Message from the President, Maureen
Hester
Spring is like a perhaps
Hand in a window
(carefully
to
and fro moving New and
Old things, while
people stare
carefully
moving a perhaps
fraction of flower here placing
an inch of
air there) and
without breaking anything.
(e.e. Cummings. 1957. 100 Selected Poems. New York: Grove Press)
As I begin my last editorial as CTUP President, the lines of e.e
cummings occur to me. Perhaps it’s the end of 28 days of January rain. Now,
though the California sun is still shy, the blossoms are everywhere. At any
rate, thinking of the new and old suggests a way of reflecting on CTUP with
you.
What does the spring of 1995 bring? Three areas of networking are
new beginnings for us. First, a new regional collaboration exists between CTUP
and APA’s Division 2: Teaching of Psychology. At your regional psychological
meetings this spring, you will notice us co-sponsoring speakers and encouraging
Division 2’s efforts at recruitment. Division 2 offers wonderful opportunities
that need to be available regionally. One fine example is the Office of Teaching
Resources at Ball State University under the creative leadership of Dr. Patricia
Keith-Speigel. You might consider ordering The Ethics of Teaching: A
Casebook (1993), which offers a provocative set of scenarios that will seem
familiar to any teacher. Inquire at your regional meeting about the
opportunities available as a Division 2 member of Division 2 (associate
membership fee is $20 for college psychology teachers.
A second sign of
growth is the wonderful preparation for the national Teaching Conference
co-sponsored by Division 2 and CTUP to be held on August 10 in New York City.
Jane Halonen, Past President of CTUP, and Steve Davis of Division 2 have planned
an amazing program combining the talents of every group associated with
teaching–from graduate students to the American Psychological Society. The
networking that has produced this conference speaks to a new spring, indeed. At
this August conference, CTUP is sponsoring the Last Lecture at which three
experienced faculty will speak to the topic.What is the Last Lecture? Whatever
the speakers make of it. What would you say to students if you knew this was
your last lecture? Jay Brophy of the University of Central Florida, Neil Lutsky
of Carleton College, and Lisa Whitten of SUNY, Old Westbury, will take the risk
for us. I look forward to chairing this unpredictable, provocative, and
surprising session. Get a spring in your step and come to the Big Apple in
August. See the flyer insert in this newsletter for conference details.
Our membership drive buds with a steady stream of new members.
While more new members have joined than at the comparable time last year, more
members are always welcome and needed. And remember CTUP’s new recruitment
contest:
FOR EACH NEW MEMBER, YOU RECEIVE A CHANCE TO WIN FACULTY DEVELOPMENT
PRIZE MONEY $400....$125....$75. I CHALLENGE YOU TO RECRUIT 5 NEW MEMBERS AND
RECEIVE 5 CHANCES TO WIN.
Yes, the Spring of 1995
shows new life and beauty in CTUP. Yet, the root and stem of the organization
continue to be each of you, the dedicated teachers. I end my term as President
grateful for the opportunity to facilitate such a fine group of colleagues. As
faculty, we will update our technology, open ourselves and our students to the
information highway, learn how to give supercharged multi-media presentations in
the classroom. In the final analysis, though, our mentoring of our students will
reap the lasting fruit. CTUP is where I have met that commitment in the hundreds
of you around the nation. I end my presidency with good memories! A group that
is now officially non-profit has reached unprecedented collaboration with
Division 2, continues to grow in members, and has in Ken Weaver, the
President-elect, and the regional representatives, a fine future. The privilege
has been mine.
Now I have one final
privilege–introducing the five articles about teaching high school psychology.
Read, learn, enjoy, and act on the thoughts and suggestions of high school and
college colleagues from across the nation. CTUP is committed to the teaching of
psychology. The integral importance of the high school psychology course to the
dynamic health of psychology bonds all of us in common cause. Thanks so much to
Charles Blair-Broeker, Bruce Henderson, Laura Maitland, Pat Mattimore, and Tom
Moeller for their contributions to this very special issue of Significant
Difference.
Adopt A Teacher
Charles
Blair-Broeker
Charlie Blair-Broeker has taught psychology and Advanced Placement
psychology at Cedar Falls (Iowa) High School since 1978. He is the current chair
of APA’s Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools. He is a member of the
Advanced Placement Psychology Test Development Committee and has read exam
essays since its first administration in 1992. He has presented at numerous
workshops, institutes, and conferences and in 1992 won Division 2’s Teaching
Excellence Award for high school teachers. His e-mail address is
CHARLIEBB@AOL.COM.
I spend quite a bit of
time on the road each summer. I've enjoyed watching the growth of the "Adopt A
Highway" program. When I first saw an Adopt A Highway sign a few years ago, I
remember being pretty cynical about the potential of such an idea. Given the
many miles of highway and America's propensity to litter, how could such an idea
make a difference? Well, I have no data other than my own observations, but it
seems as though I was wrong. Long stretches of interstate, U.S., and state
routes have been divided into sections, each with an "owner" taking
responsibility for its cleanliness.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could
do something similar in psychology. Think of the impact if every member of CTUP
were to "adopt" a high school psychology teacher? Many people are unaware of how
numerous high school psychology courses are. Recent estimates indicate that
about 750,000 students a year take the course, which may be the only formal
exposure to the science of psychology they ever receive. The course must present
the breadth, depth, and importance of our field, rather than a narrow view
focusing on parapsychology or videotaped segments of Oprah.
There have always been superb high school teachers of
psychology. Now, however, the formation of APA's professional organization of
high school teachers TOPSS–Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools,
the incredible growth of the Advanced Placement Psychology program, the success
of National Science Foundation summer institutes for high school psychology
teachers, and a variety of other factors have produced a tremendous improvement
in the overall quality of high school psychology instruction. There is a great
deal left to do; many teachers are still not well prepared. A local “Adopt A
Teacher” program could help augment these national effort. Let me point out four
ways that an "Adopt A Teacher" program would help:
1. High school teachers have a hard time collecting up-to-date
resources. In contrast, college teachers regularly receive examination copies of
textbooks. Giving your extra textbooks on introductory psychology,
biopsychology, developmental, personality, and so on to the local high school
psychology teacher would improve their libraries and update the content of their
lessons. Most high school teachers probably prepare for courses other than
psychology, probably have not taken any formal courses in several years, and
probably don't subscribe to professional journals. Current texts would do
wonders.
2. High school teachers typically have no equipment budget. Provide
them access to a biofeedback device, an old Skinner box, or a brain model would
be wonderful. You could also arrange for the high school students to tour your
facilities.
3. High school teachers generally have about 90 class periods to
fill for a one semester course. A guest speaker helps maintain a high level of
interest. Talking about your research and/or psychology at the local high school
would be much appreciated.
4. You can inform the teacher of state and
regional meetings and campus speakers and be a valuable resource for answering
those difficult questions.
I don't want to imply that
the relationship I'm suggesting is a one-way street. There are benefits for the
college professor as well. Becoming acquainted with the local high school
psychology teacher is a great way to recruit strong students to your school and
department. High school students can provide you assistance at times when your
college or university is in recess. Several of my Advanced Placement students,
for example, helped shape bar press responses in naive rats at the University of
Northern Iowa last spring. The university semester had already ended, but high
school was still in session. My students had a great opportunity and the
professor got her rats trained.
I hope you are
convinced of the benefits from a working relationship between you and the local
high school psychology teacher. How can it become a reality? Unfortunately, most
high school teachers feel pretty intimidated about contacting a college
professor. You will have to take the first step. I know you're busy, but please
call that psychology teacher today. Offer some examination copies and request a
tour of the classroom. I really believe that nurturing such relationships can
have a significant, tangible effect, just as the Adopt A Highway program has
helped clean up our roadsides -- one step at a time. And if you do give this a
try, I would appreciate any feedback you might have.
Helping High School Psychology Teachers
Deal with the Isolation Problem
Bruce Henderson
Bruce Henderson is Professor of Psychology at
Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina, where he has taught
since 1978. His research interests include the development of curiosity and the
role of affective inferences in memory. Anyone interested in more information on
Psych-News can contact him at the Department of Psychology, Western Carolina
University, Cullowhee, NC 28723.
Recently
(Henderson, 1994), I argued that college and university psychology departments
have a stake in helping high school teachers of psychology to accurately and
effectively represent the science of psychology. High school teachers frequently
have little formal training in psychology and are likely to be the only
psychology teachers in their schools or school districts. This combination of
lack of teacher training and professional isolation has two potential negative
effects on the students who eventually appear in our departments. First,
students may enter college with an inaccurate view of what psychology is about,
skewed by the high school course's overemphasis on personal adjustment and
development. Second, students with a strong scientific bent may not consider
psychology as a college major and career if the high school course has not
included attention to biological, perceptual and cognitive aspects of psychology
and the research methodology.
The key departmental
person in outreach to high school teachers is likely to be the department head
or chair. The chair is the one who can encourage departmental involvement and
act as a contact person with high school teachers. Outreach to high school
teachers can be included in the department’s planning process. At many colleges
and universities, especially public institutions, involvement with public
schools is seen as an important component of community service and may even be
rewarded. Once the department makes a commitment to outreach, teachers of high
school psychology in the region need to be identified. The state department of
public instruction should be able to provide a list of teachers, but their lists
are often badly outdated and incomplete. The education department of the college
often has mailing lists that can be used to send letters to school
superintendents who can help identify individual teachers.
Once area
teachers have been identified, there are a number of activities the department
can initiate. I will list some of them briefly, then elaborate on one.
1. The department can act as a conduit of information. Many
high school teachers of psychology are unaware of the programs of the American
Psychological Association’s Teachers of Psychology in the Secondary Schools
(TOPPS), the Psychology Special Interest Group of the National Association for
Social Studies, or the National Science Foundation summer institutes for
teachers. Departments can also keep teachers informed about speakers, colloquia,
and courses on their own campuses. One effective way of doing this is to provide
a periodic newsletter that can also provide a forum for such items as research
updates, ideas for classroom demonstrations, and discussions of other issues
relevant to high school teachers.
2. The department can set up a speaker's
bureau listing faculty members who are willing to to travel to schools to make
presentations. Or the department may prefer to offer occasional workshops
through the college's continuing education program or a local education agency's
in-service program.
3. Examination copies of textbooks can be donated to
high school teachers.
4. Faculty members can offer to work with high school
students on research projects for science fairs or involve students in their
ongoing research.
One new way that psychology
departments can help high school teachers beat the isolation problem is to help
them gain and maintain contact with other high school teachers from throughout
the nation. As part of an NSF grant administered by Rick Kasschau of the
University of Houston, there now is an electronic bulletin board for teachers of
high school psychology called Psych-News. It is similar to the TIPS bulletin
board for college faculty that Bill Southerly of Frostburg State set up about
two years ago. Anyone who has access to the Internet can subscribe to Psych-News
by sending a "SUBSCRIBE PSYCH-NEWS name " message to the address
MAILSERV@POST-OFFICE.UH.EDU through e-mail. After a request is referred to one
of the list owners (Rick Kasschau or Bruce Henderson), subscribers receive
instructions on how to send messages, get a list of subscribers, and
unsubscribe.
A special feature of Psych-News over the
next year or two will be the availability of a wide variety of summaries of
recent research that will be provided by college and university faculty members
who have made presentations at the NSF summer institutes at the University of
Houston and Western Carolina University. Psych-News has already provided a forum
for discussions by high school teachers of such topics as classroom
demonstration, media, textbook selection, student problems, and many other
issues.
Many school teachers are not aware that they
have access to the Internet through their school systems or other organizations,
are not aware of commercial services such as America On-Line, or simply do not
know how to use existing connections their schools already have. Departments of
psychology can help by offering workshops that introduce teachers to the basics
of e-mail and bulletin boards, or at the very least let them know about the
existence of Psych-News. I encourage departments to get involved with high
school teachers. The benefits of increased communication and collegiality are
worth our time and effort (see Weiten et al., 1993).
References
Henderson, B.B. (1994). The role of the psychology department in supporting
secondary school teachers of psychology. Teaching of Psychology, 21,
107-108.
Weiten, W. et al. (1993). From isolation to community: Increasing
communication and collegiality among psychology teachers. In T.V. McGovern
(Ed.), Handbook for enhancing undergraduate education in psychology.
Washington D.C.: APA.
Making Connections With Colleagues-College to
High School
Laura Maitland
Laura Maitland chairs the Science Department at W.C. Mepham High School in
Bellmore, NY, and teaches Advanced Placement Psychology. She is past chair of
APA’s Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools and has served on its
Executive Board since its inception. She has been on the ETS/College Board
Committee for AP Psychology and the APA task force for Honors/AP Psychology and
was president of the Association of Teachers of Psychology of New York. Her
address is W. C. Mepham high School, 2401 Camp Avenue, Bellmore, NY
11710-3099.
Collegiality and synergy often shape secondary school staff in-service
sessions these days. We're learning how working cooperatively magnifies our
effectiveness. Through talking together, we share information and teaching
techniques and solve problems. Such synergy rarely occurs when only one teacher
teaches a subject, as is often the case in high school psychology. How wonderful
if a college colleague connected with such a teacher!
A mutual relationship
offering a variety of benefits to both with a minimum of energy and effort
begins with just a phone call. Simply choose a local high school, tell the
principal's secretary what you would like to do and you are off to a good start.
If that school does not offer psychology, try another. Almost any high school
psychology teacher would be delighted to receive a call from a college
counterpart. Here are some possible benefits:
1. By offering to visit the
teacher's high school, you give youngsters the opportunity to see a psychologist
who isn't there "to analyze them." You become a role model and a career advisor.
As an ambassador from your institution, you increase the name recognition and
status of your college with high school students. This can result in increased
applications for admission. When one particular professor guest-taught my
classes one day each year, applications to his college from my school increased
200%.
2. By advising young scientists on their psychology projects, you help
raise the quality of research and encourage top students to consider scientific
careers in psychology as alternatives to medicine and engineering. You might
even consider adding a talented youngster to your own research team as a result.
A local college professor was very proud when a student he invited to join his
research team was selected for an award in the Westinghouse Science Talent
Search.
3. You may find high school students an excellent pool of subjects
for your own or your graduate students' research. Participating in your research
helps them learn research procedures and ethics. At last year's APA Convention,
I met a psychologist who used my students as subjects in her dissertation
research.
4. By sharing teaching strategies, both you and your high school
colleague may expand your repertoires of effective demonstrations, activities
and techniques.
5. Invitations to campus presentations provide special
opportunities for instructors on both levels to learn. Recently I participated
in a conference at a local university. Then one of the professors participated
in a cooperative learning workshop at the high school.
This list is just
a beginning. As a result of relationships that have grown through the years,
psychology professors and high school teachers have connected in many other
ways. Professors judge behavioral science projects at local science
competitions, send their secondary education majors to observe in the high
school psychology class, participate in local associations, jointly teach
workshops, run psychology fairs in cooperation with high school teachers.
Relationships are limited only by your creativity and commitment–after you make
the first call.
Send'em Back to High
School
Patrick Mattimore
Pat Mattimore is in his third of teaching high school psychology and
history at South San Francisco High School in California. He is also a lawyer
and worked for three years as a Deputy District Attorney in Oakland, CA. Before
becoming a lawyer, Pat worked a number of years as a tennis teaching
professional.
High school psychology teachers and college psychology
professors are not normally allies; neither are they enemies. Traditionally,
they have been more like wayfarers on parallel roads, moving in the same
direction, but never making contact. At South San Francisco High School in South
San Francisco, CA, we're trying to change that. With the help of Dr. Martin
Lambert at Holy Names College in Oakland, CA and some of his students, we're
beginning to expose high school junior and senior psychology students to a more
in-depth appreciation of the field.
Dr. Lambert and one of his senior
students, Kimberly Calderaro, recently surveyed my psychology classes to learn
about high school students' responses to ethnic humor. My students, who had
previously conducted their own surveys, learned about unambiguous and meaningful
survey questions and also learned something about themselves. Dr. Lambert and
Ms. Calderaro had a willing, enthusiastic resource for their
research.
Before leaving, Ms. Calderaro, a senior psychology and religion
major, mentioned several psychology courses she had completed. Particularly of
interest to both my psychology classes was her coursework in gender
relationships and human sexuality. The students are hoping she might return to
address those issues. Ms. Caldreraro promised to return once she had refreshed
herself on those topics.
Cooperative projects between high school and
college psychology programs promise a variety of advantages for both groups of
students. College professors increasingly bemoan students’ poor preparation for
college work. High school teachers struggle with motivating students and
convincing even the brightest of their academic deficiencies. College students
could bridge the high school teacher/student credibility gap by implicitly
delivering the deficiency warning through cooperative endeavors.
College
psychology majors can use high school students as research subjects, tutees (to
see if the college students have really grasped the material they are trying to
teach), and possibly in limited clinical ways. By using a high school psychology
class as a laboratory, psychology majors can take limited experimental steps
into their field.
Virginia’s High School Psychology
Conference
Tom Moeller
Tom Moeller is Professor of Psychology at Mary Washington College. His
address is Department of Psychology, Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, VA
22401.
The Virginia Academy of Academic
Psychology (VAAP), a subgroup ("academy ") of the Virginia Psychological
Association (VPA), consists primarily of psychologists involved in research
and/or teaching at the community college, four-year college, and graduate
institutions. For about five years now,VAAP has sponsored an annual psychology
mini-conference for teachers of high school psychology. Initially, this
conference was sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education. However, when
the DOE eliminated this activity because of recession several years ago, VAAP,
believing in the importance of maintaining and increasing the quality of
instruction in high school psychology, assumed sponsorship of the
conference.
For the first year, Dr. Roy Smith of Mary
Washington College’s department (and a past president of VAAP) coordinated the
conference; I have done so the past four years. The conference is held on the
Friday of VPA's Fall Convention. Prior to 1994, it had run all day Friday and
Saturday morning. The annual average attendance of 20 to 25 high school
psychology teachers; many others do not come because they don't get "credit" or
monetary support for attending. However, those teachers that do attend uniformly
report that the conference has proved to be highly beneficial for them.
Although conference sessions focus on either psychology topics or
teaching methods, discovering the latest information on important topics in
psychology is the primary reason for attending. I generally balance the science
and clinical topics. In 1994, for example, session topics included
Post-Piagetian Theory and Research, The Psychology of Lying, The Multiple
Personality and The Psychology of Serial Killers. Over the past several years
session have covered neurocognition, adolescent suicide, the NSF-sponsored
Summer Workshops in Psychology, classroom violence, eyewitness testimony,
hypnosis, successful selling, and adolescent drug abuse. One personal aim is to
choose speakers who will present material based on the highest standards of
psychology as a science. A related goal is to help high school teachers
distinguish between what ideas have and have not been supported by sound
empirical research.
EDITOR'S CORNER
Thanks so much to
Charlie Blair-Broeker, Bruce Henderson, Laura Maitland, Pat Mattimore, and Tom
Moeller for their excellent contributions to this special issue of
Significant Difference. They provide us with many excellent ideas
for using our students, our departments, our computers, and ourselves to assist
our high school colleagues and their students. The challenge for us CTUP members
is to act on these suggestions, especially taking the initiative to contact our
local high school psychology teachers. I now have met three times with the high
school teacher here in Emporia, twice while supervising a student teacher. This
fall we will be presenting in each other’s classes. I have invited her to be my
guest at the 1995 Great Plains Students’ Psychology Convention to be hosted at
Emporia State University. Slowly, a professional bond is forming. I have much to
learn about the high school world, but the discipline is well-served by such
contacts.
The insert in this issue describes the program for the joint
Division Two–CTUP Pre-Conference Workshop on August 10 in New York City. The
program features an abundance of outstanding teachers and sessions packed into a
terrific day. Also featured in this issue on page 9 is the Second Annual
American Psychological Society’s Institute on the Teaching of Psychology, June
29 in New York City. Thanks to Doug Bernstein and Lauren Bitler for supplying
the information.
Ken Elliott, University of Maine-Augusta, is interested
in learning from CTUP members (or anyone else) their experiences/plans/hopes for
distance learning in psychology. You can contact Ken at University
Heights, Augusta, ME 04330, 207-621-3229, ELLIOTTK@MAINE.MAINE.EDU.
My
apologies for the lateness of the fall issue, especially to members like those
in the midwest who rely on the newsletter for information about the regional
CTUP Call for Papers. The targeted delivery date for the fall newsletter is
October 1, and you certainly can expect to see the next issue in your mailbox by
this date.
APPLAUSE
Frederick Meeker, former CTUP
Western region coordinator, for his excellent work on the new membership flyer
which appears on p. 10. Remember our membership contest–cash prizes for faculty
development to those who recruit the most!! Jay Brophy, University of
Central Florida, and Ken Beauchamp, University of the Pacific, and their
departments for copying and mailing the newsletters. Maureen Hester for
her leadership over the past two years as president. Jane Halonen on the
upcoming completion of six years of CTUP leadership. The council is most
fortunate to have had these two at its helm. But lest we forget, the real work
of CTUP occurs at the regional level. A hearty thanks to all the regional
coordinators whose diligent efforts constitute CTUP’s life force. They are
listed on page 11.
CTUP Regional Convention Program
Highlights
Eastern: Symposium on “Optimizing Student Learning in large size
psychology classes” followed by conversation hour. G. Stanley Hall lecture
(co-sponsored with Division Two) “Clinical Psychology in the 21st Century:
Meeting the Challenge of Diversity,” Lillian Comas-Diaz. Conversation with
Distinguished Teacher of Psychology, Neil R. Carlson.
Rocky Mountain:
Invited address “Perceptions of Passion: Teaching the Topic of Love from a
Physiological Perspective,” Gordon Hodge. Panel discussion on “Controversies in
Students’ Evaluations of Teaching.” Poster session on teaching issues. Teaching
Take-out of activities and demonstrations.
Southeastern: Two
sessions of Friday Morning Live–Demonstration of Teaching Activities. Two
sessions on Instructional Videos for Psychology (co-sponsored with Psi Beta). G.
Stanley Hall lecture (co-sponsored with Division Two) The Eyes (and Ears) Have
It: Perceptual Competence During Infancy” Margaret Matlin.
Southwestern: Invited addresses: “What Teaching
Literatures Teach Teaching Psychologists,” Neil Lutsky; “Why I Don’t Want to Do
This!,” Jane Halonen; “It All Begins and Ends with Teaching,” Stephen F. Davis.
Workshops: “Everything You Wanted to Know about the Internet, but Were Afraid to
Ask: Internet for Beginners” and “Using the Internet in Teaching : A Tell-All
Session,” Symposium on “Obedience Training for Graduate and Undergraduate
Students: Mentor-Protegé Relationships.
American Psychological Society’s Institute on
the Teaching of Psychology
June 29, New York City
The second annual Institute will convene at the Sheraton New York Hotel and
Towers in midtown Manhattan in conjunction with the APS convention, June 29–July
2. This one-day preconference is open to psychology teachers at two- and
four-year colleges and universities, graduate students, and others with an
interest in teaching.
The event begins with plenary
speaker Robert J. Sternberg discussing the application of contemporary theories
of intelligence to the teaching of psychology. Next, a set of concurrent session
covers the following topics: Deborah Boehm-Davis presents on the inclusion of
human factors and ergonomic principles in course instruction, John T. Cacioppo
speaks on the value of some “self-evident” psychological truths, and Douglas
Kenrick explores an emerging integrative paradigm for psychology arising out of
evolutionary psychology and cognitive science. The second set of concurrent
sessions occurs after two sets of posters and participant idea exchanges and
features Martin Fishbein on behavioral research and intervention, Evelyn
Satinoff on biological rhythms in biopsychology, and Martin E. Seligman on
therapies to prevent depression in children. Closing plenary speaker Carol S.
Dweck returns to the topic of intelligence with a discussion on how students’
theories about their intelligence affect their learning. For more information,
contact Ann Kwiatkowski, Meetings Manager, at the APS Office (202-783-2077, FAX
202-783-2083, e-mail ANNEK@BITNIC.EDUCOM.EDU).
Significant Difference Editorial Staff: Ken Weaver, Editor, and Maureen
Hester
CTUP lifetime membership is $10; send check payable to CTUP to
Maureen Hester, Department of Psychology, Holy Names College, 3500 Mountain
Boulevard, Oakland, CA 94619-1699 (510-436-1069). For the newsletter, please
send news items, special accomplishments, suggestions, and comments to Ken
Weaver, Department of Psychology, Box 4031, Emporia State University, 66801-5087
(316-341-5317) or e-mail to WEAVERKE@ESUVM1.EMPORIA.EDU.