New York Times in the
Introductory Psychology Classroom
Michael Gurtman, Jeffrey Gagliardi, & Katie Abbott
INTRODUCTION
The introductory psychology course is a gateway course for many students new
to the college experience—and one that challenges students on a number of
levels. The class tends to be large and, to some extent, impersonal. It is reading
intensive and requires critical thinking. It is both theoretical and practical. The
class has obvious connections to our day-to-day lives; but students often need
help linking psychology research and topics to the word around them.
The NY Times in the Classroom project is designed to address some of the
challenges faced in the traditional course through specific reading and writing
activities that are closely integrated with class content. Students are required to
find a psychology-related article in the NY Times (paper version, available free
on campus) during 10 weeks of the semester, and write a 300-word reflection
piece on the article that also applies critical thinking skills. The writing
assignments form a part of their grade for the course (15% of total points
available). As part of the project, two advanced psychology majors serve as
readers/graders.
Sample of Articles Chosen by Students
Carey, B. (2012, January 25) Grief Could Join List Of Disorders, Uproar Over Effort to Redefine
Depression. The New York Times, pp. A1, A21
University of Wisconsin-Parkside
METHOD
Participants . The procedures were first reviewed by the university’s IRB.
Participants were students enrolled in my introductory psychology (PSYC 101)
section during the Spring 2012 semester. Approximately, 90% of the students
(N=41) signed informed consent forms allowing their data to be included in the
analysis. Most students were first- and second-year undergraduates.
Data Collection . Students are expected to contribute 10 papers over the course
of the semester; for this analysis, the first 8 papers were included. Papers were
submitted online through a d2l dropbox linked to the course. Of the
approximately 320 papers submitted during the course of this study, 80 were
randomly selected for analysis. Students also voluntarily completed an endsemester survey evaluating the NY Times Project.
Analyses . Our main interest is in how students’ understanding of the science
of psychology and their critical thinking skills evolve over the course of the
semester. As part of the project, the reader/graders independently rated the
relevance of the students’ cited NY Times article to psychology. They also
developed a critical thinking rubric on the basis of the textbook examples,
which was then applied to each paper. They also nominated exemplary papers.
Hoffman, J. (2012, February 24). Trying to Find a Cry of Desperation Amid the Facebook
Drama. The New York Times, pp. A1, A3.
Reynolds, G. ( 2012, January 24). Exercise May Throw Up an Alzheimer’s Roadblock. The New
York Times, pp. D5
Critical Thinking Criteria
Nugent, B. (2012, February 1). I had asperger syndrome. Briefly. The New York Times, pp. A25
Gorman, J. (2012, January 24). Survival’s Ick Factor. New York Times, pp. D1, D4.
Zuger, A. (2012, January 31. In Search of the Elusive Definition of Heterosexuality. The New
York Times, pp. D5
Brody, J. (2012, March 27). Forging Social Connections for Longer Life. The New York Times,
pp. D7.
Blakeslee, S. (2012, April 3). Mind Games: Sometimes a White Coat isn’t Just a White Coat.
The New York Times, pp. D3.
Murphy, K. (2012, April 17). In Blur of A.D.H.D, Sleep Troubles May Be a Culprit. The New
York Times, pp. D5.
Bhanoo, S. (2012, April 17). Following the Crowd Isn’t Just for Teenagers. The New York
Times, pp. D3.
Analysis
Comprehension
•Makes judgments regarding validity.
•Determines value of presented evidence.
•Identifies misleading or false claims and biases.
•Identifies missing elements.
•Scrutinizes information source.
•Recognizes that correlation does not prove causation.
•Generalizes findings/conclusions to other situations or
events.
•Discussion of related topics.
•Relates findings to existing literature of knowledge.
•Proposes alternative explanations.
•Seeks to clarify issue with additional information.
•Integrates material from class into discussion.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results of our analysis of the relevancy of articles chosen by students
indicated that there was no correlation between the week the article was
submitted and article relevancy. Though most of the students had little trouble
finding articles that were at least partially relevant, the variability in availability
of articles in the New York Times forced some students to search past editions for
articles. It is recommended that future assignments of this nature include a wider
range of periodicals or sources from which students may obtain articles for
examination.
Analysis of critical thinking skills using the rubric developed for this study
indicated that over 40% of the papers sampled from the pool of papers submitted
included evidence of critical thinking from two or three of the categories in the
rubric. Of the three critical thinking categories, “analysis” was found least
frequently in student papers, suggesting students focused more on demonstrating
an understanding of the article (comprehension) than questioning the article’s
validity or value. Due to the short duration of this study, it is difficult to
determine clear advances in critical thinking skills by the Introductory
Psychology students, though the feedback provided to students each week has
resulted in papers that have shown qualitative improvement compared with
papers submitted at the beginning of the study.
A possible variable in our study that could have affected the results was the
nature of the assignment, which required a minimum of 300 words for
acceptance. It is possible that this threshold discouraged additional elaboration
on the chosen article once it had been met. Also, because the critical thinking
rubric was used in the process of grading student papers, it was difficult to create
a measure that preserved inter-rater reliability while allowing for a variety of
expression in the reflection papers.
The results of the end of semester survey suggest that the New York Times in the
classroom project was well received by students. The majority of students in this
study agree that the articles they chose for this assignment helped them
understand how Psychology could be applied to everyday life. On average,
students also agreed that the assignment stimulated their interest, helped them
stay in touch with world events, and that they would recommend the assignment
for future students.
Examples of Critical Thinking in Exemplary Papers
“This article does not provide income figures of those who were working 40 hour weeks. It also
doesn’t suggest any correlation with depression between those who make higher and lower
number salaries.” (Analysis)
“Therapy requires some kind of interaction; therapy is not an experiment. By definition, therapy
is, ‘any act, hobby, task, program, etc. that relieves tension.’” (Comprehension)
Application
•Identifies practical uses for data/conclusions.
•Explores implementation of information into existing
psychological practices.
•Considers whether phenomena are universal or cultural.
•Identifies limitations of theory or data.
“Even if people have similar symptoms it needs to be remembered that each person is different
and their condition should be addressed in a case-by-case manner...You can voice your concerns
and build a relationship where it becomes a safe haven and a form of support.” (Application)
“This article [is related] to the retrograde and anterograde amnesia we have discussed in
class…[explanation].” (Comprehension)
“For example, since the thumb is prone to arthritis, we could block the pain stimulus caused by
arthritis to produce a sensation of painlessness.” (Application)
“…this was just an assumption that she couldn’t provide further evidence for, nor does she have
qualifications to be making assumptions without credible sources to back up her statements.”
(Analysis)
“If the results of this study prove true, then we could catch learning issues at a young age and
attempt to correct them with social stimulation.” (Application)
“If a person is working long hours at the office they aren’t spending time with their family that
they need…to connect with their support system.” (Comprehension)
Sample Papers Utilizing Critical Thinking Categories:
Grader#1
Analysis - 25%
Comprehension – 52.5%
Application – 22.5%
Grader#2
Analysis – 21.3%
Comprehension – 67.5%
Application – 31.3%
Sample Papers by Article Relevance:
1(Very Relevant) – 77.2%
2(Somewhat Relevant) – 16.8%
3(Not Relevant) – 6.1%
CONCLUSIONS
•Most of the undergraduate students in this study had little trouble identifying articles
relevant to the topic of psychology. 94% of selected students were able to find articles
that were somewhat or very relevant.
•Though the majority of students included elements of critical thinking in their paper as
required by the assignment, the variety and quality of this critical thinking was limited.
Student’s critical thinking tended to focus on article comprehension rather than article
analysis. Proper feedback and criticism can lead to greater quality of submitted
assignments.
•Students approved of the New York Times assignment and found it helpful in
understanding how Psychology is applied in everyday life.