positively because it helped them understand statistical procedure and offered a variety of learning experiences. (CMK)

Describes an activity that enables students to exercise their data entry, computational, graphical, and writing skills to learn the importance of graphs in good statistical analysis. Students use four data sets to enter data, compute Pearson correlation values, plot scatter graphs, and write results paragraphs. (CMK)

Believes that there are benefits to having introductory psychology students generate a lifeline at the beginning of the course and again after they learn about developmental psychology. Presents results from evaluations where the students rate the lifelines favorably. States that creating the second lifeline encouraged students to personalize the…

Describes a service-learning project for an introductory psychology course. Addresses the students' feedback about the service-learning project as measured by a 20-item evaluation form. Provides recommendations about the project ranging from logistics to student and faculty concerns. Includes example discussion questions. (CMK)

Describes an assignment in which senior psychology majors write letters of advice to incoming psychology freshmen. Provides a course context and focuses on the representative results and student evaluations of the assignment. Discusses the different purposes the letters have served. (CMK)

Presents a comparative analysis of 15 brief introductory psychology textbooks for teachers who want a leaner introductory text. Focuses on length, pedagogical aids, and topic coverage. States that there is enough variability among the texts to accommodate teachers' preferences and needs. Includes a bibliography of the textbooks. (CMK)

Examines 17 undergraduate cognitive psychology textbooks published in the United States with copyright dates between 1995 and 1999. Intends to facilitate textbook selection through a comparison of text length, reference citations, content, pedagogy, and illustrative material. Reveals that the textbooks diverge on topical emphasis. Includes an…

Presents a program that combines a summer psychology internship with study abroad experiences. Discusses the development of the course, including its history and funding, and the selection of student participants. Describes the orientations, the internship activities, the social activities, and the Enrichment Seminar, which is required for Honors…