Identification of objectives, review of texts, assessment of outcomes, and consideration of students are suggested procedures for effective textbook adoption. (Author)

An American Psychological Association evaluation of the Teaching of Psychology indicates that the quality of its published materials is good, the need for the journal exists, and revenues and expenses can be brought into balance. Evaluation methodology and general findings are discussed. (Author/AV)

The order of presentation of topics is an important factor in the success of introductory psychology courses. Criteria for judging the efficacy of a course sequence should include use of students' entry level skills as a foundation, sections following each other coherently, and motivation for students to learn "hard" material. (CS)

Self-study materials, consisting of abridged didactic information concerning basic aspects of exceptionalities, accompanied by written exercises aimed at fostering accepting attitudes toward exceptional children, were successfully used in a preservice teacher education course. The course was conducted without allocating large blocks of course time…

Describes two studies which examined the relationship of student study skill levels to student evaluation of their own and their teacher's performance and the difficulty of course examinations. Participants in both studies were students enrolled in introductory college psychology courses. The combined results of the two studies were inconclusive.…

Described is an attention-getting assignment in a college level developmental psychology course in which students were given a list of 24 library research questions on the first day of class to be completed and discussed on the third day. Student reaction to the assignment is discussed. (Author/DB)

A survey of how 17 recent experimental psychology textbooks treated the subject of random assignment of subjects to groups for purposes of experimentation is discussed. Findings indicate that the textbooks generally gave favorable coverage to the practice. Further research might improve this simplistic understanding. (Author/DB)

The advantages of interim tests in an undergraduate psychology course for diagnostic purposes are described. A discussion of assigning relative weight to interim test performance as compared with final examination performance is presented. (Author/DB)

Presents an interview with Thomas McGovern, professor and cofounder of the interdisciplinary Department of Integrative Studies at Arizona State University West (Phoenix, Arizona). Focuses on McGovern's interest in curricular reform, his view related to any benefits for psychology from interacting with other disciplines, and the composition of…

Presents ideas and activities to be used in a course on the history and systems of psychology. Explains that the students prepared topic summaries to demonstrate knowledge rather that formal testing. Describes projects such as a reaction journal, intellectual genealogy, textbook comparison, and multiple timelines. (DK)

Suggests that instructors teaching psychological assessment can use a demonstration to illustrate potential biases when subjectively interpreting response to projective stimuli. Outlines the classroom procedure, notes styles of learning involved, and presents a summary of student evaluations. (DSK)

Presents results from a content analysis of 12 human sexuality textbooks published between 1989 and 1996 to determine the relationship between the content and presentation of the material in the texts. States that the textbooks demonstrate a preference for how sexual material is visually presented. (CMK)

Psychological availability to students defines immediacy, a concept traditionally measured using ratings of instructor behaviors. However, students' perceptions of their professor's attitude toward them may serve as a more parsimonious measure of psychological availability. In fact, ratings of a professor's attitude toward students are positively…

Describes and evaluates a college psychology course on death education (thanatology). Course objectives were to help students become aware of the feelings involved in facing death, encourage discussion on the subject of death, motivate students to change their attitudes about death, and encourage practical planning for funeral arrangements.…

A technique used in an undergraduate psychology class to reduce student incentives to fake data as they undertook a research project concerning marriage relationships is described. An evaluation of the technique suggested that it works. (RM)