Below is a detailed description of the keynote addresses, workshops, and roundtable discussions at this year’s MountainToP conference...

 

KEYNOTE ADDRESSES:

Title: Using PowerPoint to Ruin a Perfectly Good Lecture: Retirement Edition
Presenter: David Daniel, University of Northern Colorado
Abstract: PowerPoint-type presentations have become both a blessing and a curse in the modern college classroom. Based upon observation of a number of college-instructors who have made the transition to PowerPoint and a growing consensus in the literature, this presentation will review some of the common mistakes, misconceptions, and successes made by instructors as they make this transition. In particular, we will distinguish between the uses of PowerPoint as a teaching tool as opposed to a presentation tool.  The primary focus of this talk will be on the appropriate use of specific technology to complement your personal teaching style and course goals.

Title: Promoting Active Learning and Critical Thinking in the Classroom
Presenter: Doug Bernstein, University of South Florida
Abstract: How can we overcome the passivity of students who expect to do no more than sit and listen during class? This session will include a number of classroom demonstrations to promote critical thinking and to help even the most passive students get more involved in psychology courses ranging from introductory to advanced levels. Handouts describing the details of each demonstration will be available to help you integrate each of them into your own courses, if you wish to do so.

Title: Achieving Excellence in Your Teaching: Insights from the Study of Master Teachers
Presenter: William Buskist, Auburn University
Abstract: Excellence in teaching does not happen by accident. Rather, it is the result of careful study and practice, deliberate planning and analysis, and consistent experimentation and revision. This presentation will provide a brief overview of the research on master teaching and offer strategies that psychology teachers across all academic levels can adopt that will aid them toward becoming highly effective teachers. This talk will challenge attendees to reflect upon their present teaching practices and to discover ways that they might improve their teaching.

Title: Reeling Them In: Innovative Teaching Techniques That Get Students Excited About Statistics
Presenters: Susan Nolan, Seton Hall University, & Thomas Heinzen, William Paterson University
Abstract: We will discuss techniques, many of which are empirically supported, that help us to stop apologizing for the supposed difficulty of statistics and start generating genuine enthusiasm among our students. Specifically, we will cover several topics that show how students connect to quantitative data when they see the story that underlies them. Among the topics we will cover are writing projects in which students teach statistics to fictional space aliens, graphs that display quantitative data while simultaneously telling gripping real-life stories (e.g., Florence Nightingale and the coxcomb graph), fascinating historical narratives that eloquently teach quantitative concepts (e.g., the many-sided tragedy of facilitated communication and autism), and hands-on in-class data collection projects that help students create their own psychological stories. We'll show how these methods can help students apply their knowledge of statistics to a surprising range of traditional and not-so-traditional careers, as well as to everyday decision-making.

WORKSHOPS:

Title: Putting the behavior back into behavioral statistics and methods classes
Presenter: Gail M. Gottfried, LessonLab Research Institute and UCLA
Abstract: When statistics/methods labs focus heavily on number-crunching with a computer, students often lose sight of the behavior they are studying. They cannot explain the statistical output in terms of the dependent variables of interest, and in later classes that require them to compute their own Statistics, they appear woefully unprepared and moan about how much they hate statistics. There’s a way out of this dilemma — put the behavior back into labs! In this workshop, we will do a chi-square lab, using a digital library of videotaped behavior. Each participant will receive a free CD with the digital data as well as a copy of all the interactive activities designed to accompany it. Discussion will include ways in which we can link stats and methods more closely to behaviors so that our students learn what we want them to learn and will be able to transfer the skills when needed in more advanced classes.

Title: Drink your J.U.I.C.E.: How to energize and revitalize your teaching
Presenter: Brian Burke, Fort Lewis College
Abstract: This will be a highly engaging, interactive workshop with two interrelated learning objectives. First, participants will learn how to drink their J.U.I.C.E. and get students to do the same! JUICE is a mnemonic that captures 5 different ways for instructors to use active learning in order to optimally engage their students across the psychology curriculum. Second, participants will experience a variety of effective and hands-on teaching methods – ranging from group work to real-life examples to a game of “neurotransmitter tag” – in order to acquire a collection of new ideas for their own teaching.

Title: Ask the Experts:  Students’ Views on the Teaching of Psychology
Presenter: Sue Kraus, Fort Lewis College
Abstract: When we want to know how to teach well, we turn to the experts in the field. These experts share their knowledge about how to engage students in learning. However, we often overlook those who really know what satisfies, engages, and motivates students: Students themselves! In this interactive workshop, conference participants will rate the perceived effectiveness of various teaching techniques and hypothesize about what students like and dislike. Participants will have an opportunity to compare their perceptions to those of 121 student responses. I will then introduce a panel of student experts who will describe some of their favorite and least favorite teaching methods and answer questions from the audience. This dialog will allow conference participants to understand students’ viewpoints without the awkward problem of trying to get honest answers from students whose grades and letters of recommendation may depend on teachers’ perceptions and good will.

Title: Good and Evil: Applying Psychology to the Real World
Kathy French, Dept of Behavioral Sciences, UVSC
Abstract: Humans choose different courses of action under similar circumstances. This workshop presents a framework for teaching students to develop psychological explanations for "good" and "evil" in everyday life. It demonstrates how to facilitate critical thinking by analyzing individual lives and contexts, and by applying psychological theories to recent events. Workshop participants will be engaged in a provocative mini lesson, and they will participate in open-ended discussions to extend lessons and generate new applications. Suggested readings and media lists will also be provided and discussed.

Title: Baumrind and Beyond: What Students Should Know about Parenting, Gender, and Sexuality
Presenter: Doris Vasconcellos, University of Paris, France
Abstract: Research on the social psychology of love shows that young men and young women differ significantly in their expectations concerning intimate relationships. Their emotional careers will eventually converge through experience, but some might never free themselves of early and problematic influences. For example, gender differences appear in the way boys and girls perceive and interpret their bodily experiences through the information about gender and sexuality communicated to them by their parents and other agents of culture.  In this session, we will consider how social injunctions support and reinforce biological predispositions, how widespread these influences are, and the degree to which human beings are capable of modifying the effects of these influences.   

Title: The Darkness Lab: A demo on Sensation & Perception
Presenter: Stephen Buggie, UNM-Gallup
Abstract: Participants will experience for themselves the most memorable, unique, and informative event in my Sensation & Perception course – an exciting lab that can also be used in any small or medium-sized Intro to Psych class. In this interactive lab, several S&P demonstrations are presented and explained, including (1) light in a shoebox, (2) the Purkinje shift, (3) dark adaptation, (4) autokinetic movement, (5) light adaptation, and more. These exercises, which are very popular with students, can be accomplished with simple equipment such as small lights, dark paper, strings, and dim adjustable lights. All participants at this workshop will receive a handout for their own classroom use.

Title: Service Learning in the Psychology Classroom
Presenters:
Ashley Nielsen, Santa Fe Community College
Leanne Parker, Lewis-Clark St. College
Abstract: Participants in this workshop will be presented with a brief primer on the history and impact of service learning on their students and the larger institution. Next, salient principles for incorporating service learning will be covered. Participants will be asked to bring a course syllabus with them and an example of a possible organization where students could volunteer. Small group work will focus on actively implementing service learning within the courses represented. Handouts will include examples of student work and the diverse and multifaceted resources available to assist and support faculty in integrating service learning as a sound pedagogical tool in their teaching portfolio. 

Title: The Influence of Birth Order on Personality Development
Presenter:  Ron Jacques, BYU-Idaho Psychology Department
Abstract: This presentation will give participants a hands-on experience with the Adlerian concept of birth order and its influence on personality. Alfred Adler taught the importance of family dynamics on each individual in the family constellation. He postulated that oldest, second, middle, and youngest children all develop personality characteristics similar to each other but different than other birth order positions. This interactive demonstration will give participants an opportunity to develop a better understanding of self and others via this concept of birth order.

Title: A Toolbox for Restructuring the Teaching of 21^st Century Introductory Psychology
Presenters:
Roselyn K. Polk, Dept. Psychology, Sociology & Social Work, WTAMU
Amanda Martinez-Lincoln, Graduate Student/Graduate Assistant, WTAMU
Abstract: One of the challenges and frustrations of teaching introductory psychology is the density of the texts and the lack of material synthesis or connections from one chapter or concept to another. Both the faculty and the students become overwhelmed with the sheer volume of information, which often resembles a USAToday news bulletin. This workshop provides instructors with a toolbox of techniques for creating a new innovative, technological (or not) friendly format designed to increase student engagement. Workshop participants will engage in the hands-on creation of a course segment using the new technique that is designed to engage students because the material is more explicitly relevant to their immediate personal life, social environment, and larger community.

Title: Experiential approaches to teaching the nervous system in the introductory course
Presenter: Richard Gorman, Central New Mexico Community College
Abstract: Beginning with identifying several brain functions related to daily activities of participants, small groups will then model one hemisphere in clay and label both lobes and inner structures. Mini situations will be suggested, each highlighting the respective structures and functions involved. Finally, further aspects of the nervous system – such as hemisphere, neurotransmitters, and others – will be covered using a variety of experiential activities that participants will experience and can then use in their own teaching of neuropsychology.

Title: Researching Team Based Learning Outcomes
Presenter: Mary Gourley, New Mexico State University
Abstract: Want to find out about team based learning and whether students benefit from it? Is team based learning really more effective than lecture? How can we measure students’ actual learning in lecture and team based learning? This workshop will review some preliminary data (N>1000) that explores student perceptions and experiences with team based learning in introductory psychology classes. Possible research methodology will be discussed, and a concise but thorough explanation of TBL will be provided.

ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS:

Title: Using Research in Educational Psychology to Inform Teaching
Presenter: Terri L. Flowerday and Tenley Ruth, University of New Mexico
Abstract: In this session, we will discuss how scientific research in educational psychology can inform our own teaching of psychology classes. Students often have little experience as consumers of social science research and find the introduction of scientific methods to be quite challenging. It is critical that students understand the role of research in the study and practice of psychology. How can pop-psychology or folk-psychology be differentiated from empirically supported findings? What is to be believed and what is to be questioned? We will propose ideas for incorporating basic research methods and scientific reasoning into the teaching of psychology, and discuss the role of the informed consumer. Students will benefit from not only learning content, but also learning to evaluate claims and research findings in the field of psychology.

Title: I need a ROBOT: Generating Ideas for Course Projects that Build on Knowledge and Skill
Presenter: Sharon Sears, Fort Lewis College
Abstract: M.I.T. has robots, cooking schools have soufflés…what can psychology courses have? This will be an interactive discussion to share ideas about how to assign course projects and design relevant lesson plans that require an accumulation of knowledge and skills across multiple class sessions. The goal by the end of the roundtable will be to compile a menu of projects based on participants’ past experiences and future ideas. No heavy machinery or eggs required.

Title: Service Learning: Perils & Promises
Presenters:
Leanne Parker, Lewis-Clark St. College
Ashley Nielsen, Santa Fe Community College
Abstract: Service learning has gained a strong foothold in many colleges and universities, yet it remains controversial in others because of its confusion with volunteerism and the sometimes labor intensive effort required. The new voluntary Carnegie classification for service learning institutions has added to the turmoil, as faculty worry about curricular mandates from upper administration without the necessary resources, as well as the pedagogical soundness of service learning. Discussion will focus on various issues, including some institutional moves to make service learning mandatory, its similarity and difference from volunteerism, barriers to effectively implementing service leaning, and successful strategies for utilizing pedagogy that students often describe as a meaningful way to connect ivory tower wisdom with real-world issues.

Title: How do we know what our students have learned?
Presenter:  Gail M. Gottfried, LessonLab Research Institute and UCLA
Abstract: With accreditation boards and tenure committees focused on something they call “assessment of student learning” but don’t operationally define particularly well, faculty are challenged to distinguish between what students knew coming into our classes and what students have learned in our classes. Furthermore, as we move away from content-based lecture-style presentations and toward more interactive, process-based classes, how can we best measure what students know and learn? Unfortunately, although we demand control groups and repeated-measures designs in our research, we tend not to “think like researchers” when we assess our students. This roundtable discussion will focus on why that happens, addressing the assessment tools and processes that we use to get at what we want to know about student learning.

Title: Is it only Pedagogy if it Works Outside of the Lab?
Presenter: David Daniel, University of Northern Colorado
Abstract: The trend to convert laboratory findings into recommendations for teaching strategies and learning aids will harm students if findings fail to take into account the complexities of the actual teaching and learning environment. Differential effects based upon student differences, teaching styles, interactions among strategies, and other important variables must be taken into account and tested in a variety of classroom contexts before being safely labeled as pedagogy. Further, support activities often discourage students from honing their ability learn from narrative material and an overuse of learning aids may tax students’ ability to use them effectively. I will describe a “human factors” approach to studying the teaching and learning process, called pedagogical ecology, and encourage discussion from teachers about their important role in this emerging field.

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