TRAVELING PSYCHOLOGY FAIR: LEARNER-CENTERED …

[Pages:46]TRAVELING PSYCHOLOGY FAIR: LEARNER-CENTERED OUTREACH ACTIVITIES

TO STIMULATE INTEREST IN PSYCHOLOGY

Andrew T. Johnson and B. Jean Mandernach, Park University (2003 Instructional Resource Award recipients)

Overview

The Traveling Psychology Fair is designed to bridge the gap between secondary and college psychology education, encourage enthusiasm for the study of psychology, enhance teaching resources for high school psychology instructors, and promote a deeper understanding of psychological principles for psychology majors. Consisting of 24 outreach activities, grouped into 12 categories, the Traveling Psychology Fair enlivens the teaching and learning of introductory psychology concepts by engaging undergraduate psychology majors in the facilitation of interactive, learner-centered activities for high school psychology students.

Outline of Contents

Introduction Implementing a Traveling Psychology Fair Outreach Activities

History and Critical Thinking (2 activities) Neuroscience (3 activities) Human Development (2 activities) Sensation and Perception (2 activities) Consciousness (2 activities) Learning (2 activities) Memory (2 activities) Cognition and Intelligence (2 activities) Emotion (1 activity) Personality (2 activities) Psychological Disorders and Treatment (2 activities) Social Psychology (2 activities)

_______________________________________ Author contact information: Andrew T. Johnson, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Box 53, Park University, 8700 NW River Park Drive, Parkville, MO 64152 (ajohnson@mail.park.edu)

Copyright 2006 by Andrew T. Johnson and B. Jean Mandernach. All rights reserved. You may reproduce multiple copies of this material for your own personal use, including use in your classes and/or sharing with individual colleagues as long as the authors' names and institutions and the Office of Teaching Resources in Psychology heading or other identifying information appear on the copies document. No other permission is implied or granted to print, copy, reproduce, or distribute additional copies of this material. Anyone who wishes to produce copies for purposes other than those specified above must obtain the permission of the authors.

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Introduction

To foster a greater understanding of the diverse field of psychology, a Traveling Psychology Fair was created with the primary aim of stimulating interest in psychology among high school students and promoting service learning in undergraduate psychology majors. The goals of the Traveling Psychology Fair were to:

? strengthen a seamless educational experience between local high schools, community colleges, and traditional universities;

? foster a working relationship between psychology faculty and local high school psychology teachers;

? provide college-level psychology students the opportunity to gain professional presentation and educational outreach experience as they deepen their understanding of basic psychological concepts;

? implement a form of service learning that will allow college-level psychology students the opportunity to adopt the social role of a psychology instructor;

? introduce high school psychology teachers to a range of novel demonstrations and activities to enhance their teaching repertoire; and

? encourage enthusiasm in the study of psychology for both high school and college students.

Most psychology fairs are hosted at a centralized location in which high-school psychology students must travel to the fair site to view presentations and activities. The time-intensive nature of hosting this type of educational fair mandates that many schools/students are invited to participate in order to offset monetary and time investments. Despite the natural educational gains available through exposure to novel psychological information, the scale of a typical psychology fairs limits the individualized interactions or hands-on experiences of each student. In contrast to this traditional approach, the Traveling Psychology Fair is a mobile instructional model that transports the psychology experience to the individual high schools. As such, it creates a more personalized, individual forum for student interaction with engaging activities that promote learner-centered interaction focusing on key concepts in psychology.

Key to the success of the Traveling Psychology Fair is the use of undergraduate psychology majors as the facilitators and leaders of the outreach fair activities. The use of undergraduate students as leaders allowed for more one-on-one interaction with high school students than is available when outreach activities are presented by a limited number of faculty members. Although the greatest benefit rests with the educational opportunities for high school students, the Traveling Psychology Fair also provides a unique opportunity for college-level psychology students to gain valuable service learning experience. In addition to enhancing their own knowledge of psychology through the preparation of their outreach activities, undergraduate students are able to share their enthusiasm of psychology while increasing their involvement in the larger discipline.

Implementing a Traveling Psychology Fair

Originally, the vision of the Traveling Psychology Fair was to delegate undergraduate students to create and manage fair activities as a component of their involvement in Psychology Club and/or Psi Chi. Experience quickly revealed that most psychology students had extreme difficulty creating appropriate and effective outreach demonstrations. As a result, it was more effective and efficient to have faculty serve as coordinators to schedule, create and oversee outreach presentations while the undergraduate students facilitated the fair activities. Feedback

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from high school psychology instructors indicated that the high school students were particularly engaged by the novelty of having college students present the activities. One of the most important outcomes of the Traveling Psychology Fair experience is the realization that psychology is exciting and engaging. By involving undergraduate students in presenting the outreach activities, enthusiasm for the discipline is passed to the next generation to ensure ongoing interest in the field of psychology.

The diverse range of issues in psychology provides a wealth of potential topics for psychology fair activities. The following outreach activities proved to be engaging, effective Traveling Psychology Fair presentations:

History and Critical Thinking ? An Interactive Timeline of the History of Psychology ? Critical Thinking with MindTrap

Neuroscience ? Phrenology and the Localization of Brain Functioning ? Using the Energy Ball to Explain Neural Conduction ? The Brain: Watch It Wiggle!

Human Development ? Developing the Cognitive Ability of Conservation ? Concept Formation

Sensation and Perception ? Am I Seeing Straight? Perceptual Adaptation and Distortion Goggles ? The Stroop Task

Consciousness ? Finger Twirling is So Easy! ? Selective Attention: Are You Picking Up What I am Laying Down?

Learning ? Using Operant Conditioning to Shape a Novel Behavior ? Response Rates as a Function of Reinforcement Schedules

Memory ? Demonstrating the Capacity of Short-Term Memory ? Tying Your Shoe is Difficult

Cognition and Intelligence ? From Point A to Point B: Using Our Cognitive Maps ? Multiple Intelligences

Emotion ? Identifying Emotion as a Function of Facial Expression

Personality ? Evaluating the Accuracy of Personality Profiles: The Barnum Effect ? Projective Tests and Kokology

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Psychological Disorders and Treatment ? Stigma of Mental Illness in the Movies ? Using ELIZA to Demonstrate Client-Centered Therapy

Social Psychology ? Personal Space Requirements ? Internalization of Gender Roles and Expectations Outreach Activities

The following pages provide complete descriptions of outreach activities. Each entry summarizes the purpose, materials, costs, time requirements, procedures, tips for engaging students, and suggested readings/websites.

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An Interactive Timeline of the History of Psychology (HISTORY AND CRITICAL THINKING)

Purpose The goal of this activity is to identify and understand theoretical trends in the history of

psychology from early philosophers to modern researchers.

Upon completion of this activity, students will be able to: 1. Understand the progression of psychology as a science; 2. Identify key theorists in the history of psychology; 3. Chronologically list the theoretical movements in psychology; and 4. Understand the social and political contexts that influenced the development of

psychological theories.

Materials Needed ? 3'x6' sheet of banner paper ? 30 3"x5" index cards ? reusable tacky putty or tape ? marker(s) ? access to a lamination machine

Generate a list of important theorists, movements, or events throughout the history of psychology. For each item, print it in large type on an individual index card; laminate the completed index cards.

Fold the banner lengthwise into three rows. In the top row, draw a horizontal line the length of the entire row. Use this line as the basis of your timeline and place dates (years) from 400 BC to the present. To accommodate the lengthy history of psychology without wasting excessive space, you will want to include breaks in the timeline to indicate lapses in time. For example:

-------//-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

400BC 1700

1750

1800

1850

1900

1950

2000

place theorists, movements and events here

-------//-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

400BC 1700

1750

1800

1850

1900

1950

2000

leave this row blank to fold over the middle row during the activity

In the middle row, write each of the theorists, movements, and events (using the same list generated earlier) in correct chronological order on the timeline. The third row is left blank; this row is used to fold over the middle row to hide the correct answers while students are completing the activity. Laminate the entire banner.

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Estimated Costs ? Initial: $5-$10 for paper, lamination, and tacky putty or tape ? Ongoing: $0

Time Required ? Preparation: Allow approximately 2 hours to prepare this activity for the first time. Once timeline banner and theorist/movement/event cards have been created, there is no ongoing preparation time. ? Presentation: This hands-on activity can be completed in approximately 5-10 minutes.

Procedure Hang the banner lengthwise on the wall and fold the third row up/over the middle row

hiding the completed timeline. The top row containing the line with dates should still be visible. Arrange the theorist/movement/event cards in random order and distribute to the students.

Students may work either alone or in a small group to complete the activity. Using only their current knowledge of psychology, instruct students to stick the theorist/movement/event cards on the timeline in chronological order using the tacky putty or tape. Once all students have placed the theorist/movement/event cards on the timeline, reveal the correct order.

Possible discussion topics include: ? The roots of psychology in philosophy and science ? The relationship between social, political factors and psychological theory ? The cumulative building of theoretical ideas ? Major events or breakthroughs in our understanding of psychology

Tips for Engaging Students The timeline activity is most effective when it includes a combination of recognizable

theorists and social or political events. In this way, students can use their understanding of major historical events as a basis from which to anchor progress in psychology.

Suggested Readings ? Today in the History of Psychology () ? Oklahoma State Psychology Museum and Resource Center () ? AllPsych Online () ? History of Psychology Links ()

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Critical Thinking with MindTrap (HISTORY AND CRITICAL THINKING)

Purpose The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate principles of critical thinking by using a

popular game entitled MindTrap.

Upon completion of this activity, students will be able to: 1. Describe the concept of critical thinking; and 2. Describe the process of brainstorming.

Materials Needed ? Pressman Toy Corporation game of MindTrap (available for purchase at )

Estimated Costs ? Initial: $24.99 for the MindTrap game ? Ongoing: $0

Time Required ? Preparation: Allot five minutes to pre-select short questions from the MindTrap game. ? Presentation: The time required depends on the number of questions posed.

Procedure Provide a basic definition of critical thinking and note that critical thinking can be

developed through practice. Then model the brainstorming process, using a simple MindTrap question with accompanying narrative. Continue presenting the remaining MindTrap questions.

Possible discussion questions include: ? How did you solve the questions? ? Did the solutions come faster to you over the number of trials? ? Create your own MindTrap question. ? How will answering these questions impact your problem solving? ? What would happen if you saw these questions again?

Tips for Effectively Engaging Students There may be considerable time differences in solving the questions. Please advise

students not to blurt out the answer. Be sure to emphasize that solving the question is more important than speed. If there are a number of students who have not solved the question, work through it together as a group. This process can introduce strategies and tips that other students may adopt. Many questions are so flexible that they can be used effectively as transitions between other activities.

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Phrenology and the Localization of Brain Functioning (NEUROSCIENCE)

Purpose The goal of this activity is to demonstrate the relationship between early

conceptualizations of the role of the brain in human behavior and our modern understanding about the localization of brain functioning.

Upon completion of this activity, students will be able to: 1. Understand the role of phrenology in early conceptualizations of brain functioning; 2. Identify the lobes of the brain; and 3. Identify key brain structures responsible for various aspects of human thought,

emotion, and behavior.

Materials Needed ? 2 phrenology busts (available for purchase at Lawless Hardware, porphrenhead.html or Ebay, ) ? beige spray paint ? paint markers

Spray paint one phrenology bust a solid beige color. Once the bust has dried, use the paint markers to draw the lobes of the brain and other relevant brain structures. In addition, it is helpful to include the general function of the brain structures.

Estimated Costs ? Initial: $80 for phrenology busts, paint and markers ? Ongoing: $0

Time Required ? Preparation: Allow approximately 1 hour to prepare this activity for the first time (in addition to the preparation time, you will need 24-48 hours to allow paint to dry). you will need to allow time for the paint to dry). Once the activity has been created, there is no ongoing preparation time. ? Presentation: This hands-on activity can be completed in approximately 10 minutes.

Procedure Display the original phrenology bust alongside the bust painted with current brain

structures. Encourage students to compare the two busts. While students examine similarities and differences in the understanding of brain functioning as illustrated by the two busts, discuss phrenology as a precursor to modern neuroscience.

Possible discussion questions include: ? To what extent was the original phrenology identification of brain functioning correct? ? How did phrenology as a science contribute to the development of our current

understanding of the localization of brain functioning? ? What happens when we damage a structure of the brain? Is that ability lost or do

other brain structures compensate? ? What techniques are currently used to monitor brain functioning?

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