Lecture 7: A Guide for Success in Psychology: Classes, Psi Chi, Practicum, Research, Honors.

Lecture 7:A Guide for Success in Psychology:

Classes, Psi Chi, Practicum, Research, Honors.

I. INTRODUCTIONA. Realizing you future

The goal of this week’s lectures is to help you figure out how to be successful as an undergraduate student in psychology. Some of you are juniors and seniors, what do you

wish you knew about college when you started that you know now?

What do you think is important for success in psychology as an undergraduate student?

What do you think your professors think is important for success in psychology?

Are the two different?

I. INTRODUCTIONA. Realizing you future

I will give you my account of being successful Some of this is base don Landrum and Davis

(Chapter 7, 8, and 11)

Critical Issues Courses

Selecting the right courses and faculty members.

One-on-One courses Going outside the classroom

Other Activities. Getting involved with Psychology.

II. COURSESA. Introduction

Which courses should successful undergraduate students take? Courses should reflect thoughtful decisions

regarding a number of critieria Characteristics of the courses.

Online or face-to-face? Demanding or Easy? Goal-directed?

Characteristics of the Professors. Reputation vs. Reality Teaching style Learning styles

II. COURSESB. Courses

One category of courses is on-line vs. face-to-face. How many of you have taken an on-line course?

Positive characteristics Negative characteristics

What take an on-line course Availability argument is insufficient! Which courses may be good to take on-line?

Skill-based and goal transparent

Which course may be bad to take on-line Conceptually-based and goal opaque


Another category of courses is easy vs. difficult courses What makes a course difficult or easy?

Level of work; Preparedness (amount and value of background

knowledge) Level of “reach”

Why take a difficult course? Required Exploration Self-test


Taking a difficult course: A survivors guide. Strategies prior to the course

Get Prepared Get the textbook, syllabus, other students’ notes. Talk to students and faculty to get tips etc.

Strategies during the course Do the work regularly

Mass vs. distributed studying on learning

Monitor your progress Avail yourself of opportunities (SI, informal quizzes, study

groups; etc) Deal with problems immediately, by keeping faculty informed.


Take course that fit your career and personal goals You may have multiple goals

Graduation Preparation for graduate school or careers Self-reflection or personal journeys Intrinsic interest

What are your goals for your undergraduate degree? Goal prioritization

Figure out your goals and the order of their importance. These goals and their order may have to be revised.


Course required for graduation Core requirements

Some but limited choices of course, but wider choice of faculty (see next section)

Core requirements constitute 25 credit hours or about 70 % of your major

Core General Courses (10 hours) Introduction to Psychology; Statistics; Methods

Core Content Courses (15 hours) Biopsychology; Abnormal Psychology; Developmental

(Child Adolescence); Experimental (Learning or Cognitive); Social/Individual (Social or Personality)


Course required for graduation Elective requirements

Much wider choices of course, but narrower choice of faculty.

Core requirements constitute 11 credit hours or about 30% of your major

Electives Group A: Area Specialization Courses Content courses (e.g., generally has a textbook)

Electives Group B: Individualized Instruction and Experiential Courses Includes research, directed readings and practicum

courses (next section) but also personal growth and interest courses.


Which course should you take for graduate school or a career. Only really have Electives to choose from (30% of

the major requirements) The good news is that Require Courses are good for

the career and graduate school Major courses offer…

A set of valuable skills: Statistics and Research A breadth of knowledge: Understand human being as

biological and social entities A depth of knowledge: Key theoretical ideas are covered.


Norcross, Hanych, & Terranova, (1996) survey of undergrad psychology courses required by graduate schools.

I. COURSESB. Professors

Graduate School/Career Elective course We will discuss research and practicum experiences

in the next section Beyond those courses which course should you be

taking to fulfill graduate school or career goals? Here the two paths diverge.

Elective Courses for Jobs Applied courses (get real-world experience) Skill based courses (Resume building) Strategically advantagous courses (Contacts etc.)

I. COURSESB. Professors

Elective Courses for Graduate School Computer science courses.

Computer skills are moderately important for admission to doctoral programs (Eddy, Lloyd, & Lubin, 1987).

A broad undergraduate background in the arts and sciences. Biological sciences, math competency, and verbal skills

are highly valued (Keith-Spiegel, 1991).

Public speaking courses. If you are anxious or phobic regarding oral presentations,

then by all means complete a public speaking course.


Elective Courses for Graduate school Composition and writing courses.

You may well face three or four major papers each semester in graduate school. Get ready now!

Advanced or graduate statistics course. Statistical acumen is highly regarded, especially in

research-oriented programs, and advanced knowledge may pave the way for funding as a graduate assistant or research assistant. Learning one of the major statistical packages--Statistical Analysis System (SAS), Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), or BioMedical Data Package (BMDP) is a definite advantage.

II. COURSESC. Professors

Picking a good professor for you is sometimes as hard as picking good courses, maybe harder. After freshman year, each faculty member come

with a reputation. Should you trust others’ opinions of faculty

members? Yes

It can prepare you for what to expect and steer you away from faculty from whom you will not learn

No Your friends or acquaintances may have their own reasons for

praising or trashing a professor (elf-serving biases).


For Professors with Bad Reputations Prepare yourself for a tough course Try to understand what the professor is trying to

accomplish and decide whether that is a goal you share.

If there is a problem (as with any professor), document, document, document! Does of complaining

Check the student code for violation of rights (do not assume meanness is a violation) and go the chair

Don’ts of complaining DO not overreach (prof will llikely not be fired)!


For Professors with Good Reputations Do not prepare yourself for an easy course Try to get the best out of the professor for yourself.

Figure out their strengths and go after it. It is OK to pursue…

After class discussions Information about extra readings Various professional or academic opportunities

Faculty with good reputations have students how form an informal network.

Become a member of the network Drop the fact you took that professor


Teaching Styles Cool vs. Warm Story tellers (Narrative) vs. Fact conveyers (Analytic) Controlled classroom vs. Open classroom Demanding vs. Easy Lecture-oriented vs. Discussion-oriented Rigid vs. Flexible Formal vs. Casual Talking down vs. Talking at Focus on doing vs. understanding Experiential vs. Verbal


Learning Styles Students need to AT FIRST figure out the teaching

style which best fits with their learning style Ask yourself…

What characteristics of faculty members do I think I respond to the best/least?

Why would these characteristics have such an impact my learning

Reflect back on teachers in whose class you excelled or bombed

What did the positive/negative professor do to engage and motivate you?

Why did those professor have such an impact


Learning Styles Students then need to figure out how best to

accommodate to professors whose teaching style does not fit with their learning style.

Ask yourself… How can I translate the material into a form I best

appreciate. How can I transform the experience into a positive one

for me. What can I legitimately request the professor do to

improve the situation for me.

II. COURSESD. Doing Well in your courses

Study Tips Schedule Attitude Routine Setting Study Place Time of Studying (the psychopharmacology of learning) Breaks (Psychology of learning) Campus Resources (Writing center; Math tutor, Psych

Tutor) Study groups Study smart Remember college is not high school.


Critical Reading of the Textbook: SQ3R Survey (2 minute):

Before beginning reading look through the whole chapter. See what the headings are—the major ones and the subheadings; hierarchical structures seem to be particularly easy for our brains to latch onto—check for introductory and summary paragraphs, references, etc.

Resist reading at this point, but see if you can identify 3 to 6 major ideas in the chapter.

Question (usually less than 30 seconds): Ask yourself what this chapter is about: What is the

question that this chapter is trying to answer?


Critical Reading of the Textbook: SQ3R Question continued:

What question do I have that this chapter might help answer? Repeat this process with each subsection of the chapter, as well, turning each heading into a question. (As a variation of this technique, you can write the important question down; this is called SQW3R)

Read (at your own pace): Read one section at a time looking for the answer to the

question proposed by the heading. This is active reading and requires concentration so find yourself a place and time where you can concentrate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Active_reading&action=edit&redlink=1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention


Critical Reading of the Textbook: SQ3R Recite/write (about a minute):

Say to yourself out loud or write down a key phrase that sums up the major point of the section and answers the question Use your own words, not just copy a phrase from the book.

Review (less than 5 minutes): A After repeating steps 2–4 for each section you have a list

of key phrases that provides an outline for the chapter. Test yourself by covering up the key phrases and seeing if you

can recall them. Do this right after you finish reading the chapter. If you can't recall one of your major points, that's a section you need to reread.


Critical Listening of Lectures: Active Listening Review material ahead and after Do not try to be a tape recorder Ask Questions!!! Follow available PowerPoints

PowerPoint and learning Use PowerPoint slides as offering the professor’s perspective on

the textbook and not a substitute for the textbook. Look for similarities and differences in organization or content

and ask why?

III. ONE-ON-ONE COURSESA. Introduction

Three kind of One-On-One courses to consider Research

Projects and Research; Psy 2800 and Psy 4800 Capstone Research; Psy 4910)

Directed Readings Psy 2830; 4830

Practicum Psy 4380; Psy 4390

These may be the most valuable courses you take and the ones you learn the most from!

III. ONE-ON-ONE COURSESB. Research

Research There are lots of ways of getting involved in

research. Slowly and Carefully

Take a lower division research courses for 1 credit and see if you like it: Brock Frost

Quickly and Intensely Take on a serious project Jennifer Cortrell.

Both ended up doing senior theses, presented papers at conferences, published, and got into graduate school!


Model of Research Supervision The apprentice model

Work on faculty project but receive enough space to do your own thing.

Often a close collaboration in which you get to see your professor’s thinking.

The research will be more sophisticated and you need to know how to ask for help (but not all the time).

The Undergraduate Researcher model Work on your project which is supervised by faculty

Supervision may be different for different faculty Keep faculty member close and solicit help where needed.


Things you need to do to be involved in research Think about your interests Find a faculty mentor who has the expertise to

supervise your project. Decide what model of supervision you wish to adopt

and negotiate with the faculty member. Set up reasonable expectations, goals, and deadlines. Communicate about failure to reach expectations,

goals, and deadlines

III. ONE-ON-ONE COURSESC. Directed Readings

Directed readings is a lower- or upper-division course in which you review a body of literature Usually requires an extensive literature review. Used by some students as a precursor to Projects

and Research. Can be used for a literature review and research design

opportunity.

Can also be used to acquire specialize knowledge for graduate school or a career. Valuable for faculty to catch up on the literature

(although do not expect them to read every word of every paper)

III. ONE-ON-ONE COURSESC. Directed Readings

Things you need to do to be involved in directed readings Think about your literature you want to review –

Have a view of the topic and scope. Find a faculty mentor who has the expertise to

supervise your reading. Decide what level of involvement you want from a

faculty member. Set up reasonable expectations, goals, and deadlines. Communicate about failure to reach expectations,


III. ONE-ON-ONE COURSESD. Practicum

Practicum involves a position on-site at a supervised psychologically-related job Counseling Center Treehouse Children’s Museum DaVinci Academy of Science and the Arts Tutoring Middle School After School Program (Boys & Girls Club) Teaching Psychology

III. ONE-ON-ONE COURSESD. Practicum

Things you need to do to be involved in practicum Apply

Think about placements and why you are a good fit. Recognize that you are representing WSU and that your

supervisor is legally responsible for your behavior. Think about ethical issues or dilemmas you might

encounter

Set up reasonable expectations, goals, and deadlines. Communicate about failure to reach expectations,


IV. OTHER SORTS OF INVOLVEMENTS A. Introduction

There are other things you can to be a successful undergraduate psychology student. Student Societies

Become part of Psi Chi a national undergraduate psychology honor society.

Also Psy Cho and Psi Alpha Omega Lots of group activities, lectures, and social events.

Professional and Academic Societies and Organizations National: APS and APA; Regional: RMPA

Conference attendance is a terrific experience but even better when you present research.


There are other things you can to be a successful undergraduate psychology student. Lectures and Seminars

Famous psychologist come around every so often Department seminar series Learn about these from the web page. Looks for Psi Chi lectures and events in particular.

Hang out in the department Meet and discuss psychology with fellow students Design a project Work together!


There are other things you can to be a successful undergraduate psychology student. Graduate with Honors

Honors is a distinction which is for your resume but also a rigorous degree program

It means taking 6 credits of course work out of honors. It also means keeping a 3.5 GPA

Finally it means doing a senior thesis. The Senior thesis models a the work involved in a masters or

doctoral project It will be your work. Proposal acceptance and theses defense meetings with other

faculty.

Lecture 7: A Guide for Success in Psychology: Classes, Psi Chi, Practicum, Research, Honors.

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