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Transforming Our Lives through Self Reflection and Psychology
A psychology professor's collection of lessons fostering self-discovery through online activities, hands-on classroom experiences, engaging lectures, and effective discussion prompts.
Kind of Psychology Teaching Resource
Engaging Classroom Experiences
Hands-on activities, lectures segments with hooks, and discussions with scaffolding
"The person doing the talking is the person doing the learning." It's a mantra I was taught, and it has a kernel of truth, but I worry how embracing any truth too tightly can lead us astray. As a grad student TA, I taught a hands-on breakout section of a large lecture developmental psychology class. The professor assigned us to lead students making improv skits of different attachment styles. Students were engaged, and laughed the entire class, but I left feeling uneasy. They'd undoubtedly recall the styles on a test, but only because they created over the top caricatures. They didn't truly understand what it feels like to have an insecure attachment, how childhood experiences can lead of very rationally to a model of relationships we needed at the time, and why it's so hard to let go of the model when it not longer helps us. I realized active learning isn't primarily about "doing" - it's about genuine understanding and empathy. Now, when I design activities, I focus on moments of reflection and insight. I look into my students' eyes, faces, and body language, searching for those “aha!” moments. It's not just about hands-on experiences, but about hearts-on learning, too.
Each Day is a New Day
Fresh, with no mistakes in it
“
Isn't it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive-- it's such an interesting world. It wouldn't be half so interesting if we know all about everything, would it? There'd be no scope for imagination then, would there? But am I talking too much? People are always telling me I do. Would you rather I didn't talk? If you say so I'll stop. I can STOP when I make up my mind to it, although it's difficult.
Category within Class
Object Permanence & Magic - Piaget and Baillargeon
Classroom magic tricks illustrating Jean Piaget's sub-stages of infancy and Renee Baillargeon's perspective using the habituation looking-time method.
Confirmation Bias and Scientific Discovery
In-person game played with students, the mimicking scientific discovery with Wason's 2-4-6 Hypothesis Rule Discovery Task.
Attachment Styles - Getting Stuck in Unhelpful Boxes
Teach and learn about Attachment Styles, and especially how we get stuck reenacting unhelpful patterns based on John Bowlby's concept of canalization, a kind of confirmation bias.
Parenting Styles
Diana Baumrind's Parenting Styles with her original descriptions, contemporary findings, and an essay doubling as a Q&A lesson. 🤔✒️📖💬
Category within Class
Science Fairs
Help for students, judges, and organizers by a Developmental Psychology professor who conducted science studies of the science fair.
Create Your Own Language Game
A psychology class game illustrating children's language development by having students create their own language, inspired by making real Ludwig Wittgenstein's philosophical ."language games."🏔️🧩
Beware Ye Who Hunt Factor Analysis Monsters
Learn and teach about factor analysis using a sea monster metaphor and concrete Psychology examples like intelligence and personality
Preoperational College Students: A Piagetian Concrete Operations Stage Task College Students Fail
Open class discussion with a game closely resembling Piaget's Conservation tasks, but so challenging college students fail.
What Do We Owe Each Other? A discussion of Carol Gilligan's Ethics of Care.
Discussion lesson of Kohlberg's Heinz dilemma and Gilligan's In a Different Voice to appreciate debate in moral psychology and learn some psychology of gender.
Notes for Teachers, with legend:
Activities during class take many forms. Some activities engaging students individually with hands-on learning. (labelled 🏔️)., while others are vivid examples adding spice to lectures (🤔). Some facilitate discussion as an entire class guided by teachers, (💬), while some discussions foster collaboration and student engagement with small groups ( 🧩).. Please feel free to adapt everything to your context, your students and your preferred format. I hope you some in-class activities help you!