Background: Ungrading is an innovative approach to assessment that relies on feedback rather than numerical grades to deprioritize (or remove) grades, but that has gone relatively unexplored in the psychology classroom. Objective: The current study examined student perceptions of ungrading in three psychology courses. Method: Using an inductive…

We examined self-directed studying of students in an introductory (Study 1) and upper-level (Study 2) psychology course. Students reported their study behaviors for Exam 1 and 2, and wrote Exam 2 study plans. In both studies, students planned to and ultimately did use more active strategies for Exam 2 than Exam 1. However, they struggled to follow…

The present study explored the generation and retrieval practice effects within a college classroom using a free, online tool called PeerWise (PW). PW allows students to create their own multiple-choice questions, share them with peers, and answer the shared questions written by their peers. Forty students from two sections of an upper level…

Hybrid or blended learning (BL) has been shown to be equivalent to or better than face-to-face (FTF) instruction in a broad variety of contexts. We randomly assigned students to either 50/50 BL or 100% FTF versions of a research methods and statistics in psychology course. Students who took the BL version of the course scored significantly lower…

Recent changes to the diagnosis of child antisocial behavior provide different methods of conceptualizing it (e.g., traditional symptom-based diagnoses and alternative trait-based methods). However, there is little research on how psychology students might use these different methods and what kind of instructional formats might be amenable to…

Despite the popularity of the psychology major, complaints regularly arise about the value of majoring in psychology. This article reviews the workforce advantages that accrue to successful psychology students and encourages new strategies for emphasizing the professional development goal in the American Psychological Association's…

An important recent finding is that testing improves learning and memory. In this article, the authors describe a demonstration that illustrates this principle and helps students incorporate more testing into their learning. The authors asked students to read one text using a Study-Study strategy and one text using a Study-Test strategy. One week…

In two experiments, we examined the benefits of cumulative and noncumulative finals on students' short- and long-term course material retention. In Experiment 1, we examined results from course content exams administered immediately after course finals. Course sections including cumulative finals had higher content exam scores than sections…

This article describes the kinds of writing that could be introduced at the beginner, intermediate, and advanced course levels in the psychology major. We present exemplars of writing assignments across three institutions, including textual analysis, integrating intratext and intertext writing, and a capstone thesis project, where the skills…

Developing students who can apply their knowledge of empirical research is a key outcome of the undergraduate psychology major. This learning outcome was assessed in two research methods courses by having students read and analyze a condensed empirical journal article. At the start and end of the semester, students in multiple sections of an…

This article describes an active learning component of an advanced course in psychology and law. The assignment is to present, in the context of a mock appellate court, the best available psychological data in support of one party in a legal case. Students choose one side of a hypothetical case, locate and review the relevant scientific…

This article describes a seminar approach for teaching small classes of advanced undergraduates modeled on graduate seminar-style courses. Students act as daily discussion leaders for assigned readings, first in small teams and later individually, and the instructor acts as facilitator. Students received evaluations based on both their active…

This study examined how frequently psychology professors at liberal arts colleges assign primary source readings. Professors provided information on 576 courses. Frequent use of primary sources suggests that professors view such readings as a valuable component of the psychology curriculum. Professors assigned primary source material in 70.8% of…

Describes a funding simulation for use with college students in an advanced experimental psychology laboratory. Students write an original research paper and submit it to the professor--the "funding agency"--as a grant proposal. Projects are funded with grade points with which the student director purchases help from unfunded classmates. (RM)

Describes a comparative psychology course in which advanced college students learn by observing animals in their natural habitats in Kenya. The author tells how the objectives of master of observation, taxa adaptive behavior, echo systems, conservation, and field methods are satisfied. (RM)