Measuring What Students Know: SNAP’s Guidelines and Suggestions for Assessing Goal 1 Content in Psychology

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 262-273
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. W. Thompson ◽  
Aaron S. Richmond ◽  
Barika Barboza ◽  
Jennifer Bradley ◽  
J. Noland White ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Working Group ◽  
American Psychological Association ◽  
National Assessment ◽  
American Psychological ◽  
Inappropriate Use ◽  
Version 2.0 ◽  
Undergraduate Psychology ◽  
Psychology Major

Although many psychology departments and instructors are aware of the American Psychological Association Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major Version 2.0, they are often less aware of the means by which to assess student mastery of the recommended goals. Our purpose is to discuss general principles for assessment, offer a psychology learner taxonomy that aligns with Goal 1 of the Guidelines 2.0, and present a rubric for reviewing assessments. Goal 1 of the Guidelines 2.0 is based on content knowledge in psychology. Whereas most assessments allow for the measure of the mastery of content to different extents, the results of those assessments can be invalid due to the design or inappropriate use of the rubric. The working group at the Summit on National Assessment of Psychology addressed these issues and curated evidence-informed assessment exemplars designed to measure content knowledge in psychology.

Teaching Psychology and Climate Change

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 226-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl J. Maier ◽  
George I. Whitehead ◽  
Mark I. Walter
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
American Psychological Association ◽  
American Psychological ◽  
Teaching Psychology ◽  
Undergraduate Psychology ◽  
Psychology Major

The American Psychological Association (APA) has called for psychologists to become more involved in addressing climate change. One way to address this pressing issue is through curriculum. To this end, we describe an undergraduate course that we created and teach exclusively focused on the interface of psychology and global climate change. The course is a seminar structured around three broad themes: science and impacts, adaptation, and solutions. To support others developing curriculum in this area, we explain these themes and share the course organization and structure, along with our experiences in teaching it. We provide relevant examples of activities and resources in the context of the goals and outcomes of APA’s “Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major.” We discuss considerations of competence and interdisciplinarity in teaching on this issue. Finally, given the magnitude and significance of climate change, we consider experiential aspects of students in the course related to stress.

Preparing Psychology Majors to Enter the Workforce

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Drew C. Appleby
Keyword(s):  
American Psychological Association ◽  
The United States ◽  
Bachelor's Degree ◽  
American Psychological ◽  
Psychology Programs ◽  
Job Seeking ◽  
Psychology Faculty ◽  
Psychology Majors ◽  
Psychology Curriculum ◽  
Undergraduate Psychology

Undergraduate psychology programs have not always provided the same level of support for their job-seeking students than they have for those preparing to become psychologists. This is a particularly unfortunate situation because, according to the American Psychological Association's Center for Workforce Studies (American Psychological Association, 2017), only 13% of the 3.4 million people in the United States who have earned a bachelor's degree in psychology have gone on to earn a higher psychology degree. The first part of this article uses quotations from seven national reports on the psychology curriculum to identify the genesis and gradual amelioration of this unfortunate situation. The remainder of this article focuses on strategies that psychology faculty can use to help their job-seeking students successfully accomplish Goal 5: Professional Development of the APA Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major. These strategies include referring advisees to professionally trained advisors and becoming aware of careers in which baccalaureate-level psychology majors have entered or can prepare to enter and the sets of knowledge, skills, and characteristics important for success in these careers.

An Evaluation of Production Versus Error-Recognition Techniques for Teaching APA-Style Citations and References

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 328-333
Author(s):  
Guy A. Boysen
Keyword(s):  
American Psychological Association ◽  
Student Evaluations ◽  
American Psychological ◽  
Production Activity ◽  
Psychology Curriculum ◽  
Error Recognition ◽  
Undergraduate Psychology ◽  
Initial Instruction

American Psychological Association (APA)-style writing is an essential part of the undergraduate psychology curriculum. However, little is known about the effectiveness of specific techniques for instructing students on how to format APA-style citations and references. The current research compared the effectiveness of having students ( N = 76) produce versus recognize errors in APA-style citations and references. Production of materials led to significantly better performance on both an immediate quiz and a later test. Student evaluations ( N = 43) of the activities showed that they elicited similar enjoyment and effort, but most students preferred the error-recognition activity despite indicating that the production activity would lead to more learning. These results indicate that initial instruction of APA style should emphasize the production of correctly formatted APA-style materials.

scholarly journals Factors That Motivate and Challenge Psychology Majors’ Pursuit of Academic Good Work

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-46
Author(s):  
Mary Katherine Duncan ◽  
Jennifer Adrienne Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Academic Work ◽  
Peer Influences ◽  
Good Work ◽  
Short Term ◽  
American Psychological ◽  
Psychology Majors ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
Undergraduate Psychology ◽  
Psychology Major

Gardner, Csikszentmihalyi, and Damon defined good work as excellent, ethical, and engaged. In two studies, we explored factors that motivate and challenge undergraduate psychology majors’ pursuit of academic good work ( N = 100; Mage = 21.7; mostly female, Caucasian, and seniors). We found that excellent academic work was motivated by short- and long-term goals but challenged by personal habits, demanding/uninteresting coursework, and competing obligations. Ethical academic work was motivated by short-term goals and internal principles but challenged by not knowing the rules, willingness to cut corners, and negative peer influences. Engaged academic work was motivated by short-term goals, dedicated faculty, and thought-provoking courses but challenged by demanding/uninteresting coursework. We discuss how our findings align with American Psychological Association’s guidelines for the undergraduate psychology major and suggest high-impact practices and discipline-specific resources aimed at cultivating good workers.

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