A Case Study of Argumentation at Undergraduate Level in History

This article examines two essays by undergraduate students in the first year of study in History at a university in the UK. It also draws on documentary evidence from the department in question and interviews with the students themselves to paint a picture of the way argumentation operates at this level. While no firm conclusions can be drawn, the evidence suggests a department with a high degree of awareness of the importance of argument and argumentation in studying History; and students who are aware and articulate about the problem facing them in constructing essays in the discipline. Suggestions are made about induction into the epistemological and argumentative demands of undergraduate study.     

Design and use of a U.S. census data computer laboratory for teaching undergraduate research methods

This paper discusses the design and development of an interdisciplinary social science computer laboratory for teaching undergraduate research methods courses and research components of applied and theoretical courses. The U.S. Census of the Population, a database commonly used in all of the social sciences, is used in order to give students research experience and to avoid ethical problems involved in working with animal and human subjects in an undergraduate course. Some issues in laboratory design and required changes in teaching methods are discussed.     

A forgotten resource critical to the future of behavior analysis: undergraduate psychology majors

The demand for board-certified applied behavior analysts is not being met, and there is a perception that fewer students are exposed to systematic courses in basic and applied behavior analysis than was true a generation ago. This article outlines how we have successfully implemented an undergraduate curriculum in behavior analysis within a traditional department of psychology. Certification credentials offered by the Behavior Analysis Certification Board facilitated the approval of this curriculum, and the cultural practice selection contingencies that supported the creation of our curriculum in behavior analysis may be similar at other comprehensive universities. Advice for developing an undergraduate program in behavior analysis within a psychology department is outlined. We also summarize strategies we have used to attract talented students to the courses and the significant impact these strategies have had on the number of our graduates who pursue graduate training in basic and applied behavior analysis. Attracting the best and brightest students to behavior analysis is critical to the future of the field.     

Computers in psychology: A survey of instructional applications

This paper describes the results of a survey of psychology department chairpersons and faculty concerning the use of instructional computing in undergraduate instruction. The survey summarizes characteristics of departments and faculty, past and future change in instructional computing, current instructional computing activities, and perceived needs for future development in this rapidly changing area.     

Reward Allocations to the Extremely Mobile Employee: A Qualification of Rational Selective Exploitation

In Experiment 1, undergraduate students role-played the position of a university department head dividing rewards among a group of six hypothetical employees who varied in competence (high or low) and mobility (high, medium, or low). The departments were described as being either high, medium, or low in available rewards, and being in a high-, medium- or low-demand field. As predicted, there was a quadratic relationship between reward allocation and mobility, with greatest rewards given at the intermediate level of mobility. Experiment 2 explored the same questions, except that actual university department heads divided rewards among the same six hypothetical employees as though they were members of their own department. Department heads were grouped on the basis of the actual resources in their department and the availability of faculty in their field. There was a quadratic relationship between faculty mobility and reward allocations; this effect was most evident for high competence employees under conditions of moderate reward scarcity.     

"Golden oldies" in a laboratory course in the experimental analysis of behavior

A common problem in teaching undergraduate courses in the experimental analysis of behavior (EAB) is that the contemporary research literature is largely not comprehensible to most undergraduates. A suggested solution is the use of research articles from the early days of EAB. These are not only easy to understand but provide additional educational benefits. A reading list and an organizational structure for an undergraduate laboratory course in EAB are suggested.     

The psychology laboratory at the turn of the 20th century

The author provides a brief history of the psychology laboratory from 1879 to 1900, discusses its crucial role in the founding of scientific psychology, and describes how it enabled psychology's separation from philosophy. The laboratory model is described as a research and graduate training enterprise that operated with K. Danziger's (1990) concept of a "community of scholars" and was eventually extended to the training of undergraduate students.     

Conversation: The challenges of teaching in a “nano department”

A panel at the 2016 American Academy of Religion conference staged, taped, transcribed, and edited this conversation about the challenges and opportunities of teaching in a “nano department” – an undergraduate religion or religious studies department (or combined religion and philosophy department) with only one, two, or three faculty members. Two things quickly become evident: one is the impossibility of coverage of the full religious studies curriculum, and the other is the necessity for collaboration with other departments. Neither of these is unique to nano departments, but there exists an intimacy between students and faculty in small departments, a necessary freedom to rethink the place of the study of religion in the liberal arts curriculum, and a disruptive value in what can be critiqued and contributed from a marginalized position. Arguably, nano departments are the canaries in the academic coal mine, charting the future of the humanities that cannot be discerned from the vantage point of Research‐1 contexts.     

Getting an on-line departmental teaching laboratory on-line

The major problems faced in building a department-wide undergraduate, computer-based teaching laboratory are discussed: selling the concept of the “ultimate dry lab,” assembling the hardware, motivating and rewarding faculty and staff effort, devising a systems approach for curriculum design, and program evaluation.     

Motivation under the microscope: Understanding undergraduate science students’ multiple motivations for research

Little is known about students’ motivations toward scientific research or the implications of pursuing multiple research motivations simultaneously. We conducted latent profile analysis (a person-centered statistical technique) on 1,052 undergraduate students from three universities enrolled in physics, chemistry, and biology laboratory sections. Based on a tripartite model that conceptualizes research motivations as intrinsic, extrinsic, and failure avoidant, analyses revealed five distinct research motivational profiles which were described as Unmotivated; Neutral Engagement, Ternary-Driven; Emerging Engagement; and High Engagement. Profile membership was associated with differences in science class experiences, science identity, and future research intentions. Results showed students were optimally motivated toward science when highly endorsing both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, with low failure avoidance. These findings contribute to the literature on self-determination theory, intrinsic motivation and multiple goals, and these data create a framework for understanding undergraduate science laboratory experiences that may aid in efforts to broaden the participation of students in science.     

Social cues, cognitive style, error magnitude, and male performance on the Felt Figure Replacement Technique.

A series of studies was undertaken to determine possible factors contributing to low predictive utility for Felt Figure Replacement Technique (FFRT) scores from normal, adult males. It was first postulated that normal adult males, compared to normal adult females, are less sensitive to social cues present in the FFRT task. Twenty-six undergraduate males and the same number of undergraduate females were asked to replace both a) department store manikins, thought to be less abstract, and then b) felt figures. While task differences were obtained, these were not dependent on gender, nor did any overall gender differences occur for three types of replacement error. The second study involved 31 college males and 33 college females replacing both felt figures and a male and female confederate. It was assumed that differential attention to social cues would be more visible in this comparison. The general results were identical to the first study.     

Application of color displays to problems in the undergraduate laboratory

Some topics in psychology are difficult to master without dynamic visual displays. This paper describes a few applications of computer-driven color graphics displays in an undergraduate laboratory in neuropsychology. The paper includes the advantages, disadvantages, and cost of this approach, as well as student reactions and evaluations.     

The Influence of an Undergraduate Conflict-Resolution Course to Effect Change in Student Cognitions,Attitudes and Behaviors in Their Personal Relationships

Abstract

A pre-post analysis of an undergraduate class in conflict resolution offered by the Religious Studies department of a liberal arts Christian university in central Alberta was conducted. Eight different conflict-resolution classes over a stretch of five years (N?=?289) completed a 26-item questionnaire early in the term and then completed the same questionnaire on the final day of class. Nineteen of the items dealt with cognitions and attitudes about resolving conflict. The other seven items assessed behavioral outcomes. Results found that students improved from pre to post in all 26 items, 23 of them significantly. Findings concerning gender differences, differences between romantically attached couples and non-romantic dyads, and changes in effectiveness over time are also discussed. Findings suggest that an undergraduate class in conflict resolution can be of substantial benefit to students in their personal relationships.     

Using microcomputers to control student-designed research in a research methods course

Microcomputers may be used to simulate traditional equipment in the psychology laboratory, such as tachistoscopes, memory drums, and reaction timers. With the diminishing price of microcomputers, such simulation is especially attractive, since it is considerably less expensive than the original special-purpose equipment, and also allows greater versatility. The undergraduate laboratory described here requires only inexpensive microcomputers, simple experimental control programs, and little or no additional peripheral equipment.     

Getting started with microcomputers in undergraduate education: Hints and guidelines

Microcomputers can serve many functions in undergraduate education, including control of laboratory experiments, presentation of classroom demonstrations, generation of handouts, and monitoring student performance. Panel members of a symposium presented several general guidelines for the use of microcomputers, and specific guidelines for selecting and purchasing equipment and for daily operation of a microcomputer facility.     

Developing a microcomputer laboratory at a small liberal arts college

This paper summarizes the development and initial implementation of a network of micro- computers for use by undergraduate psychology students at a small liberal arts college. We describe the hardware and the software, the general development plan, and some problems that should be considered by others who may plan to develop a similar laboratory.     

An on-line psychology laboratory for teaching and research

This paper describes a PDP-15 timesharing system in which on-line experimentation and an undergraduate laboratory course co-exist with many other users. Design features include precise stimulus and response timing, easy experiment programming, easy system access, and 15 or more simultaneous users. Students can be both experimenters and subjects in realistic, variable course modules.     

Self-reported proclivity to harass as a moderator of the effectiveness of sexual harassment-prevention training

The interaction between the likelihood of males engaging in sexual harassment and the effectiveness of a 1-hr. sexual harassment-prevention training was explored in a laboratory study. An interaction of scores on the Likelihood to Sexually Harass Scale and training condition for 90 undergraduate men was found, such that sexual harassment-prevention training had a small negative effect on the attitudes of males with a high proclivity to harass.