Breathing Life
into
Introductory
Psychology
Melissa M. Sisco, MA
University of Arizona
&
Pima Community College
Agenda
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Being in a room of amazing instructors
The making of greatness
Creatively teaching
The three A’s
CLASSE- Application modality
An Empirical Plan
Multiple
Perspectives
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I have been in college for 11 years
I teach with this same framework and have
found success clinically and academically
with:
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Prisoners
Community College Students
University Students
Young adults
The Making of
Greatness
What makes a
GREAT teacher?
Relax, breath deep, close
your eyes and remember
What makes you a
GREAT teacher?
See yourself in action
The Role of A Teacher
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Psychologist
Actor
Role Model
Resource
Connection
Group Leader
Information Liaison
Evaluator
Being Prepared for…
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Personal Disclosures
– When should I disclose?
– How do I deal with student disclosures?
Clarification of boundaries
– Love and sexuality ≠ Acceptance and trust
Providing referrals to mental health resources
Normalizing and services for disabilities
– Disability resource center or in-class
Requested exceptions in evaluation
Problematic students
– The talker, the jerk, the socializer, the sleeper
Creatively Teaching
from Multiple Hats
Let’s Brainstorm a Topic
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As a group, try to come up with as
many creative ways to teach this topic
The topic: Perception (the meaning
given to sensation)
Hint: Remember that vision of yourself
in Greatness.
Evaluating ourselves
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What are the commonalities between
groups?
What are the differences?
Is anything missing?
How creative do you feel you were (010)?
A New Framework:
The 3 A’s
Appreciation of
Facts
 Analysis of
methods
 Application in life
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Appreciation
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Reading
In class discussion
Powerpoints
Analysis
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Questioning studies
Considering confounding factors
– Researcher bias
– Sample selection
– Failure to provide alternative
theories
– Confounding circumstances
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Designing more sound research
Application
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Discussion of application in the
field
In class participation
Personal application of
techniques
Observation of friends/family
Journaling
Movie/music evaluation
Case studies
Creative Teaching
Round 2
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Again, as a group, try to come up with
as many creative ways to teach this
topic
Remember to address the three A’s:
– Appreciation of Fact
– Analysis of the method
– Application to life
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Hint: Remember your greatness!
Evaluating ourselves
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What are the commonalities between
groups?
What are the differences?
Anything missing?
How creative do you feel you were (010)?
CLASSE- Teaching by
Student Style
Reaching students with
CLASSE
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Cognitive-Intuitive
Logical
Artistic
Sensory
Social
Experimental
Cognitive-Intuitive
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Description: The student who
connects with information through
anecdotal experiences, case studies,
and feelings.
Key Strategies:
– Discussing feelings or experiences
regarding a topic
– Analysis of case studies
– Perceptual applications
– Capturing a moment of your life
– Helping a friend with psychology
– Group treatment strategies
Logical
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Description: The student who enjoys logic,
problem solving, or analyzing world issues
Key Strategies:
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Devil’s advocate
Group debates
Jeopardy
Position papers
Forced position- pursuade the class
Artistic
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Description: The student who connects
greatly with music, movies, theatre, or
poetry/writing
Key Strategies:
– Musical likenesses
– Analyzing videos
– Class role plays
– Diagrams and graphical completion
– Journaling about topics
– Credit for related video/music production
Sensory
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Description: Physical students who likely
pursue athletics, dance, or other physical
endeavors. These students often enjoy
class competitions.
Key Strategies:
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Physical plays on patterns
Paper ball pass
Relays with neighbors
Class information races
Social
Description: The social
student is highly motivated
by social interactions
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– Group projects
– Pairing up
– Ice breaker exercises
– Class discussions
– Social experiments (in or out of class)
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Experimental
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Description: Students who appreciate the
scientific values of psychology often engaged
in related degrees such as architecture,
scientific fields, math, or often fine arts or
music
Key Strategies:
– Discussion of confounds
– Designing experiments
– Discussion of validity
– Article reports
– Research assignments
– Teach a topic assignment
– Perfect an experiment
that has been done
Where do you fall?
Most of your students?
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Cognitive-Intuitive
Logical
Artistic
Sensory
Social
Experimental
Empirical Support for
Teaching
Evaluating Teaching
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Downfalls
– Problems of self-evaluation
– Overloaded schedules
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Benefits
– Proven success
– The ability to truly improve as a teacher
– In-place reusable forms
– Students feeling heard
Methods of Keeping Track
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Self-Evaluation
– Meeting class criteria (meeting the 3 AAA’s with
CLASSE)
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Students Evaluation
– Grades
– Student correspondence
– Periodic feedback forms
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Peer Evaluation
– Video/audio recording
– Participation in a class
Self-Evaluation- Perception
Aims
Appreciation
Analysis
Application
Cognitive-Intuitive
Logical
Artistic
Sensory
Social
Experimental
Met
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Task
Perception=meaning
Tests of Perception- valid?
Perceptions in life?
Feelings with objects
Class debate on validity
Display of test images
Ball toss for interpretation
Table discussion- tests
Making a valid Rohrschach
Periodic Student Reviews
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Do the research- Classroom research is the
only type that does not need to be reviewed
by the IRB. Collaborate to evaluate your
style.
Do these tactics work for your class?
How do students categorize themselves?
Do these strategies seem effective?
– Compare results between techniques from day
to day
– Student quarterly feedback
Summary
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You are an amazing teacher
evident in the fact that you are
attending this conference
One size does not fit all in
teaching
Do the math- Show your
greatness
It’s not as hard as it sounds
CLASSE In Action
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Cognitive
Logical
Artistic
Sensory
Social
Experimental
Cases to prepare for
Group teach- AAA’s
Envisioning
greatness
Breath & Imagine
Group teach
Evaluation &
Progress Chart