Upgrade your tech skills today!

If you are a regular reader of THSP I'm guessing you have some degree of comfort level with technology. Today's post is about a web site that will give you great ideas about how to use technology, both for yourself and in your classroom, and show you how to do it in a very easy manner.

Sue Frantz teaches psychology at Highline Community College near Seattle, and is an amazing technology guru. She has a new website at suefrantz.com but under the name Techology for Teachers this sit has been around for a while. I subscribe to her RSS feed and every week she posts something else that I am vaguely aware of but don't know much about, or she describes how she uses something that I know about but didn't really know how to implement. For example, here are some posts that she has done in the past month:

• how to use Google Calendar to set up your class calendar (and sync it with an Outlook calendar)
• using "around" in Google searches to help detect plagiarism
• how to bundle links - instead of giving students links to seven sites, just use one bundled link
• how to share your phone number with students (without sharing your phone number with students!)

There are many more examples here, but clearly this should show you that Sue is a genius. My advice is to learn from her and then nonchalantly display your knowledge to others at your school. They will think you are brilliant and you'll just smile knowingly. (Not sure if Sue has a tip jar, but she may want to add that feature!)

P.S. Still wondering what that thing at the top is? It's called a QR code and someone can use a mobile phone's camera plus a code-reading app to read the code and go right to a URL without having to know the URL. Cool, huh? The one above was generated for THSP and when scanned will go right to our site. (And yes, I learned about this from Sue Frantz!)

  --posted by Steve

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Visual Jokes in Art History

Psychologists were not the first people to be interested in visual illusions nor the use of illusions or multiple interpretations within a painting.  The January 2011 issue of Smithsonian has a great article called "Feast for the Eyes" along with pictures about the artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo who did such work for the Hapsburg dynasty (in the 1500s) who had humor enough to appreciate his work.  Check out the article at the link above-quite fascinating.

If you like the work of Arcimboldo, check out his complete works on this site.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

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Attribution Error and the Quest for Teacher Quality

This post may be of limited "classroom" use to everyone, but I thought it was an intriguing example of an application of social psychological principles. In her article "Attribution Error and the Quest for Teacher Quality" (Educational Researcher, 39 (8), pg. 591) Mary Kennedy argues that many researchers investigating "teacher quality" may be committing the fundamental attribution error.

Dr. Kennedy's explanation and support for this idea are fleshed out very clearly in the article, but here's a quick summary of the basic idea: Researchers looking into "teacher quality" primarily use data about personal characteristics (e.g. years of experience, certifications received, degrees attained, licensure test scores, etc.) as variables in studying teacher quality. They rarely (ever?) include situational factors (available resources, planning time, intrusions into instructional time, etc.) in their research. Kennedy says "We study teachers' credentials because we can . . . Researchers are limited by the circumstances of their funding agencies, which may hesitate to pay the cost of gathering these difficult to define and difficult to measure variables."

What are the implications of the error in this context? I suspect no one knows, but until Teacher Quality studies include situational factors, can researchers really claim to know what factors are associated with "good teaching"?

posted by Rob McEntarffer

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Music in Psychology Class--A Different Way to Approach Things

Most of us have seen the items on the listservs about lists of music that go with particular units.  Some of us use the music as a transition into class.  Some of use show the lyrics on the board/screen while the students listen to the song, adding observations or comments afterward.  A nice little combination, a free one, can be found on YouTube.com.

The first example here is The Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel.  The poster has already printed the lyrics for you/us.  Some concept ideas include schema, the role of individual in society, perception,  states of consciousness, communication, hearing versus listening, and more.


A perennial favorite of my students is the Green Day song, Basketcase.  This song questions the writer's sanity while he is reaching out for help.  Some great psych idea are used including "neurosis," perception/misperception, therapy, dream interpretation, the role of drugs in interpreting reality, and more. 




As with anything from the internet, I would caution that you view everything first prior to sharing it with your students.  While they may be superficially mature and sophisticated, they are still children and we have an obligation to screen and contextualize everything we do with them.  Also, each community has different standards--what may be usable and successful in one class may not work in another school. 

There will be more of these posts coming up with some of my personal favorites.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

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The Los Angeles Brain Bee is Seeking High School Contestants!

I'm delighted to share this information from Amy Sweetman.

The Los Angeles Brain Bee is Seeking High School Contestants!

The Los Angeles Brain Bee is just one of many national neuroscience competitions for High School Students that are held across the nation.  Students study a 70 page booklet that is written by the Society for Neuroscience and demonstrate their learning at their local Brain Bee Challenge.  Currently there are over 70 competitions held across the nation.   

The competition consists of a full day of neuroscience learning opportunities and gives students a chance to practice their speaking skills as well as making a great addition to their college applications.  This is the 3^rd year of our competition, but we need candidates.  

The competition is sponsored by UCLA Brain Research Institute, USC Neurogenetic Institute and Los Angeles City College.  Please see our activity schedule below.  Students do NOT need a coach, no teacher involvement is required.  

All information can be found at the website  http://www.losangelesbrainbee.com  contact Amy Sweetman  amysweetman@earthlink.net

 

 

8:30 am arrival and refreshments
9:00 am introduction of candidates
9:15 am Scavenger Hunt/ Brain Storming Activities
10:00 am Written Portion of the test
10:45 am Anatomy Practicum by Interaxon
11:00 am Understanding CT scans by Save a Brain Foundation
11:30 am Guest Lecture
12:30 pm Lunch Break
1:30 pm Interaxon Neuroscience Panel
2:15 pm Announcement of finalists 2nd round of Brain Bee Jeopardy format
3:00 pm Announcement of finalists for 3rd round
3:30-4:00 pm Winner is determined




Part of the contest involves students studying from a book prepared by the Downloadable book from the Society for Neuroscience  The book itself looks to be a potentially good review for neuroscience issues in AP Psychology.  Be sure to check it out.


posted by Chuck Schallhorn

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A Natural History of the Senses

A Natural History of the Senses is an excellent book by Diane Ackerman.  You may wonder why I share this book from 1990 now.  If you appreciate words and writers' views of the world along with fantastic turns of phrase, this book is for you.  If you teach psychology within a Humanities department, this book will be an excellent resource.

She, of course, takes from the writings of many sources dealing with all the senses.  Perhaps my favorite is when she examines how "bad smells" are dealt with medically.  Apparently, the Merck Manual has a category on flatulence.  Whether she is citing sweetness of smell or something musky or acrid, Diane Ackerman shares with the reader a delightful romp through history, psychology, and literature to enlighten us as to how people have perceived and used the senses in their daily lives.  A good read and worth quoting in class.

Below are two other excellent books related to psychology from Diane Ackerman:






posted by Chuck Schallhorn

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The Value of Self-Reflection--Thank You to Beth Lewis

I share the ideas here from Beth Lewis at About.com.  Her words are incredibly important to those of us in the profession.  I give her full and complete credit for the ideas below.  I just wanted to make sure my fellow psychology instructors also saw these.

The Value of Self-Reflection - Any Time Of Year, It's Important To Self-Reflect

Examining What Worked And What Failed In The Past Can Lead To Future Triumphs

By Beth Lewis, About.com Guide

In a profession as challenging as teaching, honest self-reflection is key. That means that we must regularly examine what has worked and what hasn't in the classroom, despite how painful it can sometimes be to look in the mirror. Then take your answers and turn them into positive, resolute statements that give you concrete goals on which to focus immediately. Be honest, work hard, and watch your teaching transform for the better!

Ask Yourself These Tough Questions - And Be Honest!

• Where did I fail as a teacher in the past? Where did I succeed?
• What is my top teaching goal for the coming year?
• What can I do to make my teaching more fun while adding to my students' learning and enjoyment?
• What can I do to be more proactive in my professional development?
• What resentments do I need to resolve in order to move forward more optimistically and with a fresh mind?
• What types of students do I tend to ignore or do I need to spend more time serving?
• Which lessons or units am I only continuing to perform out of habit or laziness?
• Am I being a cooperative member of my grade level team?
• Are there any aspects of the profession that I am ignoring out of fear of change or lack of knowledge? (i.e. technology)
• How can I increase valuable parental involvement?
• Have I done enough to foster a productive relationship with my administrator?
• Do I still enjoy teaching? If not, what can I do to increase my enjoyment in my chosen profession?
• Do I bring additional stress upon myself? If so, how can I decrease or eliminate it.
• How have my beliefs about learning and pedagogy changed over the years?
• What minor and/or major changes can I make to my academic program in order to directly increase my students' learning?

What Happens If You Refuse To Self-Reflect

Put earnest effort and pure intention into your self-reflection. You don't want to be one of those stagnant teachers that drably presents the same ineffective and outdated lessons year after year. The unexamined teaching career can lead to becoming just a glorified babysitter, stuck in a rut and no longer enjoying your job! Times change, perspectives change, and you must change in order to adapt and remain relevant in the ever-changing world of education.
Often it's difficult to get motivated to change when you have tenure and "can't be fired" but that's precisely why you must undertake this effort on your own. Think about it while you're driving or doing the dishes. It doesn't matter where you self-reflect, only that you do it earnestly and energetically.

snip snip

http://k6educators.about.com/od/professionaldevelopment/a/self_reflection.htm

©2010 About.com, Inc., a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.

Posted by Chuck Schallhorn

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Taylor Mali--"What Teachers Make"

I could have sworn I posted this earlier, but my memory must be tricking me.  Here is former teacher and current poet Taylor Mali performing, "What Teachers Make."







posted by Chuck Schallhorn

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Arts and Letters Daily (great website)

When I have time, I love to go to the website, Arts and Letters Daily for some intellectual challenge.   They link to articles, book reviews, and essays and opinion.  Each link contains a brief intro to help the reader decide if it is worth checking out.  Their archives go back to 1998.  Along the left side column there are links to sites they draw from, web radio, and other favorites of the editors.  The site is updated six times a week.  Here are some psych-related links that are on the front page just from today's edition.  The site is an incredibly rich source for virtually anything.

What makes music sad?
The Case Against Peer Review in Scientific Research
An Interview in the Economist With Oliver Sacks
The Truth About Suicide Bombers
Psychopaths
In Defense of Disgust
How Weird is Consciousness?

Put this site in your favorites--you will be glad you did.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

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Google Books Ngram Viewer - Research tool?

Michael Sandler sent me a link to this Boston Globe article about how researchers are using a new tool, Google Books Ngram Viewer, to examine social/cultural trends in language use.

The Ngram viewer graphs the occurrence of any word/phrase you type in across the 15 million books Google has scanned into their database. You can even enter multiple phrases to get multiple lines.

This interactive link from the Boston Globe article is a good "taste" of what the Ngram Viewer can do (the Boston-centric bias of the terms included in the graph made me laugh too :) but I had fun just diving into the actual Ngram viewer and typing in some phrases. The phrase "high school psychology" has interesting peaks and valleys!

I liked this quote from the Boston Globe article: "Going forward, digital humanities researchers have increasingly powerful tools, but the challenge will be interpretation — finding links between quantity and meaning." This might be a good "angle" to use in a psych class during research methods: What research method(s) would students use along with Ngram viewer to try to get at "links between quantity and meaning"? Naturalistic Observation researchers have been grappling with this question for years, right?



posted by Rob McEntarffer

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