Category Archives: Teaching

A New Semester

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I don’t know about my students or my colleagues, but it feels like the new semester hit me like a Mack truck.  I haven’t been able to internalize my schedule, am behind in putting up the PowerPoint slides on my institution’s course management system, and actually walk on to campus most days not really knowing what I will be talking about that day.  I hope I get over this quickly!

 

Asimov quote

 

Tonight in the History of Psychology class we discussed the philosophy of science.  In discussing Thomas Kuhn and Carl Popper’s contributions to the field, I had a couple of quotes from Einstein and Sagan…but had forgotten about the Asimov quote above.  A few of my students were truly shocked to learn that it isn’t popular to push against the envelope of a paradigm.  I was delighted that this lecture merged into a documentary about Socrates; the poster child for pushing against the envelope of a paradigm!

First Day of School: the Liberal Arts

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Liberal-Arts

Yesterday was the first day of classes at my University.  While we waited for the tech from IT to show up to figure out why the computer wouldn’t turn on (it was unplugged; I was embarrassed) I waxed on (and on) about why taking a course in the history of Psychology was worthwhile.  I might have gotten a little misty-eyed when I spoke about the importance of the ideas of dead white guys (and a few gals and even fewer people of color).  Why institutions of higher learning want to educate the whole person for his or her whole life.  Otherwise, I remarked, “you can just go to a technical school” and avoid all this general education/interdisciplinary/irrelevant-to-the-major nonsense we subject you to.

I also might have gone a bit overboard on why understanding the history of their field of study is essential.  I once remarked, to a colleague who asked why I thought  discussing the history of Psychology was important in an Introductory class, that “it is important for students to know that the questions that guide our research didn’t just fly out of our asses” (I really did say that, exactly as quoted).

People, all kinds of people, have been thinking about central questions related to the human condition, probably since people began thinking.  Institutes of higher learning HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY to make thinking and talking about these topics central to their mission.  It is all about the ideas, people, all about the ideas!

It is that time of year again

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It happens to all of us in academia-land, I think.  As summer dwindles and (in my case) the peaches start to ripen I know that very soon my free time will be over.  School is about to start…but it starts for faculty a lot earlier than it does for students.  Courses must be planned or tweaked…the new textbook should be perused…and the closed-toed shoes must be dug out from under the bed.  Most of us DO work in the summer, some teaching summer classes, etc., but the work I am talking about happens in my pajamas or at my local coffee shop (rarely do I mix the two, by the way).

Today saw me perched at my local grocery store food court.  I like to set up my satellite office there because nobody ever talks to me.  I suspect the salad bar guy occasionally wonders who this weirdo is with her books and laptop but I don’t mind…at least he doesn’t talk to me.  I met up with a research collaborator (Caitlin Faas Bond) and commiserated about how little time we had yet to get the prep work done for classes.  I had created my History and Systems of Psychology syllabus earlier in the summer, but that still leaves Research Methods II and the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality to plan.  I am procrastinating doing either of them by creating this blog post, by the way.

But the syllabi won’t be getting done on their own so I will now flip a coin to see which to work on first…

Currently listening to…

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I’m skipping an audiobook (Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel: REALLY GOOD!) with this post.  I’m currently listening to Religion for Atheists by Alain de Botton).  I first heard him on a podcast interview with Krista Tippett (On Being) and realized that this might be a great book for my Psychology of Religion and Spirituality class.  I continually struggle with atheist students not understanding why religious people are faithful and with religious students not understanding why atheists don’t recognize the benefits they enjoy in their faith.  I’m hoping this might help in that endeavor.

The other books I’m requiring are Karen Armstrong’s The Great Transformation: The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions and David Fontana’s Psychology, Religion, and Spirituality.

Karen Armstrong Religion for Atheists Fontana Religion

The Question of the Day

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question of the day

Just about every student I’ve taught knows about the Question of the Day.  I start most classes with a question posed to all students.  People are permitted to pass if they choose but most don’t.  Not only is it a fun way to get started (some of the questions yield HILARIOUS answers) but it gets people used to talking in class, neutralizes (a little) the impact of naturally occurring differences in student talk time (shy versus verbose), and helps build a little community.  I will on occasion pose a Question of the Day on this site and welcome your responses.  I am also ALWAYS on the lookout for QotD possibilities.

Today’s question: Not allowed to use “to be happy” as an answer, what is the meaning of life?

“We Get by with a Little Help from…” – Billy Shears

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When I was in graduate school I took several courses on “Close Relationships”.  Invariably, the studies we read about were focused on romantic ties and marriage/family issues.  Because I like to “poke” at things I consistently questioned why the field was so obsessed with romantic love. Aren’t friendships more ubiquitous?  I mean, lots of people won’t hold up a hand when asked if they are in a romantic partnership but just about everybody can claim a friend!  Turns out there was not a lot of research about friendships in the social psychology literature (there was more in the Developmental journals).  I wondered if relationship processes were different in friendships than they were in romantic relationships and one of my first projects along these lines was a large survey (created with Michael P. Johnson) asking people to answer relationship questions for three people: their closest same-sex friend, closest opposite-sex friend, and their romantic partner.  At the time my fascination was with the Principle of Least Interest* (Willard Waller, 1938) and whether or not there were relational asymmetries across all three relationship types.  I won’t reveal the findings here as the paper is under review but suffice it to say it was worth asking the question!

friends2

 

I am currently working with a developmental psychologist (Caitlin Faas Bond) on a project involving friendship breakups.  We each had our students write essays on an ex-friendship. Their stories were so heart-wrenching we knew we had to study this in more depth to understand the dynamics involved.  Whenever I refer to this topic in a class or at a talk LOTS of people want to share with me their experiences with former friends.

*The Principle of Least Interest describes the phenomenon wherein the partner less interested in a relationship has greater power.  We all know that story.