Tips for Teachers and Lecturers

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During a recent series of conferences for psychology teachers (held in Stratford-Upon-Avon, London, Newcastle, Manchester and Bristol), run by Lighthouse Professional Development and aimed at Improving Study Skills for Psychology, delegates contributed lots of useful ideas for enhancing the way we teach our subject. These ideas should complement the notes everyone took away from the conferences themselves. Below, I've summarised the most legible ones.

• Books
• Magazines
• Radio shows
• Television programmes
• Movies
• Websites
• Classroom activities

Books

• Banyard, P. Applying Psychology to Health (Hodder Arnold, 1996)
• Bee, H. The Developing Child, 11 th edition (Allyn and Bacon, 2006)
• Banyard, P. Introducing Psychological Research (Palgrave Macmillan, 2000)
• Bell, A. Debates in Psychology (Routledge, 2002)
• Berry, J. et al, Cross Cultural Psychology (Cambridge University Press, 2002)
• Brody, R. and Dwyer, D. AS Revise Psychology (Psychology Press, 2002)
• Cardwell, M. AS Psychology (Collins, 2006)
• Clegg, F. Simple Statistics (Cambridge University Press, 1983)
• Erber, M. and Erber, R. Intimate Relationships (Allyn and Bacon, 2005)
• Eysenck, M. Psychology for AS Level (Psychology Press, 2005)
• Haralambos, M. Psychology in Focus AS Level (Causeway Press, 2000)
• Hill, G. AS and A-Level Psychology Through Diagrams (Oxford University Press, 2005)
• Meldrum, C. AS Psychology (Collins, 2006)
• Paterson, A. Anorexic (Westworld International, 2000)
• Pease, A. Why Men Don’t Listen and Women Can’t Read Maps (Camel Publishing, 2003)
• Pennington, D. Introducing Psychology (Hodder Arnold, 2002)

Magazines

• Psychology Review
• New Scientist
• The Psychologist
• The Brain Pack (provided by The Science Museum, lots of tactile activities)
• The 'Obedience Alibi' article in Psychology Review

Radio shows

• Thinking Allowed Radio 4 (Wednesday)
• Case Notes Radio 4
• All in the Mind Radio 4

Television programmes

• Learning Zone, late night BBC2
• Candid Camera clips for ideas for Social Practicals
• Video of 5 Steps to Tyranny, featuring classic social studies

Movies

• Momento (Memory)
• Bowling for Columbine (Aggression)
• 1 Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Atypical behaviour)
• Das Experiment (German Zimbardo replication)
• 12 Angry Men (Conformity)
• Rain Man (Autism)
• Far From Heaven (Prejudice and homophobia - new out)
• Mississippi Burning (Deindividuation)

Note that the ATP has recently produced a list of movies that relate to Psychology. I challenge anyone to produce a list that don't.

Websites

• www.vanguard.edu/psychology
• www.s-cool.co.uk
• www.alleydog.com
• www.queendom.com
• http://webquest.sdsu.edu (for independent learning activities)
• try a Google search on ALFIE KOHN or WILLIAM GLASSER

Compendium of Classroom Activities  

These are designed to encourage students to become more familiar with key reading materials, and to help them learn the language (jargon) of psychology.

APFCC - summarise a study by outlining Abstract, Procedure, Results, Conclusions, Critique

JUMBLING - Take a section from a textbook, photocopy it with the page numbers missing and give it out 'jumbled up'. Students have to re-arrange the text in order. 

EXPLODED ESSAYS - Split an example essay into paragraphs, then have students re-arrange into cirrect order, then mark essay using marking scheme.

QUIZZES - Set up a quiz in which students have to puts bits of psychological jargon into everyday settings. 

SPOT THE JARGON - Give each a student a (different) list of 6 technical terms from a particular study. Give them 15 minutes to write a 200-word talk on that study, in which they have to include all 6 bits of jargon. They then deliver the talk and the class have to spot the 6 planted bits of jargon. An interesting tactic employed to by speakers is to include extra bits of jargon in order to mask the 6 they were given. 

WORDS WITH 2 MEANINGS - Have students look up the same word in a regular dictionary, then in a psychology dictionary. Compare the definitions. 

KEY TERMS - Hand out 'key term' (laminated) cards with bits of jargon on, then have students identify where they fit into a particular study. 

RASCALS AND ANGELS - Have students read an outline of a piece of research twice. The first time, tell them the author is a 'rascal' who does bad things. The second time, tell them you've changed your mind and s/he was an angel. Notice how their evaluation of the research alters each time. 

HIGHLIGHTING - Break up the text in handouts by inserting your own headings to highlight important bits. Better still, get students to do it. 

TREASURE HUNTS - Do a 'treasure hunt' where students have to track down and explain a series of concepts and ideas in a book, library or chapter. 

PUB QUIZ - Have students read a piece of text and then do a pub quiz or points test, awarding tokens for key points or arguments. Use teams at tables. 

FOOTY COMMENTARY - Play students a piece of footy commentary and ask them to identify examples of DESCRIPTION and EVALUATION (Don't use Alan Green, it's all evaluation). 

GAMES PEOPLE PLAY - Invent psychology versions of games derived from classics like Trivial Pursuits, Top Trumps, Blockbusters, Who Wants to be a Psychologist, Just A Minute. 

BALLOONS - Balloon debates (in which students have to vote and debate on which one of a group of researchers has made the greatest contribution to the field). 

HOTSEATING (in which a student answers questions in the style of a particular psychologist). 

RED AND BLACK - Outline a study, then give out a playing card to all students. Those with black cards have to give a complimentary evaluation, those with red, uncomplimentary. 

TABLOIDING - Have students re-write articles in the style of a tabloid journalist (or vice versa).

SHRINKING - Shrink down a page of text onto the left hand side of a (landscaped) A4 sheet, then encourage students to make notes and key points on the right hand side. This creates a good exercise for visual learners.

POSTERS - Have students design a poster with a word limit to outline the main points from a chapter or article. 

LEAFLETS - Design a leaflet as though you were 'marketing' a study, bringing out its strengths. 

GLOBALISATION - Produce a map of the world, locating the geographical roots of each key study, in order to highlight the hegemony of North America/Europe.  

MORE GAMES PEOPLE PLAY - Invent crosswords, word searches, based around psychological concepts.MATCHING EXERCISES - where students match up , e.g. studies to methods, or to conclusions, or to aims etc.

VISITING - stick laminated questions up on walls around the room. Students visit each question and decide which of a pre-prepared set of answers is appropriate to each question.

DOMS - make a domino game with each domino including two names or ideas (FREUD/SKINNER) which then have to be matched up during the game. For example, one domino may have (BEHAVIOURIST/ANALYST) and the SKINNER end could match up to BEHAVIOURIST.  

SAME INFORMATION, DIFFERENT FORMS - Summarise the key ideas from a piece of the same text in different formats – mind-maps, tables, flow-charts bullet points, verbal summaries. 

QUESTIONS - Each student selects a question to ask another student about an aspect of a study. 

MY LITTLE BOOK OF STUDIES - summarise studies under standard headings (aim, method, findings etc) and keep in an easily readable, revisable notebook.  

COLOUR CODING -this can be used for handouts (different colours for different topics) or for evaluations (pink for positive, blue for negative). Colour coded DRREEEEEAAAMSS evaluations can be done using post-its, stuck on the white board in a classroom setting. 

YELLOW PAGES students have to look up a keyword or concept and find out what it means in the text. 

THE ANATOMY OF A BOOK show how to use the index, chapter headings, blurb, bibliography on this complex piece of technology (in evolutionary terms it's still a recent innovation).

SELECTIVE HIGHLIGHTING of descriptive and evaluative passages in a text, in different colours. 

PICTURE BANKS - Encourage students who want to build up a pictorial bank of summaries of studies - diagrams, cartoons, mind-maps - which can be displayed in class. 

NOTE-TAKING can be experimented with in different styles, with added guidance and examples from tutor early in the course - mind maps, linear note taking, bullet points. 

For more adevice, see making notes.

TALKING STUDIES tape detailed summaries onto cassette - students read them - and develop a bank of key studies on tape. These can be decorated and re-taped and used for revision on Walkman etc. 

DOLLS and other props can be used to bring key studies to life. Choose a prop to introduce each study - such as reflector shades for Zimbardo. 

MNEMONICS are especially helpful for auditory learners - OLD AGE PENSIONERS LIKE GUINNESS (Freud's Psycho-sexual stages).  

TRAFFIC LIGHT colours can be used to enliven feedback on written work. Students and teachers can both mark sections with GREEN for 'good', AMBER for 'not sure', RED for 'replace'.  

SPOT THE YEAR - To help students put research in an socio-historical context, have them research some key new event that happened in the same year- perhaps a relevant one, perhaps not.

SURVEY-QUESTION-RECALL-REVIEW - A 4 step method for reinforcing learning about psychological research. This involves first making notes, then devising questions about the target material, then trying to recall the answers to the questions, then reviewing how successful the recall was (aka PQRST - preview, question, read, self-recite, test).

WORDWALLS - Definitions and key findings and terminology can be pasted on the wall for constant reminders.

TOP 10 - Read an article and compare your top 10 most important points with those selected by your neighbour - a good bit of training for selective reading.

IN YOUR OWN WORDS - Read a piece of text and then summarise it in your own words, from memory. This helps avoid 'copying' chunks from texts.

TWO-HANDED ESSAYS - Insist that students include the term 'on the other hand' in a piece of text, to encourage more critical writing. This could be applied to a variety of terms such as 'evidenced is mixed on this topic' or 'a number of findings were uncovered' etc.

JIGSAW LEARNING - Working as a group, each member has a section of text to learn and select the main points from, then teach it to their peers. Teaching is the best form of learning.  

JARGON CAN BE A GOOD THING

In the two passages below, replace each bold statement with a piece of JARGON from psychology.

1. How does psycholog ical research p rog ress?

You may wonder where researchers get their ideas from. Well, usually from an existing series of interrelated statements which attempts to explain a certain observed phenomena. In other words, they don't just 'think up' ideas. Next, the researcher will form a testable prediction relating to one of these statements. Research is then carried out. Following this, the testable prediction is

Either shown to be correct, and the series of interrelated statements is proven.

Or it is shown to be incorrect and the series of interrelated statements is wrong.

88 > 71 words

  2. What happens in controlled exp eriments ?

Controlled experiments are one of many ways of carrying out research in psychology.They often involve the researcher setting up two or more different groups in psychology experiments. The researcher often treats these groups slightly differently and this so-called way in which the two groups are treated differently may be crucial in determining the aspect of the participants' behaviour which is being observed and recorded during the experiment. Though treating the groups slightly differently, a number of other things whose values change over time are controlled, or held constant, by the experimenter. These are often called things whose values change over time that are present in one group but absent in the other (other than the way in which the two groups are treated differently by the experimenter). Another common feature of controlled experiments sees researchers employ members of research teams who pretend to be participants. This is quite unethical and has prompted some researchers to abandon the controlled experiment in favour of research which takes place in settings which are outside the laboratory.

181 words > 112 words

MINI WHITE BOARDS can be used for students to display answers to questions in class, so you the tutor can see what everyone thinks when they hold them up.

SURPRISE ESSAYS can be set at a moments notice in class, with hints and clues written on the board or on a hand out. This forces students to think on their feet and write their ideas down without the 'disadvantage' of preparation or revision.

COLOUR CODED AO1 and AO2 points can be used to highlight tutors and students work, thus reinforcing the distinction.

EMPTY ESSAYS can be used to work on writing skills without worrying too much about the content. Set questions which enable students to plan and write essays with structure, description and evaluation, but without the burden of knowledge. A suggested question could be "Assess the role of lack of medical provision in the death of Humpty Dumpty".

PQRST - a mnemonic which stands for PRELIMINARY reading, QUESTIONS to be answered, READ again, SUMMARISE OUT LOUD, TEST - 5 steps to understanding new material.

STICKY LABELS can be used to help students focus their reading. Have them write the names of key points or studies on labels, or to formulate key questions about text.

XMAS TREE decorations can be made, each one containing a nugget, an idea or a study from psychology.

ONE MINUTE SUMMARIES at the end of a lesson, designed to highlight 'what I have learned today'.  

TABOO can be played by having a 'taboo' word at the top of a card (e.g. 'ethics'), which a group of students have to explain to the rest of the class without saying the word

MATCHED PAIRS is played by having lots of pairs of cards (one with a researcher's name or picture, one with a description of a study or idea) turned face down on a table. Players have to identify the pairs, or remember where they are on the table.

MATCHING EXERCISES where students match up eg. studies to methods, or to conclusions, or to aim etc.

PUPPET SHOW - This is a kind of miniture role-play in which puppets are made and used to represent characters in Key studies such as the Milgram experiments.

TREASURE MAPS involves making a mind-map (covering a topic) of an island with evaluation links as roads, then displaying it at the front of the class. The class is divided into teams. No. 1's in each team then have to go to front of class and memorise the map for, say, 30 seconds. Then they go back and try to draw as much of the map as possible. No. 2s and 3s then follow suit. The winning team is the one with most faithful map.

MILGRAM BINGO is a game in which coloured cards are prepared, each with a question (and page reference) on it. A large blank grid is also prepared. As questions are answered students fill up the grid and prizes are awarded for a 'line of answers' - like bingo.

SAY WHAT YOU SEE involves presenting a key study without talking, using pictures, props, diagram and mime - until someone guesses which study it is. An excellent visual and tactile exercise.

COLOUR-CODE PERSPECTIVES - use a different colour for each perspective (handouts, marker pen etc.) throughout the course (red for bahaviourism, blue for psychoanalysis).  

MAKE FRIENDS WITH YOUR TEXTBOOK – a formal introduction to the favourite text, pointing out glossaries, indices, how to find fave studies etc.

RESEARCH AROUND A TITLE – write a topic title in the middle of an A3 sheet, then use the textbook to find studies and theories about that idea, in pairs.  Use the completed A3 sheet to construct an essay plan.

WHAT COLOUR DOES IT FEEL ? – pass around an object (for example a red pear) and have blindfolded students guess the colour of it, to illustrate schemas and expectations.

MY OLD 'A'-LEVEL NOTES - Have students highlight parts of a piece of text which they think are most important. They will probably 'over-highlight', leaving hardly anything out. Now show them some of your own old notes from when you began studying at ‘A’-level, in which you too 'over-highlighted'. Now go through the article again and tease out the most important points together. The idea is to demonstrate that everyone tends to struggle in being selective at first, but this can be overcome.

This content has been written by Andrew Stevenson, author of Studying Psychology.