skip to main content
(205) 348-0607
Alexa Tullett
  • Home
  • Psychology
  • Teaching of Psychology
    • Instructor Resources
    • ToP Publications
  • Home
  • Psychology
  • Teaching of Psychology
    • Instructor Resources
    • ToP Publications
ToP Course Schedule (Spring 2018)​

Schedule for ToP Group Meetings: Wednesdays 3:00 PM GP 259A

Assignments are listed below. However, I may ask you to do additional assignments during the semester. Should changes become necessary, I’ll notify you by email or at our weekly group meetings.

Course Schedule at a Glance
Picture
Course Preparation​

Bernstein, D. A. (1997). Reflections on teaching introductory psychology. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Teaching introductory psychology: Survival tips from the experts (pp. 35-47). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Polick A. S., Cullen, K. L. & Buskist, W. (2010, September). How teaching makes a difference in students' lives. APS Observer, 23, 31-33.

Davis, B. G. (2009). Tools for teaching (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. (Note that this book is available on UABox)

(pp. 3-20): Designing or revising a course 
(pp. 21-36): The comprehensive course syllabus
(pp. 491-496) Holding office hours 
(pp. 497-503): E-mail, text messages, and instant messages 
(pp. 37-47): First days of class 
(pp. 278-289): Motivating students

Sana, F. Weston, T., & Cepeda, N. J. (2013). Laptop multitasking hinders classroom learning for both users and nearby peers. Computers & Education, 62, 24-31.

Resources for Creating Your Course and Constructing Your Syllabus​ 

UA guidelines for syllabus construction. Required and suggested elements of course syllabi.

Blackboard tutorials. Instructions for setting up and using the University's online course support software.

Sample PY 101 course contract. One way to ensure that students read the syllabus and understand the course requirements is to have them submit a signed course contract. Here's an example.

Guidelines for critical thinking in psychology. Many instructors emphasize the development of critical thinking skills in their teaching. Carol Wade developed this set of guidelines for students.

Plagiarism tutorial for students. The University of Southern Mississippi's online tutorial. Students may print a certificate of completion. ​

Full Course Schedule

Dec 27: Assignment: Send a draft of your syllabus to me as an e-mail attachment. Team teachers: Send a draft team contract.

Jan 8: Preparing for the First Class Day (10:00 AM GP 259A)

Jan 10: First day of your PY 101 course. Deadline for posting PY 101 syllabus on the Office of Institutional Research & Assessment's (OIRA) site.

Jan 10: Lectures & History of Teaching of Psychology

Davis, B. G. (2009). Tools for teaching (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

(pp. 135-147): Preparing to teach the large-enrollment course
(pp. 148-156): Delivering a lecture
(pp. 157-161): Explaining clearly
(pp. 162-167): Personalizing the large-enrollment course
(pp. 259-272): Helping students learn
(pp. 48-51 only): Classroom conduct and decorum

Middendorf, J., & Yandell, S. (2002). Replacing weak language with strong: Transforming your teaching persona. National Teaching and Learning Forum, 11, 7-9.

Weir, R. (2012, March 21). YouTube to the rescue. Inside Higher Education. Retrieved November 28, 2012 from http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2012/03/21/essay-how-use-youtube-teaching-tool.

Buskist, W. (2013). Preparing the new psychology professoriate to teach: Past, present, and future. Teaching of Psychology, 40, 333-339.

Prentice-Dunn, S. (2006). Supervision of new instructors: Promoting a rewarding first experience in teaching. Teaching of Psychology, 33, 45-47.

Jan 17: Tests and grades

Davis, B. G. (2009). Tools for teaching (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

(pp. 362-374): Quizzes, tests, and exams
(pp. 375-389): Allaying students' anxieties about tests
(pp. 390-400): Multiple-choice and matching tests
(pp. 401-408): Short-answer and essay tests
(pp. 409-418): Grading practices

McBurney, D. H. (1999). Cheating: Preventing and dealing with academic dishonesty. In B. Perlman, L. I. McCann, & S. H. McFadden (Eds.) (1999). Lessons learned: Practical advice for the teaching of psychology (pp. 213-217). Washington, DC: American Psychological Society.

Gurung, R. A. R., & McCann, L. I. (2011, April). How should students study? Tips, advice, and pitfalls. APS Observer, 24. Retrieved may 3, 2011 from http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/observer/2011/april-11/how-should-students-study-tips-advice-and-pitfalls.html

Jan 24: Discussions and groups

“Don’t tell students what you can show them, and don’t show them when they can do it themselves”. (Barbara Davis)

Davis, B. G. (2009). Tools for teaching (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

(pp. 97-105): Leading a discussion
(pp. 106-111): Encouraging student participation in a discussion
(pp. 112-117): Online discussions
(pp. 118-126): Asking questions
(pp. 127-132): Fielding student questions
(pp. 207-213): Informal groups
(pp. 222-228): Case studies 
(pp. 290-297): Informally assessing students' learning

Yoder, J. D., & Hochevar, C. M. (2005). Encouraging active learning can improve students' test performance on examinations. Teaching of Psychology, 32, 91-95.

Richmond, A. S., & Hagan, L. K. (2011). Promoting higher level thinking in psychology: Is active learning the answer? Teaching of Psychology, 38, 102-105.

King, A. (1995). Critical thinking question stems.

King, A. (1993). Think-pair-share.

Informal writing activities. Written in class, may be shared.

Team-based learning: Group work that works. A 12-min video from the University of Texas that explains the fundamentals.

Jan 23 - Feb 3: Assignment: Peer observations

1. Attend two classes, each one taught by a different colleague.
2. Write a 1-2 page summary of your observations.
3. Send (via e-mail attachment) copies to the instructor and me.

Feb 5 - Feb 15: Assignment: Consultation preparation

Read Consultation Instructions

Davis, B. G. (2009). Tools for teaching (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

(pp. 472-480): Video recordings and classroom observations

Jan 31: No TOP class meeting

Feb 7: Student Writing and Critical Thinking

Davis, B. G. (2009). Tools for teaching (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

(pp. 314-324): Designing effective writing assignments
(pp. 325-334): Evaluating students' written work
(pp. 349-354 only): Plagiarism

Drabick, D. A. G., Weisberg, R., Paul, L., & Bubier, J. L. (2007). Keeping it short and sweet: Brief, ungraded writing assignments facilitate learning. Teaching of Psychology, 34, 172-176.

Avoiding plagiarism . Clearly explains plagiarism, provides guidelines for avoiding it, and offers side-by-side examples of passages correctly and incorrectly written.

Wade, C. (1997). Critical thinking guidelines.

Feb 14: Consultation Appointments (sign up for individual time slots)

Feb 21: Ethical issues in teaching

Keith-Spiegel, P., Whitley, JR., B. E., Perkins, D. V., Balogh, D. W., & Wittig, A. F. (2001). Ethical dilemmas confronting graduate teaching assistants: Issues and cases. In L. R. Prieto & S. A. Meyers (Eds.), The teaching assistant training handbook: How to prepare TAs for their responsibilities (pp. 133-147 only). Stillwater, OK: New Forums Press.

Schwartz, H. L. (2009, September 28). Facebook: The new classroom commons? Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved October 14, 2009 from http://chronicle.com/article/Facebook-The-New-Classroom/48575/

Keith-Spiegel, P., Whitley, Jr., B. E., Balogh, D. W., Perkins, D. V., & Witting, A. F. (2002). Afterword: Prevention and peer intervention. In The ethics of teaching: A casebook (2nd ed., pp. 260-265). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Mar 2 (Midnight): Deadline for posting PY 101 midterm grades on myBama

Feb 28: No TOP Class Meeting

Mar 7: Assessment of Teaching

Davis, B. G. (2009). Tools for teaching (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

(pp. 461-471): Early feedback to improve teaching and learning
(pp. 534-550): Student rating forms
(pp. 481-488): Teaching portfolios

Teaching philosophy statements. A few examples from the many excellent teachers who have come through the ToP course: Rachel Baden, Joe Chandler, Brad Okdie, Martha Combs.

Montell, G. (2003, March 27). How to write a statement of teaching philosophy. Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved November 17, 2003 from http://chronicle.com/jobs/2003/03/2003032702c.htm

Learning outcomes matrix template. Note: Here is a structure for creating a matrix.

Sample learning outcomes matrix. Note: Here is Philip Gable's example of an outcomes and assessment matrix.

Sample learning outcomes matrix. Note: Here is Steve Prentice-Dunn 's example of an outcomes and assessment matrix.

Mar 14: Spring Break

Mar 28: Last day to drop a course with a grade of W

Mar 28: Trends in Higher Education

Davis, B. G. (2009). Tools for teaching (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

(pp. 531-532 only): Providing closure

Final day activity for PY 101 . Note: Here is a possible exercise for the last day of class.

Mangan, K. (2013, September 30). Inside the flipped classroom. Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved November 7, 2013 from http://chronicle.com/article/Inside-the-Flipped-Classroom/141891/

Perry, M. (2012, July 18). Big data on campus. New York Times. Retrieved July 25, 2012 from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/22/education/edlife/colleges-awakening-to-the-opportunities-of-data-mining.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hpw

Berrett, D, (2014, November 18).Now everything has a learning outcome. Retrieved November 20, 2014 from http://chronicle.com/article/Now-Everything-Has-a-Learning/149897/

Apr 4: Self-Evaluations of Progress

Apr 4 - Apr 25: Assignment: Self-evaluation of progress

Read Consultation Instructions

Apr 11: Transition from Graduate Student to New Faculty Member

Vernon, L. L. (2004). It's a wonderful life. In W. Buskist, B. C. Beins, & V. W. Hevern (Eds.), Preparing the new psychology professoriate: Helping graduate students become competent teachers(pp. 152-156). Syracuse, NY: Society for the Teaching of Psychology. Retrieved May, 5, 2009 from http://www.teachpsych.org/resources/e-books/pnpp/

Ghodsee, K. (2008, April 25). A research career at a liberal-arts college. Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved May 24, 2008 from http://chronicle.com/cgi-bin/printable.cgi?article=http://chronicle.com/weekly/v54/i33/33c00101.htm.

Nagpal, R. (2013, July 21). The awesomest 7-year postdoc or: How I learned to stop worrying and love the tenure-track faculty life. Scientific American. Retrieved March 30, 2015 from http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2013/07/21/the-awesomest-7-year-postdoc-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-tenure-track-faculty-life/

Zakrajsek, T. (2007). Effective teaching when class size grows. APS Observer, 16. Retrieved December 13, 2007 from http://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/getArticle.cfm?id=2169

TBD: UA's SOI (Student Opinions of Instruction) online instructor/course evaluation becomes available on myBama. (Please inform your PY 101 students. In addition, please complete the evaluation form for PY 695.)

Apr 18: Consultation Appointments (sign up for individual time slots)

Apr 25: Final check-in and details

May 8 (Midnight): Deadline for posting PY 101 course grades on myBama
Accessibility | Equal Opportunity | UA Disclaimer | Site Disclaimer | Privacy
Copyright © 2020 | The University of Alabama | Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 | (205) 348-6010
Website provided by the Center for Instructional Technology, Office of Information Technology