I am NOT a fan of encyclopedic texts for an intro course. First of all, as a memory researcher I KNOW that the students will remember very little if you overwhelm them with information. Secondly, they don't have the expertise to know what is a core bit if knowledge and what is an illustration or extension built on the core. I use a very bones book for $15 (Psych the Easy Way) and supplement to my heart's content, but still it is much, much less information that an encyclopedic text. You might want to go to: http://www.worthpublishers.com/myerspelpreview
>From whence I quote David Myers, without permission but with the assumption that it is a public website that it's OK to do so: "To avoid becoming superficial, this has required a careful selection of the most important and humanly significant topics. (I continually ask myself: Does an educated person need to know this?) That captures my philosophy in a nutshell. You might want to take a look at this book. I have looked at others and have seen the sample chapter in this one and like it. I have seen others I don't like as well. Annette Annette Kujawski Taylor, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology University of San Diego 5998 Alcala Park San Diego, CA 92110 619-260-4006 [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---- Original message ---- >Date: Mon, 22 Sep 2008 11:50:10 -0400 >From: "Maxwell Gwynn" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Re: [tips] Intro Psychology course(s): Request for Info >To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" <tips@acsun.frostburg.edu> > > Annette: > > Thanks for your quick reply! Do you use a text > particularly geared towards a one-semester course? I > can't imagine our students tackling our 16-chapter > 700 page-plus Weiten & McCann text in 13 weeks (39 > hours). > > -Max G > > Maxwell Gwynn, PhD > Psychology Department > Wilfrid Laurier University > 519-884-0710 ext 3854 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > >>> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 9/22/2008 11:37 AM >>> > > 1) Is your intro psych course one or two terms > in > > length? > > 1 > > > > > 2a) Do you feel students are adequately prepared > to > > handle courses at the next level (i.e., 2nd year > or > > 200-level courses)? > > Absolutely. But they complain a lot about work load. > Then you look on course > evals how many hours per week they averaged studying > for this class, and it's > around 3. Go figure their definition of heavy work > load. > > > 2b) How many hours of instruction do students > get in > > this course? (e.g., 13 weeks of three hours per > > week) > > 15 weeks of 3 hours per week > > > > 3) If two terms, is it a single course or > divided > > into two? > > N/A > > > > > 4a) If divided into two courses, is one course a > > prerequisite for the second course? > > 4b) Are both courses required for any upper-year > > psych courses, or does one (half) intro course > serve > > as a prereq for some upper-year courses and the > > other (half) intro course for other upper year > > courses (e.g., PSYC101 is a prereq for upper > year > > cognitive/bio/physio courses, while PSYCH102 is > a > > prereq for upper year > developmental/social/applied > > courses)? > > N/A > > > > 5) If divided into two courses, what topics are > > covered in each course? (feel free to provide > links > > to your courses' descriptions) > > N/A > > > 6) Are you satisfied with the current structure > of > > your intro psych course(s)? > > YES > > Annette Kujawski Taylor, Ph.D. > Professor of Psychology > University of San Diego > 5998 Alcala Park > San Diego, CA 92110 > 619-260-4006 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > --- > To make changes to your subscription contact: > > Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) > > --- > To make changes to your subscription contact: > > Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
