white people jumping?
Hello all, I ran across, somewhere, a description of a study investigating the concept of stereotype threat, as proposed by Claude Steele, that had white people jump under different conditions, finding, as I recall, results supporting the ST prediction. Problem is, I have a student who would like to work on this, and we can't find the article. I suspect it may have been a conference presentation described either on TIPS or somewhere else; if anyone can help us out, my student and I would be very appreciative. TIA, Joe Hatcher Ripon College Ripon, WI 54971 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: white people jumping?
Not exactly what you had in mind, but very similar. I'd try emailing Claude Steele to see if he has done the study you describe. Hope this helps Patrick Stone, Perry& Darley (1997). "White men can't jump": Evidence for the perceptual confirmation of racial stereotypes following a basketball game. Basic & Applied Social Psychology, 19, 291-306. Patrick O. Dolan, Ph.D. voice: +1-314-935-8731 Psychology Department, Box 1125 fax: +1-314-935-7588 Washington University One Brookings Drive St. Louis, MO 63130 mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - Original Message - From: Hatcher, Joe <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, September 18, 2000 8:15 AM Subject: white people jumping? > Hello all, > I ran across, somewhere, a description of a study investigating the > concept of stereotype threat, as proposed by Claude Steele, that had white > people jump under different conditions, finding, as I recall, results > supporting the ST prediction. Problem is, I have a student who would like > to work on this, and we can't find the article. I suspect it may have been > a conference presentation described either on TIPS or somewhere else; if > anyone can help us out, my student and I would be very appreciative. > > TIA, > > Joe Hatcher > Ripon College > Ripon, WI 54971 > [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Guest Speaker(?)
Tipsters: Imagine that your department had a 'relatively unlimited' amount of money available, and you were asked to select one speaker who would come to your campus and do a presentation on some current topic for your Introductory Psychology students. Who would you suggest the department invite? Shirley Hensch -- Shirley Hensch, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Psychology University of Wisconsin - Marshfield/Wood County mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED] --
Levitation
I saw a program where David Blaine (Street Magic) was able to levitate from the ground he stood on. I would like to learn the art of levitation so that I can give demonstrations in class. Please send advice. Michael Sylvester,PhD Daytona Beach,Florida "Seeing is believing" - This message was sent using Panda Mail. Check your regular email account away from home free! http://bstar.net/panda/
developmental thanks
Thanks to all those who responded publicly and privately to my questions about demonstrations in developmental psych with small children. The wisdom and acumen available on this list never ceases to amaze me. Happy Monday Jim * Jim Guinee, Ph.D. Director of Training, Counseling Center Adjunct Professor, Dept. of Psychology/Counseling Dept. of Health Sciences President, Arkansas College Counselor Association University of Central Arkansas 313 Bernard HallConway, AR 72035USA (501) 450-3138 (office) (501) 450-3248 (fax) "Search others for their virtues, they self for thy vices." -Benjamin Franklin *
sports psych
Hi, I have a student who recently became very interested in sports psychology. He wanted to know if there are any graduate programs out there that offer this type of focus. Any information I can pass on to him? I always thought getting training and experience in sports psych was more of a postdoc thing, but I could be wrong. Thanks, Jim * Jim Guinee, Ph.D. Director of Training, Counseling Center Adjunct Professor, Dept. of Psychology/Counseling Dept. of Health Sciences President, Arkansas College Counselor Association University of Central Arkansas 313 Bernard HallConway, AR 72035USA (501) 450-3138 (office) (501) 450-3248 (fax) "Search others for their virtues, they self for thy vices." -Benjamin Franklin *
Re: Guest Speaker(?)
Can I suggest more than one? 1. (Our own) Dave Myers - I've heard him speak twice, once at APA. He has warmth and charm and he gave a very interesting presentation about the work he did to find out about happiness in people. Could touch on research methods, social psych., even abnormal. He's at Hope College and has textbooks in social and general psychology. 2. Claude Steele 3. Phil Zimbardo 4. (Our own) Stephen Black - you know all of us at TIPS would love to meet him and hear him talk about anything. (He's going to kill me for this, and I've never personally met him - only in cyberspace!!!) Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell -- >From: Shirley-Anne Hensch <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: "TIPS" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Guest Speaker(?) >Date: Mon, Sep 18, 2000, 10:46 AM > > Tipsters: > > Imagine that your department had a 'relatively unlimited' amount of money > available, and you were asked to select one speaker who would come to your > campus and do a presentation on some current topic for your Introductory > Psychology students. Who would you suggest the department invite? > > Shirley Hensch > > -- > Shirley Hensch, Ph.D. > Associate Professor > Department of Psychology > University of Wisconsin - Marshfield/Wood County > mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > -- > > >
Re: Guest Speaker(?)
Is this list limited to the living? I don't mean that to be funny
Re: Levitation
> I saw a program where David Blaine (Street Magic) was able to levitate > from the ground he stood on. I would like to learn the art of > levitation so that I can give demonstrations in class. Please send > advice. I think it should be analogous to the art of flying, which simply involves falling and missing the ground. Consult D. Adams for more refined instruction. *grin*
RE: Levitation
Michael Sylvester wrote: > I saw a program where David Blaine (Street Magic) was able to > levitate from the ground he > stood on. > I would like to learn the art of levitation so that I can give > demonstrations in class. > Please send advice. It's a matter of faith in your self, Michael. Dress in your finest clothing, stand on a diving board of a swimming pool, and have faith that you can walk on air to reach the other side of the pool without falling into the water. If you have enough ability to focus your mind on your belief, you'll do just fine. Otherwise . . . Let us know how the demonstration goes. Rick -- Rick Adams [EMAIL PROTECTED] Department of Social Sciences Jackson Community College 2111 Emmons Rd. Jackson, MI 49201
Re: sports psych
> I have a student who recently became very interested in sports psychology. > > He wanted to know if there are any graduate programs out there that offer > this type of focus. Any information I can pass on to him? Try: Sachs, M. L., Burke, K. L., & Butcher, L. A. (Eds.) (1995). Directory of graduate programs in applied sport psychology. Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology Inc. Their phone number listed inside the book is 800-477-4348. Helen C. Harton Department of Psychology University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0505
Re: Levitation
Is this related to the "white people jumping" thread? [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > I saw a program where David Blaine (Street Magic) was able to levitate from the >ground he > stood on. > I would like to learn the art of levitation so that I can give demonstrations in >class. > Please send advice. * http://www.coe.uca.edu/psych/scoles/index.html * Mike Scoles *[EMAIL PROTECTED] * * Department of Psychology *voice: (501) 450-5418 * * University of Central Arkansas*fax: (501) 450-5424 * * Conway, AR72035-0001 * * *
Re: Sports Psychology
I have a student with the same interest. Check out http://www.psyc.unt.edu/apadiv47/ Stephen Truhon Dept. of Social Sciences Winston-Salem State University Winston-Salem, NC 27110
Upgrading of TIPS software
Date sent: 18-SEP-2000 17:59:54 TIPSters, Our computer support people will be upgrading the software that runs TIPS on Wednesday, September 20 so our system will be down during Wednesday for some time. If all goes well, then TIPS should be running again on Wednesday evening. However, if problems develop TIPS will be down until the problems are solved. Best wishes, Bill ** ** * TIPS LISTOWNER - CONTACT DIRECTLY IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS * * BILL SOUTHERLY INTERNET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * * DEPT. OF PSYCHOLOGY[EMAIL PROTECTED] * * FROSTBURG STATE UNIVERSITY [EMAIL PROTECTED] * * FROSTBURG, MARYLAND USA 21532 PHONE : (301) 687-4778 * ** **
RE: Guest Speaker(?)
Bill wrote: > Is this list limited to the living? I don't mean that to be funny Not at all. It was _very_ dead last month & we _do_ offer equal time to Graveyard Grannies . . . Rick Adams -- Rick Adams [EMAIL PROTECTED] Department of Social Sciences Jackson Community College 2111 Emmons Rd. Jackson, MI 49201
Guest speaker--NOT!
I suppose I'm better off just ignoring this. But I feel compelled to point out that Beth Benoit has never heard me speak. There may be a very good reason why my preferred mode of communication is e-mail. -Stephen Stephen Black, Ph.D. tel: (819) 822-9600 ext 2470 Department of Psychology fax: (819) 822-9661 Bishop's Universitye-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Lennoxville, QC J1M 1Z7 Canada Department web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy Check out TIPS listserv for teachers of psychology at: http://www.frostburg.edu/dept/psyc/southerly/tips/
RE: Guest Speaker(?)
For current topics (sensation and perception) I'd choose the Amazing Randi, for the middle of the term (cognitive) I'd choose John Bransford, for near the end of the term (social influence)I'd choose Zimbardo, and then at the end when we get to psychological disorders I'd get Martin Seligman. Those are the "off the top of my head" choices. Nathalie Cote > -Original Message- > From: Shirley-Anne Hensch [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: Monday, September 18, 2000 10:46 AM > To: TIPS > Subject: Guest Speaker(?) > > > Tipsters: > > Imagine that your department had a 'relatively unlimited' > amount of money > available, and you were asked to select one speaker who would > come to your > campus and do a presentation on some current topic for your > Introductory > Psychology students. Who would you suggest the department invite? > > Shirley Hensch > > -- > Shirley Hensch, Ph.D. > Associate Professor > Department of Psychology > University of Wisconsin - Marshfield/Wood County > mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > -- > >
Re: Levitation
Advice: Practice hop(p)ing. Hoping you hop, Stuart > To:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Reply-to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Levitation > Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 15:45:43 + > > I saw a program where David Blaine (Street Magic) was able to levitate from the >ground he > stood on. > I would like to learn the art of levitation so that I can give demonstrations in >class. > Please send advice. > > Michael Sylvester,PhD > Daytona Beach,Florida > >"Seeing is > believing" > > > - > This message was sent using Panda Mail. Check your regular email account away from >home > free! http://bstar.net/panda/ > > > ___ Stuart J. McKelvie, Ph.D.,Phone: (819)822-9600 Department of Psychology, Extension 2402 Bishop's University, Fax: (819)822-9661 3 Route 108 East, Lennoxville, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Quebec J1M 1Z7, Canada. Bishop's University Psychology Department Web Page: http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy ___
Re: Guest Speaker(?)
A no-brainer. Phil Zimbardo is prepared, engaging, and quite simply, a wonderful teacher in the field of psychology. He is a very good storyteller and his involvement with psychology is lengendary. I had dinner with him, and I had so many questions that the evening was not enough. I have not always agreed with everthing he has done, but he is good, I cannot deny that. jim Shirley-Anne Hensch wrote: > Tipsters: > > Imagine that your department had a 'relatively unlimited' amount of money > available, and you were asked to select one speaker who would come to your > campus and do a presentation on some current topic for your Introductory > Psychology students. Who would you suggest the department invite? > > Shirley Hensch > > -- > Shirley Hensch, Ph.D. > Associate Professor > Department of Psychology > University of Wisconsin - Marshfield/Wood County > mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > --
You're not going to believe this question
I hope it's not Beth's unwarranted praise that's making me post excessively tonight. But I need an answer to this question urgently. Believe it or not, I have a comment under consideration in a psychological journal which uses the phrase "get off your fanny". A reviewer has commented "the author might care to note that the term "fanny" is slang for vagina in some English speaking countries". Really? In my country, it refers to a totally different part of the anatomy. Can anyone confirm this, and tell me in which countries this is common? (Note: this is a serious question and I don't want to talk about keeping peckers up either.) -Stephen Stephen Black, Ph.D. tel: (819) 822-9600 ext 2470 Department of Psychology fax: (819) 822-9661 Bishop's Universitye-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Lennoxville, QC J1M 1Z7 Canada Department web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy Check out TIPS listserv for teachers of psychology at: http://www.frostburg.edu/dept/psyc/southerly/tips/
Re: Levitation
Hi On Mon, 18 Sep 2000 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > I saw a program where David Blaine (Street Magic) was able to > levitate from the ground he stood on. I hate to suggest this possibility, but perhaps magic (i.e., "cheating") was involved. Others on this list apparently would be unwilling to consider that possibility without positive evidence of cheating. > I would like to learn the art of levitation so that I can > give demonstrations in class. Please send advice. I would suggest "don't," but if you are serious, I would recommend some advice that I gave last time this came up (was it here?). Fill your head with flighty, nonsensical, lighter-than-air ideas and you might be able to manage levitation. Another possibility I hadn't thought of would be to fill your audience (i.e., students?) with nonsensical ideas, so that they are easier to manipulate (e.g., you weren't watching closely enough, too many skeptics make it difficult for me to levitate, only very enlightened people are permitted to "see" the act of levitation, ...). Let us know how things worked out. Best wishes Jim James M. Clark (204) 786-9757 Department of Psychology(204) 774-4134 Fax University of Winnipeg 4L05D Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 2E9 [EMAIL PROTECTED] CANADA http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/~clark
Re: Levitation
At 03:45 PM 9/18/00 +, M. Sylvester wrote: >I saw a program where David Blaine (Street Magic) was able to >levitate from the ground he >stood on. >I would like to learn the art of levitation so that I can give >demonstrations in class. >Please send advice. One thing you could do is vote for John Hagelin, the presidential candidate for the Natural Law Party/Reform Party coalition. One of the main goals of the party is to establish a core group of 700-some experts to practice transcendental meditation and *yogic flying* as a means to positively impact our collective unconscious. More to the point: As it was a Fox program, I can't vouch for it's accuracy, but a special called "Street Magic Secrets Revealed" indicated that much of Blaine's levitation illusion (rising several feet in the air) was produced via special effects *off camera*, and not on the street. The part of the illusion performed live on the street with spectators was rather subtle, suggesting a brief levitation of just a few inches. -Mike Michael J. Kane Department of Psychology P.O. Box 26164 University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC 27402-6164 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] phone: 336-256-1022 fax: 336-334-5066
Re: sports psych
Just check out graduate study in psych--there are a couple there and I bet if you searched the web you'd find more. annette On Mon, 18 Sep 2000, Jim Guinee wrote: > Hi, > > I have a student who recently became very interested in sports psychology. > > He wanted to know if there are any graduate programs out there that offer > this type of focus. Any information I can pass on to him? > > I always thought getting training and experience in sports psych was more of > a postdoc thing, but I could be wrong. > > Thanks, Jim > > > * > Jim Guinee, Ph.D. Director of Training, Counseling Center > Adjunct Professor, Dept. of Psychology/Counseling > Dept. of Health Sciences > President, Arkansas College Counselor Association > University of Central Arkansas > 313 Bernard HallConway, AR 72035USA > (501) 450-3138 (office) (501) 450-3248 (fax) > > "Search others for their virtues, they self for thy vices." > -Benjamin Franklin > * > Annette Taylor, Ph. D. Department of PsychologyE-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] University of San Diego Voice: (619) 260-4006 5998 Alcala Park San Diego, CA 92110 "Education is one of the few things a person is willing to pay for and not get." -- W. L. Bryan
Re: Guest Speaker(?)
Hi Beth, I do enjoy hearing David. He is an excellent choice and is very responsive to so many people including students and teachers. I would vote for Zimbardo...but Stephen intrigues me. This man's knowledge of articles and original research kind of scares me(that's a compliment Stephen!!!) jim Beth Benoit wrote: > Can I suggest more than one? > > 1. (Our own) Dave Myers - I've heard him speak twice, once at APA. He has > warmth and charm and he gave a very interesting presentation about the work > he did to find out about happiness in people. Could touch on research > methods, social psych., even abnormal. He's at Hope College and has > textbooks in social and general psychology. > 2. Claude Steele > 3. Phil Zimbardo > 4. (Our own) Stephen Black - you know all of us at TIPS would love to meet > him and hear him talk about anything. (He's going to kill me for this, and > I've never personally met him - only in cyberspace!!!) > > Beth Benoit > University of Massachusetts Lowell > > -- > >From: Shirley-Anne Hensch <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >To: "TIPS" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >Subject: Guest Speaker(?) > >Date: Mon, Sep 18, 2000, 10:46 AM > > > > > Tipsters: > > > > Imagine that your department had a 'relatively unlimited' amount of money > > available, and you were asked to select one speaker who would come to your > > campus and do a presentation on some current topic for your Introductory > > Psychology students. Who would you suggest the department invite? > > > > Shirley Hensch > > > > -- > > Shirley Hensch, Ph.D. > > Associate Professor > > Department of Psychology > > University of Wisconsin - Marshfield/Wood County > > mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > -- > > > > > >
Re: Ever hopeful, I post more questions
RE: Bipolar drugs: I have known cases of people increasing their dosage of a drug in order to "manage" behavior that they intend to consciously pursue which is clearly destabilizing, such as doubling a dose during the week of exams (late nights, high stress, lost sleep, etc.) or decreasing/stopping a dose when they wanted to ride the wave of energy provided by a hypomanic state. Generally one trip to the residential treatment center cures a tendency to self manage in this way, but sometimes (or with more severely affected people) it can take a lot longer. People with BPDisorder are often prescribed sleeping meds or antianxiety meds (Lithium plus Effexor plus Xanax PRN, for example) and some become dependent upon the antianxiety or sleeping medication. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Tipsters, > > A couple of questions from my ever-curious students: > > 1) Although some scientists claim that there is no predisposition for spoken > language (as opposed to gestural) my developmental psych students noticed in > one video of deaf children who were learning to sign, that the children were > vocalizing anyway. he students wondered whether speech might be the brain's > preferred mode of language on the basis of this. I pointed out that hearing > babies move their hands, too, although this doesn't necessarily indicate any > predisposition for gestural language. But I thought I would ask anyway, is > there any definitive answer available regarding the speech versus gestural > language preference in the human brain? > > 2) Is it possible for a person with bipolar illness to abuse his or her > prescribed mood stabilizing drug (in some way other than by not taking it)? > What would be the results of such abuse? > > I am still hoping for an answer to my thalamus question, if anyone is > interested -- what is the location of the thalamus? Or is there no agreement > on this matter? > > Hope you are all having a good weekend. > > Nancy Melucci > PACE - LAHC > Tips abuser & Instructor, Harbor College
Levitation and David Blaine Street Magic
Michael: I enjoyed the portions of the David Blaine program that I caught, and I hope that the amateur and not-so-amateur magicians in our midst will enlighten us on ways to incorporate such magic into psych lectures. Such demonstrations help keep students' interest levels up near the end of a 3-hour evening lecture. I believe that the levitation stunt involved Blaine leaning, rocking forward and balancing on a long stick he had hidden upon his person, thus moving his feet up off the ground for an instant. He asked the viewers to stand close together behind him, so he must have been shielding something from view behind his legs. Great illusion, if you ask me! I don't think it would work in a class room, as the lines of sight are too wide. I'm sorry I didn't videotape the show for later replay and freeze-framing, as I'm wont to do with televised magic shows. I know, it takes all the fun out of it if you know how it's done, but scientists are supposed to be curious and seekers of "reality", aren't we? I also enjoyed the "I know what card (or number) you picked" trick, and may use it to demonstrate base rates (most commonly selected cards or numbers) in class. I think that the "odd number between 10 and 50..." stunt has been discussed on this list (37 most commonly chosen). As well, we of course only saw the participants for whom the correct choice was made by Blaine; I could easily put together a video wherein I correctly guess a number of people's card, name, favorite color, or astrological sign. It would, of course, involve leaving a lot of (incorrect) guesses on the cutting room floor... Magically, - Max the Magnificent ;-) On Mon, 18 Sep 2000 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > I saw a program where David Blaine (Street Magic) was able to levitate from the >ground he > stood on. > I would like to learn the art of levitation so that I can give demonstrations in >class. > Please send advice. > > Michael Sylvester,PhD > Daytona Beach,Florida > >"Seeing is > believing" > > Maxwell Gwynn, PhD [EMAIL PROTECTED] Department of Psychology(519) 884-0710 ext 3854 Wilfrid Laurier University Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3C5 Canada
Re: Turner's syndrome
On Sun, 17 Sep 2000, Linda Walsh wrote: > Browsing the sex chapters of assorted biopsych texts, preparing for class > tomorrow, I came across a discrepancy I thought Tipsters might be able to > resolve. Rosenzweig et al states that Turner's syndrome is associated with > poorly developed but recognizable ovaries. Klein says that female development > proceeds up to a point, but that 2 X chromosomes are necessary for the ovaries > to produce eggs, so Turner's results in infertility. Carlson, on the other > hand, says that 2 X chromosomes are necessary to produce ovaries, thus > individuals with Turner's have no gonads at all. This sounds wrong to me. Is > there anthere total absence of ovarian function in Turner's (e.g. secondary sex > chars, menstruation). Anyone know the specifics of why 2 X are necessary for > ova production? I'm now discussing non-disjunction in my child psychology lectures, so I thought I'd see what I could find related to this question. I'd say they're all about right. I have an authoritative source (White, 1994) which states: "The classical features [of Turner] include...failure of gonadal development [this and following references omitted]. Germ cells are present in the gonads of 45,X embryos, but begin to deteriorate in late fetal life. By early childhood, there are usually no oocytes remaining, and the gonads consist of fibrous streaks...In the Turner syndrome, it has been proposed that absence or structural abnormality of one X chromosome precludes or disrupts the normal X pairing process in the fetal ovary, which eventually leads to premature germ cell loss." But my real motivation in responding is so I can tell you about a truly remarkable new hypothesis to explain why boys are much more antsy than girls. Turner syndrome is the clue (see McGuffin & Scourfield, 1997) Turner cases have only a single X, which they get either from the father or the mother (about 80% from the mother, meaning that the sperm is defective in these cases). Amazingly, when they get the X from the mother, they turn out to have social difficulties, such as "offensive or disruptive behavior" much more frequently than when they get the X from the father. This is the phenomenon of genetic imprinting: who passes the chromosome on counts. And here's the great hypothesis. Boys have a Y, supplied by their father, and one X chromosome, which they must get from their mother. The same X that makes Turner girls misbehave. So it's possible that it's the mother's X which makes the boys act like boys. Ironic, isn't it? -Stephen McGuffin, P., & Scourfield, J. (1997). A father's imprint on his daughter's thinking. Nature, 387, 652-- White, B. (1994). Ch. 9. The Turner syndrome: Origin, cytogenetic variants, and factors influencing the phenotype. In: Broman, S. and Grafman, J. (eds) Atypical Cognitive Deficits in Developmental Disorders. Lawrence Erlbaum. Stephen Black, Ph.D. tel: (819) 822-9600 ext 2470 Department of Psychology fax: (819) 822-9661 Bishop's Universitye-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Lennoxville, QC J1M 1Z7 Canada Department web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy Check out TIPS listserv for teachers of psychology at: http://www.frostburg.edu/dept/psyc/southerly/tips/
Re: developmental question
Hi, Someone requested a viewing of the suggestions I was given regarding developmental activities with small children in the classroom. I can't imagine that some of the private posters would mind me sharing this info. On the off chance they didn't want to be identified, I've summarized the information sent to me. Thanks, Jim G I specialize in developmental assessments, and I bring a 3 month old and parents to class every term for about 3/4 of the class period. In class, the 32 month old will probably be fine. The 18 month old may cling to you for the whole time, or may be very disconcerted by the presence of the whole class. Try the Denver Developmental Screenng Test II or the Ages and Stages Questionnaire for a list of developmental tasks. Don't know how big the class is, but dim the lights on them a bit if possible Could the class meet you in a nearby park? Some suggestions to note age differences: stack small alphabet blocks ask child to put a toy under, next to, on top of, behind where you are seated sing familiar songs and observe which child can do words, motions, etc. play catch and kick with a big ish ball have several students write down everything each child says during the observation, and compare mean length of utterance, grammatical structure, and size of volabulary bring each child's favorite book and have a group of students note similarities and differences between the 2 books, and what appeals to each age developmentally have several students count the average length of time each child spends on any one task Bring your partner and let students pre-prepare a list of questions for the partner (like"How has being a parent changed your time schedule?") Have fun -- the best is afterwards, when you can say "remember what the 18 month old could do?" for the rest of the semester! Some obvious first tasks/demos would be object permanence (ala Piaget) and a language sample/analysis. I have done things like this twice. One time, I had an 8-month-old come to class (with his dad). I asked one of the School Psychology doctoral students (who specialized in infant assessment) to come into class and show the students the normal abilities at this age and the challenges, etc of testing. The other time, I had all the students in the class bring their kids to class. (It was at a community college and most students did have a child or 2.) We had kids ranging from 6 months to 12. I brought all the stuff to do the standard Piagetian conservation tasks (colored water and 2 containers of different sizes, playdough, etc) and we did appropriate tests with each of the kids. (Of course, there are more modern tasks but these are classics and are in every text.) Both classes loved these activities. I think the children involved enjoyed them too. I definitely wouldn't consider taking your children if you thought there was any harm, if they are very shy and anxious around people, etc. (One time I was asked to take my son to a Child Psyc class, but it would have been during his nap at a time when he needed naps, so I said no.) But if not, it would probably be enjoyable for all. It is an interesting question. Using the two as a "live" demonstration seems like a very good experience for them. I've seen others doing this and they just kind of use kitchen props and everyday objects. You could, for example go buy some clay or playdough to show conservation but it will probably work to just pour kool-aid into glasses of different hights/diameters. There are a couple of good Piaget films (assuming your schools have them- our education department has many) and you could just make up analogies. Hiding things under a book or in a match box, making something disappear etc. works well then ask the child to explain what they saw etc. Short of the film just look in a cognitive development text or in the class demonstration supplements to developmental texts and copy or make up analogues for those. The couple of times I've seen this done it works even when it doesn't. One reason I suspect, is that many of your students are probably only children, youngest, or just generally haven't been around 18 - 36 mth olds in a very long time. Of course, there is always the potential for catastrophy (crying, fear of the class etc.- probably less likely with your own kids!). * My kids speak fondly of their memories of coming into my classes throughout the childhood. For kids at those ages, you might
