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Courses Taught
PSYC 205 Statistics
Many people are surprised when, in the same breath, I tell them that I am in the Psychology Department and that I teach statistics. "What do statistics have to do with psychology?" they ask. My answer is that statistics have EVERYTHING to do with psychology...they are at the heart of the study of psychology. For example, a clinician trying to keep up with the latest research on the use of anti-depressants with adolescents must be able to read and make sense of the statistical results being reported by colleagues and drug companies. Academic researchers like myself also need to understand the statistics behind the empirical research being reported in our area of specialization. We need to be educated consumers...capable of deciding which studies have been carefully carried out and which don't merit our attention. Most importantly, before designing and running research of my own, it's imperative that I understand what kind of data will best lend themselves to statistical analysis and exactly what kinds of statistical tests are available to answer the questions that I most care about investigating.Students in Psyc 205 become familiar with many of the statistical techniques that are commonly used in the analysis of psychological data. They also come away with a solid grounding in SPSS, a computer statistical package. Armed with these "tools," they are ready to conduct their own research in one of the many methods courses offered by our department.
PSYC 248 The Psychology of Teaching, Learning, and Motivation
Psyc 248 is probably my favorite class to teach. It is also the most grueling (for professor and students alike). In the course of one semester, we cover the psychology of preschool, primary, secondary and college education. We become familiar with many of the more influential movements in psychology and explore the ramifications of behaviorism, humanism, cognitive psychology and personality psychology in the classroom. We look at current educational controversies, visit classrooms and generally explore the many contributions of psychology to both educational theory and practice. Topics include: student development in the cognitive, social, and emotional realms; assessment of student variability and performance; interpretation and evaluation of standardized tests and measurements; learning disabilities; classroom management; teaching style; tracking and ability grouping; motivation; student diversity; and teacher effectiveness.
PSYC 306R Research Methods in Developmental Psychology and the School Experience
In this intensive one-semester introduction to the research process, students who have previously taken at least one course in child development or educational psychology are introduced to methods appropriate to the study of human development in teaching and learning settings: daycare through college. After exploring the fine points of investigative design and interpretation, reading stellar examples of published research, and making observations at the Wellesley College Child Study Center and other area classroom settings, class members work in pairs to construct, carry out and write up an empirical investigation of their own design. While I tell my students that it is inevitable that at some time during the semester they will hate my guts (for working them so hard), at the end of the term all bad feelings will be erased by an incredible sense of accomplishment and pride in their finished products. In fact, many psychology majors return years later to say that Research Methods was one of the most valuable classes they took at Wellesley.
PSYC 337 Seminar: The Psychology of Creativity
While we still have a long way to go, present-day researchers already understand a great deal about the creative process. In this class, we explore the foundations of modern theory and research on creativity and go on to examine many of the methods that have been designed to stimulate creative thought and expression. Students do a substantial amount of reading (of research, theory, biographies and first-person accounts of the creative process) and take turns presenting empirical research articles to the rest of the class. In addition, each seminar member chooses a creativity challenge on which to work throughout the semester and personal journals are also kept in an effort to chronicle reactions to the readings and class discussions. In a typical semester, topics might include: psychodynamic, behavioristic, humanistic, and social-psychological theories of creativity; investigations of creative environments; personality studies of creative individuals; methods of defining and assessing creativity; and programs designed to increase both verbal and nonverbal creativity.
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