Faculty-led Inquiry into Reflective and Scholarly Teaching (FIRST)

 

Date of this Version

2016

Document Type

Portfolio

Comments

Course portfolio developed as part of the UNL Peer Review of Teaching Project (peerreview.unl.edu)

Copyright (c) 2016 Maital Neta

Abstract

In this portfolio, I am assessing student learning in a mid-level Psychology course, Psyc 287: Psychology of Personality. The course introduces students to the major theories of personality, and covers a wide array of topics intended to provide a broad overview of issues in the field. The course attracts a somewhat representative sample of UNL students, including non-majors, and therefore most are from Nebraska. The course is not a prerequisite to any other courses, but it could be a useful foundation course for students pursuing a career in psychology research, and it could also help people to consider issues related to differences across people in a wide variety of work and social environments, where it is vital that we coexist in a peaceful and productive manner. In this large lecture-based course, my goal as the instructor is to provide a platform for which all kinds of students – regardless of their motivation for taking the course – can benefit. In-class activities include lectures and videos, with an opportunity to demonstrate learning through a series of practice exam questions from each lecture presented at the end of that lecture. Assessment is based on four exams, two papers, and a series of short writing assignments. Here, I outline the changes made to this course, and the impact of these changes on student learning. For example, I found the second paper and the short assignments to be useful in helping students achieve the course objectives, and I also found that exam questions that require students to apply their knowledge were useful. Finally, I outline my plans for future changes to this course, based on the valuable experience acquired through this program.

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