A comparison of interteaching and lecture in the college classroom

Interteaching is a new method of classroom instruction that is based on behavioral principles but offers more flexibility than other behaviorally based methods. We examined the effectiveness of interteaching relative to a traditional form of classroom instruction-the lecture. In Study 1, participants in a graduate course in special education took short quizzes after alternating conditions of interteaching and lecture. Quiz scores following interteaching were higher than quiz scores following lecture, although both methods improved performance relative to pretest measures. In Study 2, we also alternated interteaching and lecture but counterbalanced the conditions across two sections of an undergraduate research methods class. After each unit of information, participants from both sections took the same test. Again, test scores following interteaching were higher than test scores following lecture. In addition, students correctly answered more interteaching-based questions than lecture-based questions on a cumulative final test. In both studies, the majority of students reported a preference for interteaching relative to traditional lecture. In sum, the results suggest that interteaching may be an effective alternative to traditional lecture-based methods of instruction.     

Interteaching: A strategy for enhancing the user-friendliness of behavioral arrangements in the college classroom

"Interteaching" is an arrangement for college classroom instruction that departs from the standard lecture format and offers an answer to criticisms commonly directed at behavioral teaching techniques. This approach evolved from exploratory use of small-group arrangements and Ferster and Perrott's (1968) "interview technique," leading ultimately to a format that is organized around focused dyadic discussion. Specific suggestions are offered that might enable both seasoned and novice instructors to incorporate this or similar arrangements into their classrooms. This approach retains some key characteristics of Keller's personalized system of instruction and precision teaching, but offers greater flexibility for strategies that are based on behavioral principles.     

Transportability of equivalence-based programmed instruction: efficacy and efficiency in a college classroom

College students in a psychology research-methods course learned concepts related to inferential statistics and hypothesis decision making. One group received equivalence-based instruction on conditional discriminations that were expected to promote the emergence of many untaught, academically useful abilities (i.e., stimulus equivalence group). A negative control group received no instruction, and a positive (complete instruction) control group received instruction on all possible relations (those taught to, and emerging untaught in, the stimulus equivalence group). On posttests, the stimulus equivalence group performed as well as the positive control group (and both outperformed the negative control group), but those in the equivalence-based instruction condition achieved this outcome with significantly less training, thereby demonstrating the efficiency of equivalence-based instruction. Social validity measures indicated that participants found the instruction to be beneficial and as enjoyable as traditional teaching methods.     

Memory modulation in the classroom: selective enhancement of college examination performance by arousal induced after lecture

Laboratory studies examining moderate physiological or emotional arousal induced after learning indicate that it enhances memory consolidation. Yet, no studies have yet examined this effect in an applied context. As such, arousal was induced after a college lecture and its selective effects were examined on later exam performance. Participants were divided into two groups who either watched a neutral video clip (n=66) or an arousing video clip (n=70) after lecture in a psychology course. The final examination occurred two weeks after the experimental manipulation. Only performance on the group of final exam items that covered material from the manipulated lecture were significantly different between groups. Other metrics, such as the midterm examination and the total final examination score, did not differ between groups. The results indicate that post-lecture arousal selectively increased the later retrieval of lecture material, despite the availability of the material for study before and after the manipulation. The results reinforce the role of post-learning arousal on memory consolidation processes, expanding the literature to include a real-world learning context.     

The power of a place: Opening the college classroom to people with serious mental illness

Presented the structure and implementation of a university-based practicum course on social relationships for people with serious mental illness and college undergraduates. Grounded in an ecological view of social settings, cooperative learning models of education and mutual help principles, the practicum was designed to create a collaborative classroom setting where undergraduates and people with serious mental illness could both develop and enhance their own interpersonal skills and social network ties. The practicum demonstrates how a university can use its resources to help address community needs while simultaneously enhancing its mission of teaching and research. The role of social context in creating collaborative relationships among participants and the use of the university as a community resource are discussed.     

Ethics in the classroom

In this paper, we describe our recent approaches to introducing students in a beginning computer science class to the study of ethical issues related to computer science and technology. This consists of three components: lectures on ethics and technology, in-class discussion of ethical scenarios, and a reflective paper on a topic related to ethics or the impact of technology on society. We give both student reactions to these aspects, and instructor perspective on the difficulties and benefits in exposing students to these ideas.     

Multimedia in the classroom

This paper focuses on setting up a system for developing and displaying multimedia classroom presentations that is both economical and easy to learn. Four separate aspects of the process are considered: (1) a hardware configuration to serve both the development and display processes, (2) selecting authoring software and learning to use it, (3) presentation development including locating and acquiring multimedia resources appropriate to psychology, and (4) some of the problems that can be expected to arise in both development and use of multimedia presentations. Some discussion of interactive courseware is included.     

The effectiveness of collaborative story building and telling in facilitating group cohesion in a college classroom setting

This study tested the notion that the construction and telling of a collaborative group story would facilitate the development of group cohesion within the context of an actual classroom setting over the duration of the course. Participants were 125 students in 8 classes (4 experimental, 4 control) of a group psychotherapy course that focused on the principles and techniques of cognitive behavior therapy in conjunction with psychodrama techniques. Results showed significantly higher cohesion scores in the experimental condition compared to the control condition, suggesting that collaborative story building and telling is a viable strategy for improving group cohesion.     

A comparison of two college classroom testing procedures: required remediation versus no remediation

Forty one subjects from a 10-week introductory course in Educational Psychology were randomly divided into two experimental groups. All students took weekly quizzes over content material. Members of one group received little or no academic credit if they performed at less than 90% on a weekly quiz, but could earn additional credit by taking a weekly remedial quiz. Members of the second group also took the initial weekly quizzes, but retained their raw scores and were not permitted to take the weekly remedial quizzes. Performance on a 100-item multiple-choice comprehensive final revealed a statistically significant and educationally important difference between the two groups, the required-remediation group scoring an average of one-half letter grade higher.     

Reinforcement therapy in the classroom

Teachers were trained in the systematic use of attention and praise to reduce the disruptive classroom behavior of four first-grade children. Observation measures showed a significant improvement from baseline to treatment for these children and no significant changes for same-class controls. While the amount of teacher attention to target children remained the same from baseline to treatment, the proportion of attention to task-relevant behavior of these children increased. Psychological tests revealed no adverse changes after treatment.     

Changing lives in the classroom

This paper sets out to describe the search for solutions as the complexity of the teacher’s role with vulnerable pupils gradually became apparent. The aim is to demonstrate how the application of psychoanalytic theories examining the unconscious processes in individuals and their influence on classroom behaviour enhanced the capabilities of the teacher and helped her to look beyond mere management of behaviour in the classroom. The use of these theories provided a ‘thinking’ space for the teacher whereby teacher–pupil relationships and behaviours could be thought about and ‘contained’ thereby facilitating the teaching process for both teachers and pupils. Examples of classroom practice are provided whereby an applied psychoanalytic framework proved to be a potent source of renewal and increased capacity in the teacher. The active participation of the teacher in her own learning process of applying psychoanalytic concepts contributes to an ongoing, developing project with her pupils.     

Questioning authority in the psychoanalytic classroom

Psychoanalytic educators today, like their predecessors who trained them, struggle to maintain respect for and make use of candidates' various kinds of professional expertise while offering instruction in "the subject." But unlike their predecessors, today's educators teach in the wake of various challenges to authority and knowledge in recent decades from across the disciplines. Some of the most important work of teaching in this context begins when teachers recognize that they have assumed the position of objectivity in the classroom--that they have closed down the possibilities for open discussion--and figure out (with and in front of their students) what to do next.