Although there have been many suggestions for incorporating cell phone use into classroom activities, there have been few suggestions for removing cell phone use from the classroom. This article presents an easy-to-implement method using positive reinforcement that effectively removes cell phones from the classroom in a way that is highly endorsed…

This project describes the results from a large enrollment introductory psychology course specially designed to improve performance of first-year students. The main objective of the project was to identify early indicators of student success to inform future teaching and promote classroom engagement. Variables representing academic preparation,…

Three groups of undergraduates (42 senior graduating psychology majors, 27 first-year premajors taking introductory psychology, and 24 first-year, high-performing nonmajors taking introductory psychology) completed the Psychology Major Field Test (MFT) and a short-answer (SA) essay test on reasoning about core knowledge in psychology. Graduating…

The authors developed and assessed a new undergraduate psychology course: Thinking and Writing in Psychology. A description of how the course was developed using the APA learning goals as well as results from an analysis of the course's effectiveness are offered. The course demonstrated a positive impact on the overall grade point average and…

Learning communities have become an integral part of the educational reform movement of the past two decades and have been heralded as a promising strategy for restructuring undergraduate education. This study used a matched control group design to examine the impact of participation in a psychology learning community (PLC) on a range of student…

This study examined the relation among extracurricular involvement in psychology-related activities, satisfaction, and academic achievement in graduating psychology majors. We surveyed 71 seniors (53 women and 18 men, M[subscript age] = 24.84 years) about their involvement in psychology-related activities (e.g., Psi Chi, serving as a research…

We describe how an objective form of measurement can be used to promote curriculum review, resulting in enhancements to curriculum and pedagogy. During a 4-year period, senior psychology majors took the ETS Major Field Test, and we systematically compared these results to SAT scores, grade point averages, and credits completed. Although diligent,…

This exercise aims to provide a hands-on, role-playing activity that requires students to evaluate the strengths and limitations of standardized tests in making admission decisions. Small groups pretend to be an admissions committee and review fictitious student applications containing both standardized test scores and other information admissions…

Comprehension of statistics and research methods is crucial to understanding psychology as a science (APA, 2007). However, psychology majors sometimes approach methodology courses with derision or anxiety (Onwuegbuzie & Wilson, 2003; Rajecki, Appleby, Williams, Johnson, & Jeschke, 2005); consequently, students may postpone…

Discipline-based learning communities have become a popular strategy for improving student performance and satisfaction. This article describes the goals and features of a university-based, first-year psychology learning community (PLC) implemented in Fall 2003. We also report the results of a longitudinal assessment of the impact of the PLC on…

In order to consider whether a course in college algebra should be a prerequisite for taking psychology statistics, we recorded students' grades in elementary psychology statistics and in college algebra at a 4-year university. Students who earned credit in algebra prior to enrolling in statistics for the first time had a significantly higher mean…

Few online psychology graduate programs are accredited and thus may not provide students with the same career opportunities as programs from traditional universities. We investigated whether psychology majors are more likely than other majors to consider applying to online graduate programs and whether students considering these programs have…

We investigated optimistic grade expectations among 258 college students from 2 contrasting perspectives: optimism as uninformed wishfulness and as an informed aspirational judgment. Results revealed considerable grade optimism; most students (70%) overestimated an average of 1 full grade. Grade expectations moderately predicted final grade but…

We tested the effects of instructional method (lecture vs. mastery) and aptitude (high, medium, low GPA levels) on students' academic performance and achievement motivation goals. Students enrolled in a developmental psychology course received either traditional lecture or mastery (Keller's Personalized System of Instruction [PSI]) instruction.…

Describes a study that found that undergraduate grade-point average and number of semester hours completed in psychology do influence student performance on the psychology test of the Graduate Record Examination. However, this and previous studies have not revealed academic factors to be the strongest influence. More research is needed. (RM)