Understanding characteristics that contribute to psychology students' academic success is important to better support them during their studies. Referring to person-environment fit theory, we examined effects of study-relevant characteristics (self-efficacy beliefs, self-assessed level of information about the study program) on subjective criteria…

The initial year of university is often a sensitive period for new students. Commencing students may lack the necessary skills and resources to adapt to unfamiliar learning environments. One intervention demonstrating academic benefits is Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS). PASS is a structured peer led study group where students collectively…

This paper reports the development of a fixed-choice test for the assessment of basic knowledge in psychology, for use with undergraduate as well as graduate students. Test content is selected based on a core concepts approach and includes a sample of concepts which are indexed most frequently in common introductory psychology textbooks. In a…

In three separate introductory psychology classes over a three-year period, I tested whether over 600 students' exam scores were associated with the use of textbook technology supplements (TTSs). Each class used a different textbook and a different TTS ("Learnsmart," "PsychPortal," and "Aplia"). In general, students…

Two studies explored conceptual change in undergraduate psychology students' acceptance of the scientific foundations of the discipline. In Study 1, Introductory Psychology students completed the Psychology as Science questionnaire (PAS) at the beginning and end of the semester and did so from their own (Self Condition) and their instructors'…

In this study the relationship between intended course objectives and teaching effectiveness was investigated. Teaching effectiveness was indexed through student evaluations of teaching (SETs) and lecturer self-evaluations (LSEs), with a focus on course evaluation. Rated learning of intended course objectives was derived by two parallel…

Higher student enrolment at North American tertiary institutions over the last decade has led to a greater reliance on lecturing in large classes (i.e., 50 students or more). The efficiency of lecturing as a method of instruction can sometimes come at the cost of student interaction, engagement, critical thinking and satisfaction. Implementing…

The current study examined approaches to teaching in a postgraduate psychology sample. This included considering teaching-focused (information transfer) and student-focused (conceptual changes in understanding) approaches to teaching. Postgraduate teachers of psychology (N = 113) completed a questionnaire measuring their use of a teacher- or…

History of psychology students wrote essays about historical figures and counterfactual events. A linguistic analysis of the essays revealed that counterfactual assignments included more auxiliary verbs and more references to tentativeness and the future. More important, scores on the counterfactual assignments but not the historical figure…

The current study examined if correlations between statistics anxiety and dimensions of perfectionism (adaptive and maladaptive) were present amongst a sample of psychology graduate students (N = 96). Results demonstrated that scores on the APS-R Discrepancy scale, corresponding to maladaptive perfectionism, correlated with higher levels of…

First- and final-year undergraduate students have unique transition issues. To support both the transition of first-year students into the program, and the transition of third-year students out of the program and into the workforce or further study, a face-to-face peer mentoring program was embedded into the first-year psychology curricula at RMIT…