I want to throw out a question and then sit back and be simultaneously
amazed and enlightened.
Background: When I have taught History of Psychology, it has always been at
the senior level. By drawing on ideas learned in other courses they've had
-- e.g., being able to assume they've already learned what Pavlovian
conditioning is -- it gives the history class the freedom to spend time on
the HISTORY of how the ideas developed.
An alternate model would be to put the course at a lower level, encourage
students to take it as soon as possible after Intro psych. With this model
you could use the historical overview to provide a framework for later
courses.
Have any TIPsters had experience with the "Take History Early" model, and if
so, what are their thoughts about the relative merits of the two models?
As always, I appreciate how willing this group is to share their wisdom.
Thanks.
Michael Renner
