I do, too! Don’t we all learn best from specific, concrete examples?†For this reason, science classes use laboratories to let students see for themselves. The goal is to help students ask their own questions, distinguish between good and weak evidence, and ultimately, appreciate the excitement of psychological inquiry.Īpproaches, Features, and Student Aids Many years ago, I read an educational psychology textbook that said children with learning disabilities and attention problems learn best from specific, concrete examples. I have pointed out the limitations of the evidence and the possibilities for alternative interpretations. Throughout this text, I have tried to model the habit of critical thinking or evaluating the evidence, particularly in the What’s the Evidence? features that describe research studies in some detail. that skill can carry over to fields other than psychology. the second goal is to teach students the skills of evaluating evidence and questioning assertions, so that when they do read about some new research, they will ask the right questions before drawing a conclusion. I hope that some of our students occasionally read Scientific American Mind or similar publications. Even if students permanently remembered everything they learned—and of course they won’t—their understanding would gradually go out of date unless they continue to learn about new developments. the first is to instill a love of learning so that our graduates will continue to update their education. Ideally, a course or textbook in psychology should accomplish two goals. I wake up in the morning and think, “Wow! I get to teach about optical illusions today!†or “Great! today’s topic is emotions!†Do professors in other fields enjoy teaching so much? Does someone in the French department wake up thinking how exciting it will be to teach about adverbs today? I doubt it. Although I retired from teaching after 35 years at North Carolina State University, I still volunteer to “pinch hit†when any of my colleagues are ill or out of town. When I read about new research or think of a new example to illustrate some point, I want to tell my wife, children, and colleagues. Frequently, I would describe the fascinating facts I had just learned to my roommate, friends, relatives, or anyone else who would listen. I remember taking my first course in psychology as a freshman at Duke University in 1965. When we were told to get into crash position, the first thing I thought was, “I don’t want to die yet! I was looking forward to writing the next edition of my textbook!†true story. Some years ago, I was on a plane that had to turn around shortly after takeoff because one of its two engines had failed.
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