Course Description

This course provides students with an overview of the theoretical background and practical skills needed to effectively teach the subject of psychology at the college level. Topics in the course include course preparation, strategies to facilitate learning, successful teacher-student rapport, and exploration of personal teaching style/philosophy.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

Rationale

present Liberty University with the perspectives of your class.

This course is designed to provide students with knowledge and skills related to the teaching of psychology in both residential and online settings. Throughout the term, students will be able to gain experience with the major tasks related to course design and facilitating student learning. This course will also address the integration of personal teaching styles, values, and worldviews with instructional practices.

Measurable Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the various theoretical and practical components of effective teaching, communication, and assessment.
2. Create a course syllabus and demonstrate the ability to confidently communicate college-level material in the field of psychology.
3. Articulate a clear, personal philosophy of teaching.
4. Identify techniques for properly managing various classroom and student challenges.
5. Evaluate and apply course concepts within a Biblical worldview.

Course Assignment

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (2)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences.

• Therefore, the student is required to create a thread in response to the provided prompt for each discussion.
• Each thread must be 500–600 words and demonstrate course-related knowledge by using current APA citations from the Learn material, an outside academic source, and a scriptural reference.
• In addition to the thread, the student is required to reply to 2 other classmates threads.
• Each reply must be at least 150 words, contain quality feedback including identifying one strength or critique of the initial post, and include a question to the initial post’s author based upon the initial post.
• Discussions will utilize the Post First feature. (MLO: A, C, E)

The student will submit a 1–2 page (double-spaced) paper describing his or her personal philosophy of teaching. The paper must include a discussion of topics such as personal beliefs about instructor responsibilities, approaches to learning, and goals of teaching. The assignment must be completed in the current APA format. (MLO: C)

Reflection Paper Based 

With a hypothetical psychology course in mind, the student will complete an online version of the Teaching Goals Inventory. The student will then submit the generated report along with a 1–2 page (not including the required title page) double-spaced reflection paper based on his or her results. The reflection paper will focus on contrasting goals rated high vs. low in importance and how these goals relate to the provided data collected historically from other instructors. The current APA format must be used. An abstract is not required. (MLO: A, B)

Draft Assignment

For the initial draft of the syllabus, the student will use an undergraduate textbook that he/she already has in his/her possession or he/she will choose a textbook from a list of approved open-access books listed on the Syllabus: Draft Assignment page under Syllabus: Draft Resources. The selected undergraduate textbook will be used to create a mock syllabus for a hypothetical psychology course. The submitted syllabus must include sections pertaining to course information, class information, instructor information, required materials, course description, course objectives, learning goals, course schedule, grading scale, classroom policies, and accommodations policy. The Syllabus: Draft Assignment will not include details of specific assignments, as this will be submitted later in the term. (MLO: A, B)

Final Assignment

The student will submit the topic for his or her upcoming Lecture: Final Assignment. The topic must be one contained in the psychology textbook chosen for the student’s previous syllabus assignment and the textbook reference must be included in the current APA format. The student will also submit a corresponding outline noting key points of information that will be covered in the upcoming lecture assignment, a description of one active learning exercise, or an in-class demonstration description (including detailed steps and how the demonstration/activity connects to the lecture), and a reference page in current APA format. (MLO: A, B)

The student will view one recorded lecture from a list of approved videos and write a 2–3-page (not including title page or reference page) double-spaced paper in the current APA format. The paper must include a descriptive summary and a critique listing 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses. The critique must include at least 2 references: the course textbook and an outside scholarly source. (MLO: A)

Assignment Description

The student will submit the final version of his or her syllabus for the hypothetical psychology course chosen at the beginning of the term. For the final syllabus, the student must include a completed schedule that contains the Module: Week number, topics/readings covered, and any assignments/exams due that week. A separate Assignment Description section must be included that has a brief summary of each assignment’s worth. At least one proposed assignment must be a written assignment. The student will then choose one written assignment described on the syllabus and attach a detailed rubric that would be used to grade this assignment. The rubric must contain specific expectations for hypothetical students’ work with corresponding point values. (MLO: A, B)

Syllabus Draft

The student will submit 5 multiple choice questions and one short answer question that could be included on a quiz in his or her hypothetical psychology course. Correct answers for these questions must also be indicated/included. The quiz questions must be accompanied by a short passage from the textbook (that was used for the Syllabus Draft assignment) where the answers could be found. This short passage must be quoted and cited/referenced in the current APA format. (MLO: A)

Lecture

The student will submit an 8–10 minute lecture as a narrated PowerPoint. The lecture must correspond to the Lecture Topic and Outline Assignment submitted earlier in the course, although slight edits to the initial outline are permitted. The lecture must also include a title slide, at least one slide that describes an active learning exercise or demonstration that would be given to the hypothetical class listening to the lecture, and an APA formatted references slide containing the textbook selected for the hypothetical course and any other sources used. Citations must be in the current APA format. (MLO: A, B)

The student will submit answers to the provided scenarios describing potential classroom challenges. The student will describe what he or she would do in the particular situation and provide the reasoning for this answer. Each scenario/answer must include an appropriate research citation to support the student’s choice of response. Scripture must be integrated into at least one scenario/answer.  All citations/references must follow the current APA format. (MLO: A, D, E)

Quizzes

The student will complete 2 quizzes throughout the term. Quiz: Introduction to Teaching Psychology will cover the Learn material for modules 1–4. Quiz: Developing in Teaching Psychology will cover the Learn material for modules 5–8. Each quiz will be open-book/open-notes, contain 40 questions in multiple-choice or true/false format, and have a time limit of 1 hour and 30 minutes. (MLO: A, D)