The leaves are turning color; the air is cooler. Classes are in full swing. By the time you receive this newsletter, midterms may be over. However, some of us have memories of a busy Los Angeles APA convention-our annual CTUP meeting with colleagues from around the nation, a meeting between the officers of CTUP and APA's Division Two (teaching), and a wonderful dinner at Frederick and Margit Meeker's beautiful home to culminate the festivities celebrating CTUP's 25th year.
The hospitality of the Meekers to regional coordinators, past Presidents, and current officers was splendid. The warmth and beauty of the setting in the Los Angeles hills, my non-juggling exhibition with Jay Brophy, Frederick's player piano, and Margit's tasty dinner certainly made this convention unique.Some of us who joined CTUP prior to 1985 knew the organization as The Council of Undergraduate Psychology Departments (CUPD). So, as part of our 25th anniversary, those celebrating with us as former CUPD presidents were Jim Korn, Barbara Nodine, and Charles Brewer. All of CTUP's past presidents were there: Bernie Carducci, Lisa Gray-Shellberg, Randy Smith, and Jane Halonen.
Some of you may be wondering who Frederick Meeker is? A few tidbits about him: he was CTUP co-chair of the Western Regional for five years, designed our current and first application form, and, with Margit and sons John and Paul, is an unbeatable host. His alias is Carl LaFong, one calls him Frederick--never Fred--and his imitation of Charles Brewer bears repeating.
FROM FUN TO BUSINESS. At the business meeting, we discussed the following:
EVALUATION OF THE MAILING CENTERS FOR THE NEWSLETTER. The regional representatives had differing cooperation from their institutions, thus some of you received your copies of Significant Difference later than hoped. However, we decided to continue inviting the generosity of members in this money-saving capacity. So, we deeply thank you Mary Allen from Cal State Bakersfield, Ed Kardas from Southern Arkansas University, and Frederick Meeker from Cal Poly Pomona, for being CTUP's mail persons in the past year. We welcome Jay Brophy, University of Central Florida, and Ken Beauchamp, University of the Pacific, as our current mail persons. This system has saved CTUP $800 a year. Since we wish to continue offering the CHEAPEST and BEST membership offer in the world, the mailing service is a significant one.
CONGRATULATIONS to Ken Weaver for two fine issues of Significant Difference. Keep sending him your ideas. The Spring, 1995 issue will highlight the high school teaching of psychology. Ken and I had introductions to high school teachers at APA who have since joined and contacted me for possible networking. We encourage you to interact with your local high school teachers of psychology. Let us know what you are doing in this regard.
MEMBERSHIP. CTUP membership consists of 1140 people with 50 new members joining in the past year. To gain new membership, Frederick Meeker has designed our first application form which is included as an insert in your issue of Significant Difference. Wayne Weiten researched the cross listing of CTUP and Division Two members and found 500 names for us to invite into CTUP. Can each of you add ONE member to our list? You can make a significant difference in membership, so give the application form to your colleagues.
RELATIONSHIP TO DIVISION TWO. A meeting was held between CTUP and APA's Division Two (Teaching of Psychology). Marky Lloyd, incoming Division Two president, and Bill Hill, Division Two Program Chair, met with Ken Weaver, Jane Halonen, and myself to discuss possible cooperation between the two groups. As you know, CTUP is strong at the regional level where our hard working regional coordinators plan sessions appropriate to the needs of the area's teaching psychologists. CTUP programming is excellent, attracting faculty that might not ordinarily come to regional meetings. On the other hand, Division Two has teaching resources that would be useful for teachers. So, in discussing what we could offer each other, we reached the following decisions:
1. Division Two has appointed six regional representatives who will contact
CTUP coordinators to help negotiate sharing a poster session or having a table
or booth to display Division Two offerings such as Project Syllabus and
resources offered by the Office of Teaching Resources.
2. CTUP has invited
the division to use one hour of CTUP's programming to sponsor with CTUP one of
APA's G. Stanley Hall Lectures at the regional meetings. Jane Halonen, who has
been part of the lecture committee, is contacting the G. Stanley Hall presenters
to assess their willingness to do it. Her first reports are very
promising.
3. CTUP and Division Two will co-sponsor a one-day teaching
workshop the day before APA's 1995 convention in New York. CTUP's Jane Halonen,
who was an organizer of the St. Mary's Conference for Undergraduate Psychology,
will co-chair the event with Stephen Davis from Division Two. The program will
be designed for graduate, undergraduate, and high school teachers. With Halonen
and Davis at the helm, the program should be outstanding. More details will
follow. Plan on coming.
THANKSGIVING. One of the marvels of CTUP are the regional coordinators who give of their time with no recompense to plan programs for the regional psychology conventions, contact colleagues, and work with mostly agreeable program chairs of the regional conventions. Their commitment to producing vital programming is the backbone of CTUP; they are the ones who make CTUP what it is--a respected organization committed to the teaching of psychology. The gratitude of CTUP goes to Henry Morlock from EPA, Virginia Andreoli Mathie (recently voted President-elect of Division Two), and Robert Brown from SEPA, Susan Bromley from RMPA, and Ed Kardas from SWPA for their generous service to CTUP.
We also welcome the new coordinators: Susan Dutch (East), Jay Brophy and Steve Tacker (Southeast), Rick Miller (Rocky Mountain), and Theresa Wozencraft (Southwest). We look forward to the new energy these coordinators will bring to their regions which will, in turn, invigorate us al.l
FINAL AUTUMN THOUGHTS. As I move into my last year as CTUP President, I am profoundly appreciative of the energy within our small dynamic organization. As a regional coordinator, I wanted colleagues to have ACCESS to other professionals with whom they could share successes, challenges and dilemmas as well as to explore new ways of teaching. In Lisa Gray-Shellberg, I met a regional coordinator who gave me access to such a group. Could it happen sooner to others, I wondered? I challenge you to continue to share your successes and dilemmas with your colleagues, to shape your regional offerings, and to invite others to join in this remarkable community of those who find teaching, even in these changing times, a never-ending adventure.
Dean Keith Simonton, professor of psychology at the University of California at Davis, was named the recipient of the UC-Davis Prize for Teaching and Scholarly Achievement. The $25,000 award--which is believed to be the largest of its kind in the United States--is given to the teacher-scholar who combines outstanding undergraduate instruction with an internationally recognized program of original research.
Past-President Jane Halonen is a new Fellow of Division Two of the American Psychological Association.
1989-1991 President Randy Smith is the new Editor of Teaching of Psychology, the journal of the American Psychological Association's Division Two.
Immediate past SEPA Coordinator Virginia Andreoli Mathie is Division
Two's President-elect.
Beth Menees Rienzi and current WPA Coordinator Mary Allen
published their article, "Poster Presenters: Send Us Your Papers," in the July,
1994 issue of American Psychologist (pp. 681-682). They requested
manuscripts from poster presenters at the 1992 APA, APS, and Western
Psychological Association conventions. Only half of the overall requested
manuscripts were received (60% for APA, 61% for APS, and 34% for W(PA). They
concluded that "psychologists who fail to respond to paper requests are
committing a small but important violation of their professional obligations"
(p. 682).
Patricia Keith-Spiegel presented her American Psychological Foundation Distinguished Teaching Award address, "Shadows in the Quad--Underdiscussed Ethical Issues in the Academy," at the APA convention.
THE 11TH ANNUAL MID-AMERICA CONFERENCE FOR TEACHERS OF PSYCHOLOGY will be October 14-15, 1994, at the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville, IN. Steve Davis from Emporia State University will deliver the keynote address, "I know it's bad to cheat but it's worser for me to get an F." Other topics will include critical thinking, psychology of adjustment, abnormal psychology, statistics, perception, getting into graduate school, grading, social psychology, the psychopathology of teaching, physiological psychology, visible visual aids, research methods, and assessment. For more information, call 800-467-8600 or 812-464-1989.
THE 4TH ANNUAL SOUTHWEST REGIONAL CONFERENCE FOR TEACHERS OF PSYCHOLOGY will be November 11-12, 1994, at Texas Wesleyan University, Fort Worth, TX. Sessions will include the psychopathology of teaching, teaching clinical psychology to undergraduates, teaching intro, overcoming paranormal beliefs, curriculum issues at two-year schools, dealing with controversial issues, maintaining a vital Psi Beta chapter, preparing students for a global future, teaching of humor, using videotapes to teach abnormal, teaching AP high school psychology, and developing a professional psychology course. For more information, call John Hall, 817-531-4956 or 817- 531-4974.
THE 5TH ANNUAL SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE ON THE TEACHING OF PSYCHOLOGY will be held at Kennesaw State College, Marietta, GA. For more information, contact William Hill, Department of Psychology, Kennesaw State College, Marietta, GA 30061, 404-423-6225.
THE 7TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING OF PSYCHOLOGY. For more information, contact Judith R. Levine, Department of Psychology, SUNY College of Technology, Farmingdale, NY 11735, 516-420-2725.
CTUP-MPA Region invites you to help with two sessions during the MPA Convention at the Palmer House in Chicago. THE CREATIVE CLASSROOM is a CTUP sponsored poster and demonstration session scheduled for Saturday, May 6, 1995. It is an opportunity for teaching psychologists to learn and to demonstrate successful teaching techniques and methods that enhance teaching and learning in college psychology courses. To propose a technique for THE CREATIVE CLASSROOM, submit the information listed below no later than October 31, 1994 to: Kathleen R. Stetter, Session Moderator, Department of Psychology,University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Oshkosh, WI 54901, 414-424-7174, 414-424-7317 (fax).
1. Title of technique or method.
2. Author, affiliation, address, and
phone.
3. 100-200 word description of technique's purpose and use.
4. Type
of course and intended audience for which you use the technique.
5. Evidence
(quantitative or qualitative) of™ the technique's effectiveness.
6.
Constraints on using the technique (e.g., class size, materials, time).
7.
Constraints on doing a demonstration at the convention (e.g., space,
projectors).
8. Availability of handouts that describe your technique.
Demonstrations will be selected from poster applications. Please include a stamped, self-addressed envelope for a reply. Space allocation may limit the number of proposals that can be accepted for presentation.
1) Title of technique, method, or demonstration
2) Author, affiliation,
address, phone, fax/e-mail
3) Summary of 400-words or less
For additional
information regarding CTUP/RMPA membership or participation in the 1995 program,
contact Dr. Jann Adams, Albertson College of Idaho, Caldwell, ID 83605. Phone
208-459-5661/FAX 208-454-2077; e-mail JADAMS@STIMPY.ACOFI.EDU.