During the past decades, little research has investigated the effects of immersion scheduling on the psychology classroom. Therefore, we sought to compare academic performance of students in 2-week immersion psychology courses to that of students in traditional 16-week courses. In Study 1, students who received instruction in a 2-week immersion…

Although past research has documented the prevalence of misconceptions in introductory psychology classes, few studies have assessed how readily upper-level undergraduate and graduate students endorse erroneous beliefs about the discipline. In Study 1, we administered a 30-item misconception test to an international sample of 670 undergraduate,…

This study describes the use of a collaborative learning approach in a psychological statistics course and examines the factors that predict which students benefit most from such an approach in terms of learning outcomes. In a course format with a substantial group work component, 166 students were surveyed on their preference for individual…

This study aimed to determine whether taking a chronological approach (CA) or topical approach (TA) to teaching developmental psychology resulted in different learning outcomes. Across two semesters, in four classes, 354 students participated (M[subscript age] = 19.76, SD[subscript age] = 2.93 years), 66% identifying as female. One instructor…

The use of student management teams (SMTs) is a relatively new teaching technique designed to increase the quality of college courses and student performance and engagement within those courses. However, to date, little systematic, empirical research has validated the effectiveness of using SMTs. To test the effectiveness of this technique, the…

Social presence (represented by salience of instructor and fellow students) in an online teaching environment has been shown to influence perceptions of course activity and self-estimates of learning. An experiment is described here in which teacher presence is manipulated via personalized messages from the teaching assistant throughout the…

In this study, I examined the effects of offering supplemental video lecture recordings to students in a face-to-face introductory psychology course. I employed a quasi-experimental design, in which one section had lectures recordings available (recordings of the face-to-face lecture) and one section did not, and I examined whether class section…

We investigated whether students in psychology-based learning communities (LCs; i.e., cohorts who took introductory psychology and English together) performed better on psychology tests than those in standard classes. There were two types of LC; in one (connected LC), we created links between English and psychology by using English class readings…

Student response systems (SRSs) are reported to increase student interest, interaction, and engagement and result in "deeper" learning. However, the effects on learning are still suspect. Here, outcomes were compared for students in SRS and traditional sections of 200-level and 500-level psychology courses. Results showed SRS students…

Jigsaw classroom research has primarily explored racial relationships at the primary and secondary educational levels. The present study explored whether the jigsaw classroom would have an effect on students' attitudes about their own academic abilities and practices at the university level. The present study also sought to illuminate the…

Differences in students' academic self-efficacy and motivation were examined in predicting preferred teacher traits. Undergraduates (261) completed the Teaching Behavior Checklist, Academic Self-Concept scale, and Academic Motivation scale. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that academic self-efficacy and extrinsic motivation explained…

Rapport between students and teachers leads to numerous positive student outcomes, including attitudes toward the teacher and course, student motivation, and perceived learning. The recent development of a Professor-Student Rapport scale offers assessment of this construct. However, a Cronbach's [alpha] of 0.96 indicated item redundancy, and the…

This study assessed the relationships among the accuracy of grade predictions, actual grades, self-enhancement bias, and attributions about academic performance. As a group, students anticipated higher grades than were earned. Individual differences in self-enhancement bias were measured using the discrepancy between anticipated and attained…

Over 5 semesters and 10 sections, students in a 300-level research methods course used clickers to respond to knowledge-based and opinion/attitude questions about clicker use, the effectiveness of assignments, self-confidence regarding skills and abilities, and more. Changes during the semester and student answers to questions about pedagogy and…

We investigated Montepare's (2005, 2007) self-correcting procedure for multiple-choice exams. Findings related to memory suggest this procedure should lead to improved retention by encouraging students to distribute the time spent reviewing the material. Results from a general psychology class (n = 98) indicate that the benefits are not as…