REDESIGNING GENERAL
PSYCHOLOGY USING
UNDERGRADUATE LEARNING
ASSISTANTS AS PEER MENTORS
Increasing Student Success in Social Sciences
Conference
April 18, 2011 at Buffalo State College
Presented by Dr. Megan E. Bradley
mbradley@frostburg.edu

Psyc150: General Psychology
Frostburg State University in Frostburg, Maryland
 Annual enrollment: About 900
 Mostly traditional students and 1st year students
 Required course for Psychology Majors and 5 other
majors

ACADEMIC PROBLEMS

Course drift & inefficiency
18 sections/year
 Each instructor created own syllabus, objectives,
assignments, textbook, etc.


Financial difficulties at University level
Unable to retrieve lost FT faculty positions
 Fewer FT faculty available to teach upper-level
courses requiring greater expertise

WHAT WE DID
Invited publishers to present products
 Team-approach with departmental support
 Created online instructor’s manual
 Chose Replacement Model
 Pilot semester

2 traditional sections (N=42)
 2 redesign sections (N=99)


Tripled capacity during Full Implementation (N = 150)
WHAT WE DID

Pilot Semester for Redesign Sections

In-class meeting
1x/week; doubled capacity
 Active learning


Weekly online assignments with ULA help
Pre-lecture & Mastery Quizzes
 Discussions
 Prejudice Activity
 Academic Games & Self-Assessments

PILOT COMPARISONS
N compared ADMIT GPA*
to prior #
FSU GPA*
Traditional
16% smaller
3.11
2.76
Redesign
100% larger
2.92
2.17
*Significantly different; p = .005 (eta2 = .027), p = .000 (eta2 = .075)
PILOT RESULTS
50 Question Common Comprehensive Final Exam:
 Redesign sections
significantly better
than traditional
sections*

Final exam scores
positively correlated with
average scores on MQs

r =.523, p = .000
*A one-way ANOVA of section (6 total: 2 traditional and 4 redesign) on final exam percentage
grades was significant, F = 4.710, p = .000, η2 = .090.
PILOT RESULTS: 50 QUESTION COMMON
COMPREHENSIVE FINAL EXAM
Section
Admit GPA
FSU GPA
Mean % on
Final Exam
Section 1
Traditional
3.02
2.72
67.5%
Section 2
Traditional
3.21
2.81
69%
Section 3
Redesign
2.95
2.46
75.3%
Section 4
Redesign
2.89
2.08
75%
ACADEMIC PROBLEMS RESOLVED

Course drift & inefficiency
18 sections/year to 5 or 6 sections/year
 Common objectives, syllabus, text, prep time, etc.


Financial difficulties at University level
Reallocation of FT faculty to upper-level courses
 Fewer adjuncts needed
 ULAs

PILOT REDESIGN ISSUES &
IMPLEMENTATION SOLUTIONS

Comprehensive final exam too much
3 unit exams
 Reduced overall coverage


“Deadline Disorder”
Reduced to: MQs, Discussions, Prejudice Activity
 2 weeks to complete


Students not ready for blended design

Required computer lab 1x/wk
PILOT REDESIGN ISSUES &
IMPLEMENTATION SOLUTIONS

Students needed more in-class assistance


Updated instructor’s manual to include brief direct
instruction
Need for more campus-wide support
Held 3 workshops on redesign
 Implemented student support services programs

Tutoring, Supplemental Instruction
 Wellness initiative

FULL IMPLEMENTATION RESULTS
43 Common Questions


Full Implementation
Redesign significantly
better than Pilot
Redesign & Traditional
sections*
Improvements worked
*A one-way ANOVA of section (3 total) on common question percentage was significant, F =
25.852, p = .000, η2 = .825.
OVERALL RESULTS

Financial Savings

$90/student to
$25/student

1 FT position

DWF rate

Previous average: 13%


18% prior to pilot
Pilot Semester
Traditional sections:
4%
 Redesign sections: 22%


Full Implementation

13%
REASONS FOR SUCCESS
Assessed everything and figured out what
worked and what didn’t
 Computer lab
 Use of ULAs

ULA RESPONSIBILITIES
Assigned 2 small groups (N = 12) of Psyc150
students for all online work
 Grade Psyc150 student assignments based on
rubrics
 Online discussions: Moderate & grade using
rubric
 Answer student emails

ULA COURSE & RECRUITMENT

Learning Mentor in Psychology

Purpose
Field experience - Training
 Review current research on peer learning &
leadership/mentorship
 Experience as peer mentor


By recruitment only
Get list of Psychology majors with high GPAs
 Seek support from faculty members
 Contact students & host information meeting(s) prior to
registration

LEADERSHIP IN PSYCHOLOGY
CERTIFICATE PROGRAM
1.
2.
3.
4.
6 crs: Pre-requisites
3 cr: Psychology “Leadership” Courses
3 cr: Learning Mentor course – Must earn a C
6 cr: Electives: Step 2 or 3
ULA INTERNSHIP & PAID POSITIONS

Can work as intern for our department


ULA + research assistant
Become Supplemental Instructor
Trained by another office
 Run 1-3 study sessions/week


Become Tutor

Trained by tutoring office
IMPACT

Most have been accepted into graduate programs


3 earned national summer internships


Many have earned assistantships
1 at Sloop Leadership Institute
In 2008, the May & December commencement
speakers for College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
were ULAs (& SI instructors)