The movement to prepare graduate students to teach is relatively new in the history of the academy. During the past several decades, many graduate departments of psychology, like many academic departments, have gone from providing essentially no training to graduate students to teach to developing extensive training programs consisting of course…

To understand the relevance of cognitive psychology, students in a cognitive psychology course were required to complete a detailed plan for a public service announcement focusing on environmental issues. The final exam was a Microsoft Office PowerPoint presentation incorporating at least eight concepts from the course. Students in the course…

Discusses the on-going debate between comparative and behaviorist frameworks in psychology. Advocates a comparative framework and suggests methods to avoid misconceptions about the field. A framework for reorganizing the focus of general psychology and integrating it into a neofunctionalist perspective is included. (DH)

Advocates the performance of live drama by teachers in the classroom as a method of promoting immediacy and involvement. Describes one such performance and student responses to the experience. (Author/DH)

Describes the disciplinary role of comparative psychology and examines why comparative psychologists do not consider professional associations of psychology to be representative of the discipline's core. Reviews the treatment of comparative psychology in textbooks and emphasizes the view of comparative psychology on the nature of causation and…

This article describes how "Psychology Today" articles were used to increase the relevance of an introductory psychology course. The articles were selected to match the interests of various academic majors and career areas. Includes a sample list of articles and information on where to obtain the complete bibliography. (DH)

An advanced undergraduate comparative psychology course is described. Reviews the methodological goals and traditional roles of comparative psychology courses. Focuses on research strategies for relating group differences to specific processes and for inferring the evolutionary and developmental histories of behavior. The conclusion stresses the…

A comparative psychology course oriented around the themes of phylogeny and ontogeny is described. The course emphasizes the evolution and development of behavioral processes and includes a discussion of the concept of integrative levels and Schneirla's approach/withdrawal theory. The course evaluates genetic determinism and stresses the principle…

This article describes four components of an approach used to teach interviewing skills to first-year graduate students. The components are: (1) the "no questions asked" approach, (2) self-reflection and self-correction, (3) feedback, and (4) obtaining analogue clients. The effects of the interviews on the subjects, acquired from an introductory…

Describes a method for teaching adolescent psychology which requires that students interview adolescents on course topics. The reports of these interviews become the basis of classroom discussions which are designed to demonstrate that concepts of adolescence vary as a function of time. (Author/DH)

Reviews McIntosh's 1983 theory on the five-phase evolution of scholarship required by increasing feminism. Documents the sequence of the five phases using references to scholarly literature on the psychology of personality. Elaborates on Phase III in which investigators study women as inherently different from men and urges further study and…

Offers an example of determining what the experts of psychology deem as essential concepts in their subfield by investigating the current principles in operant conditioning through surveys of the board of editors of the "Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior." Recommends concepts that are appropriate for up-to-date coverage of operant…

Describes the use of debate in teaching a college level course on the psychology of women. Contends that the technique encouraged critical thinking, active learning, and cooperation. Provides suggestions for replicating the process in other courses. (CFR)