Seminar and Practicum on the Teaching of Psychology (Spring, 2017)
Patricia Brooks (The Graduate Center and College of Staten Island, Psychology)
Jill Grose-Fifer (The Graduate Center and John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Psychology)
Wednesdays, 4-6pm
An important goal of the PhD program in Psychology is to prepare graduate students to teach psychology in university settings. This team-taught course will focus on professional development and the use of innovative student-centered pedagogical methods for undergraduate teaching that focus on active learning. You will read and discuss research on the science of teaching and learning, and the advantages and disadvantages of various technologies for instruction (e.g., hybrid/on-line teaching, YouTube, Blackboard, PowerPoint). You will use a collaborative model of teacher preparation in which you will share your knowledge and resources with peers.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the course, you will be able to:
- Design and teach a course using a student-centered teaching approach based on the five APA learning outcomes for undergraduate education: Content knowledge; Scientific inquiry and critical thinking; Ethical and social responsibility in a diverse world; Communication; and Professional development.
- Design active learning exercises and strategies that build crucial skills in students, such as their oral and written communication skills, critical thinking, the ability to work with others, etc.
- Produce a preliminary teaching portfolio, which will include a draft statement of teaching philosophy and a course syllabus.
- Effectively use universal design in your activities and course design to meet the diverse needs of students in today’s college classrooms.
- Demonstrate the ways in which educators can fulfill their responsibility to stay current in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, and use effective pedagogy as determined by evidence-based studies.