Guidance for Teachers: A Review of Facets of an Academic’s Life: A Memoir

Introduction This paper reviews Facets of an Academic’s Life: A Memoir by Michael Wertheimer, with an eye toward practical guidance for teachers of psychology. Teaching Implications Wertheimer provides a rich review of his experiences, intermixed with important lessons for teachers of psychology alongside the foundational scientific and pedagogical values of curiosity, skepticism, and humility. Practical lessons include recommendations for shaping the teaching of psychology through service and leadership as well as through scholarship and teaching. Additionally, Wertheimer’s detailed descriptions of people and events can provide otherwise-inaccessible content for teachers who examine the history of psychology or who incorporate the historical foundations of psychology into their topical classes. Conclusions Wertheimer’s memoir has much to offer teachers of psychology. He provides practical recommendations as well as guidance about the foundations of science and teaching. The most important recommendations come from his rich life alongside academia and the balance between his wide-ranging professional and personal lives, particularly the importance of relationships, too often ignored in academic biographies.

Distance Teaching of Psychology in Europe: Challenges, Lessons Learned, and Practice Examples During the First Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 pandemic has affected many areas of our lives including education. In the time of designing this study most schools, colleges, and universities across Europe were closed and psychology educators were expected to change their teaching methods rather quickly. This study investigates how they coped with this situation, which technology and methods they used to teach psychology distantly, and which barriers and outcomes they found in this situation. Participants were N = 660 secondary school and university teachers from 28 European countries. The results showed that the participants across Europe face similar challenges in adopting distance teaching methods, which were technical and organizational rather than pedagogical. Despite the fact they found distance teaching of specific psychological contents challenging, psychology teachers also described positive aspects of distance teaching, examples of good practice and lessons learned that could be generally implemented in the teaching of psychology beyond the pandemic situation.

Developing and Implementing an Intervention Study: Strategies for Mentoring Students Throughout the Research Process

Introduction Designing and conducting an intervention study is an arduous task for students that requires strong teaching and mentoring practices from psychology instructors. Statement of the Problem Most research methods textbooks simply describe how an intervention is incorporated into a research study design (Johnson & Christensen, 2016), but rarely discuss steps on how to plan and develop an intervention study, leaving instructors without a guide to mentor students throughout the process. Literature Review Some research methods education instructors incorporate teaching techniques such as problem-based learning, “learning by doing,” or by incorporating online modules into their research methods curricula (Gurung, R. A. R., & Stoa, R. (2020). A national survey of teaching and learning research methods: Important concepts and faculty and student perspectives. Teaching of Psychology, 47(2), 111-120.). Teaching Implications This article provides a summary of best practices from the literature and from our experiences in planning, developing, and implementing rigorous intervention studies utilizing a checklist teaching-tool intended for undergraduate- and graduate-level psychology instructors. Additionally, teaching tips on incorporating hands-on intervention activities and projects into coursework are provided (Butler, B. M., & Morrow, J. A. (2021). Developing and implementing an intervention study: Strategies for mentoring students throughout the research process supplementary material. Figshare). Conclusion This checklist can enhance the teaching and mentorship of students to ensure successful intervention studies of their own.

Fostering Diversity of Membership and Leadership in Psychology Teaching and Learning Organizations

Many organizations dedicated to learning and teaching in the field of psychology struggle with diversifying and widening international representation. The drive for diversification of membership and leadership occurs as such groups increasingly prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. In this paper, we offer evidence-based guidance on the benefits of increasing diversity in organizational leadership as well as the means to do so. Further, we share approaches from our organization, the US-based Society for the Teaching of Psychology, to expanding diversity, as well as gaps in equity and inclusion initiatives. We conclude by discussing the importance of all diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives more generally within the field of the teaching of psychology and of advancing global psychology via psychology learning and teaching associations.

The Power of Aha! On Stimulating and Guiding Students towards Self-Awareness and Critical Reflection while Teaching about Personality Psychology and Gender Stereotypes

This qualitative study introduces a pedagogic design which addresses the challenging task of teaching and learning self-awareness and critical reflection in the teaching of psychology. The context of the study was a course in personality psychology for first year students, and the topic of interest was how the perception of personality is affected by gender stereotypes. The pedagogic design included the recording of a mixed-sex dialogue, which was then digitally altered for pitch and timbre producing two gender-switched versions of one single recording. Students were divided into two groups who listened to one of the two different voice alterations, and were given the task to rate the personality traits of male or female sounding versions of the same character. In the subsequent debriefing seminar, students were presented with the data from their ratings. These results were then used as a reference point for inter-group discussion, and later students were also asked to reflect over the activity individually in writing. A thematic analysis of their written answers indicates that this pedagogic setup, in combination with guided reflection, can be helpful to challenge students’ own assumptions, aiding self-awareness and critical reflection related to stereotyping.

Infusing Multiculturalism, Identity, and Social Justice in Asynchronous Courses

Introduction: Creating a multiculturally aware and inclusive class is critical with students. The lack of face-to-face contact with asynchronous courses limits instructors’ ability to form relationships with students. A myriad of teaching research provides strategies for incorporating multiculturalism, social justice, and identity into synchronous courses; however, considerably less research exists with asynchronous courses. Statement of the Problem: The purpose of the current article is to provide strategies for incorporating multiculturalism and issues of identity into asynchronous courses with a social justice lens. Literature Review: I review several published topical and review articles and offer suggestions and strategies that I have used in my own courses and/or in courses I have been involved with. Teaching Implications: I discuss the importance of incorporating multiculturalism and identity while maintaining justice in asynchronous courses. Moreover, I offer suggestions and strategies for doing so, from prior to class starting to navigating instances of microaggressions. Conclusion: This article builds off and infuses components of counseling psychology into the teaching of psychology to advance instructors’ cultural awareness, skills, and competence with asynchronous online courses.