Psychology Learning & Teaching
ISSN 1475-7257

CONTENTS [click on author's name for abstract and full text]

SPECIAL ISSUE
PLAT2006 Conference

Annie Trapp & Nick Hammond. Editorial. A Diversity of Scholarship, pages 71‑72 doi:10.2304/plat.2007.6.2.71 VIEW FULL TEXT
James Elander, Tony Towell & Pauline Fox. Competence-based Training and Assessment by Portfolio: the health psychology model, pages 73‑79

REPORTS
Erin Schoenfelder, Ryan Olson, Matthew Bell & Karalyn Tom. Stop and Smell the Roses: an activity for teaching the central limit theorem, pages 80‑84
Annie Crookes. The Effects of Topic Choice on Performance Outcomes: an analysis of student selected third year essays, pages 85‑90
Jessica Darling, Kelly Goedert, Michelle Ceynar, Wendelyn Shore & Dana Anderson. Learning about the Means to the End: what US introductory psychology students report about experimental participation, pages 91‑97

CONFERENCE ARTICLES
Ros Hill & Peter Reddy. Undergraduate Peer Mentoring: an investigation into processes, activities and outcomes, pages 98‑103
Steve Melluish, Jon Crossley & Alison Tweed. An Evaluation of the Use of Simulated Patient Role-plays in the Teaching and Assessment of Clinical Consultation Skills in Clinical Psychologists’ Training, pages 104‑113
Debbie Pope, Helen Whiteley, Chris Smith, Rachel Lever, Delia Wakelin, Helen Dudiak & Hazel Dewart. Relationships between ADHD and Dyslexia Screening Scores and Academic Performance in Undergraduate Psychology Students: implications for teaching, learning and assessment, pages114‑120
Will Reader. Non-participation in Seminars: free rider avoidance and value maximisation, pages 121‑129

CONFERENCE REPORTS
Jane Guiller, Alan Durndell, Anne Ross & Karen Thomson. Issues Surrounding Use of Online Discussion Groups on Traditional Undergraduate Psychology Modules, pages 130‑138
Jodi Wallwork, Bere Mahoney & Sarah Mason. Watching People Do Stuff: an analysis of newly recruited students’ accounts of doing a psychology degree, pages 139‑149
Carl Senior & Peter Reddy. The Academic Conference Evolves: the fMRI experience, pages 150‑153
Peter Reddy & Vanessa Parson. Student Response to a Pub Quiz Style First Year Psychology Assessment, pages 154‑159

BOOK REVIEWS, pages 160‑172 doi:10.2304/plat.2007.6.2.160 VIEW FULL TEXT

ABSTRACTS
Abstracts of recent articles published in Teaching of Psychology and Psychology Teaching Review, pages 173‑177 VIEW FULL TEXT

Competence-based Training and Assessment by Portfolio: the health psychology model

JAMES ELANDER University of Derby, United Kingdom
TONY TOWELL University of Westminster, United Kingdom
PAULINE FOX Thames Valley University, United Kingdom

doi:10.2304/plat.2007.6.2.73

All UK postgraduate qualifications in applied areas of psychology will soon be competence-based. This will improve the professional recognition and esteem of applied psychology, and make it easier to transfer qualifications between psychology and other disciplines and between psychology sub-disciplines. However, the changes pose considerable challenges because there is very little clear evidence about the effectiveness of competence-based training and portfolio assessment. Health psychology has led the development of competence-based training in psychology with the ‘stage two’ qualification in health psychology, and this article considers postgraduate health psychology training in the context of what is known about competence-based training and portfolio assessment in professions such as medicine, nursing and education. This raises a number of questions for professional training and qualifications in psychology.

Stop and Smell the Roses: an activity for teaching the central limit theorem

ERIN SCHOENFELDER, RYAN OLSON, MATTHEW BELL & KARALYN TOM Santa Clara University, USA

doi:10.2304/plat.2007.6.2.80

Undergraduate psychology students in two statistics classes (n = 77) counted blooms on rose bushes on campus using sample sizes of either 30 or 60 bushes, and submitted sample means and standard deviations to an online database. Students used that database to graph sampling distributions and complete other homework problems. Students preferred the activity to lecture, found it helpful for understanding sampling distributions and a majority listed it as a favourite class activity (n = 48). A pretest and posttest evaluation of learning administered to one course section showed a statistically significant learning increase. This memorable, enjoyable and effective activity exposes students to practical research challenges and can be replicated using other dependent variables found in naturalistic environments.

The Effects of Topic Choice on Performance Outcomes: an analysis of student selected third year essays

ANNIE CROOKES University of Leicester, United Kingdom

doi:10.2304/plat.2007.6.2.85

The role of choice in assessment topic on performance has not been properly addressed in the literature on learning strategies. Therefore, the present study forms the basis for an initial analysis of this issue. The study describes an investigation into the effects of freedom of assessment topic choice on students’ performance. This follows suggestions from students that they do not perform as well on essays to which they have been arbitrarily assigned due to a decrease in interest, understanding and motivation to perform. Student performance was compared on self-selected and non-selected topics. The effects of choice were analysed by cohort, practice and marker effects. Academic ability was controlled for by a within subject design. The analysis found mixed evidence for increased performance when students are allowed to choose the topic of interest. The concept of student choice and how to balance this with practical limitations is discussed in light of the results and areas of further research are suggested.

Learning about the Means to the End: what us introductory psychology students report about experimental participation

JESSICA DARLING Pacific Lutheran University,USA
KELLY GOEDERT Seton Hall University, USA
MICHELLE CEYNAR, WENDELYN SHORE & DANA ANDERSON Pacific Lutheran University, USA

doi:10.2304/plat.2007.6.2.91

Previous research has shown that when asked to rate their agreement with statements regarding their attitudes towards participation in psychological experiments, students reported that their participation was of educational value (e.g. Bowman & Waite, 2003; Landrum & Chastain, 1995). The authors investigated what kinds of learning experiences students would report when prompted with open ended questions regarding their participation. Four open ended questions asked how seriously participants took the research experience, what participants gained from studies, what were commonalties among the studies and how their classroom experience helped with understanding the experiments. In addition to reporting that they took their participation seriously, students reported that they learned not only about psychological content but also about the process of conducting psychological research.

Undergraduate Peer Mentoring: an investigation into processes, activities and outcomes

ROS HILL & PETER REDDY Aston University, United Kingdom

doi:10.2304/plat.2007.6.2.98

Peer mentoring of undergraduates is increasingly being used in higher education to reduce first year attrition by aiding transition to university. The authors propose that peer mentoring may also be a means of transmitting the values and ethics which reflect academic and personal integrity and underpin graduate and professional identity. In a qualitative study, they examined students’ expectations and subsequent experience of a psychology undergraduate pilot mentoring scheme, together with the process and content. Mentors and mentees felt that mentors had a unique part to play in aiding transition to university. Mentors’ advice reflected implicit academic values rather than strategic short cuts and mentoring cued reflection on their own development. The implications for encouraging student participation in mentoring schemes are discussed.

An Evaluation of the Use of Simulated Patient Role-plays in the Teaching and Assessment of Clinical Consultation Skills in Clinical Psychologists’ Training

STEVE MELLUISH, JON CROSSLEY & ALISON TWEED University of Leicester, United Kingdom

doi:10.2304/plat.2007.6.2.104

Simulated patient role-plays (SPRs) with trained actors are a recent development in the training of clinical psychologists. This article reports on the introduction and evaluation of SPRs as both a method used to teach clinical consultation skills and as a method to formatively assess trainee clinical psychologists’ acquisition of these skills. The evaluation used a number of focus groups with clinical psychology trainees, programme staff and clinical supervisors to explore the acceptability of these methods in teaching and assessment, the experience of using them and the impact on trainees’ learning. Focus group interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using template analysis. The core theme from the analysis concerned the capacity of SPRs to authentically recreate a clinical environment and capture the trainee’s clinical practice. The concept of authenticity is discussed in relation to clinical skills teaching and the wider profession of clinical psychology.

Relationships Between ADHD and Dyslexia Screening Scores and Academic Performance in Undergraduate Psychology Students: implications for teaching, learning and assessment

DEBBIE POPE, HELEN WHITELEY, CHRIS SMITH, RACHEL LEVER University of Central Lancashire, United Kingdom
DELIA WAKELIN Northumbria University, United Kingdom
HELEN DUDIAK University of Teesside, United Kingdom
HAZEL DEWART University of Westminster, United Kingdom

doi:10.2304/plat.2007.6.2.114

The impact of dyslexia and ADHD characteristics on study in higher education has been relatively neglected. This study investigates the prevalence of self-reported dyslexia and ADHD characteristics in 1182 undergraduate psychology students at four universities. Findings suggest that there is a high incidence of undiagnosed students in the ‘at risk’ categories for both dyslexia and ADHD. Whilst no relationship was found between achievement data and dyslexia scores, there were strong negative associations between ADHD subscale scores (inattention, hyperactivity or impulsivity and overall ADHD) and academic grades, indicating that those who score higher on ADHD rating scales are performing more poorly in academic tests than their lower scoring peers. Assessment results indicate that specific modes of assessment (multiple choice questions) may pose particular problems for high inattentive or ADHD scorers. This study suggests a need to focus on the identification and provision of support for students with problems related to ADHD characteristics, and indicates that many students, other than those who ‘declare’ a learning difficulty, would benefit from further support.

Non-participation in Seminars: free rider avoidance and value maximisation

WILL READER Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom

doi:10.2304/plat.2007.6.2.121

Seminars are usually a vital part of higher education, but lack of engagement and non-participation by students can reduce their effectiveness. This article looks at non-participation from the perspective of evolutionary psychology in order to assess why, and under what conditions, it might occur. Two approaches are taken. First that students’ opting out is considered a rational strategy as a result of students preferentially allocating time to those activities that maximise their chances of gaining a good degree. Second, that non-participation is partly a response to the perception that others are not pulling their weight (perceived free riding). A questionnaire study revealed that both of these factors might account for some of the variation in participation.

Issues Surrounding Use of Online Discussion Groups on Traditional Undergraduate Psychology Modules

JANE GUILLER, ALAN DURNDELL, ANNE ROSS & KAREN THOMSON Glasgow Caledonian University, United Kingdom

doi:10.2304/plat.2007.6.2.130

This article discusses issues relating to the use of online discussion groups on psychology modules, drawing on the results from three studies investigating Level 1 students’ use of asynchronous computer mediated communication (CMC). The first study examined the language use of large groups of students using CMC to discuss essay topics. The second study compared the online and face-to-face discourse of small groups of students evaluating a journal article, in terms of critical thinking. The third study investigated the use of CMC to support small groups of students engaged in problem based learning (PBL). This article concludes with some recommendations for practitioners.

‘Watching People Do Stuff’: an analysis of newly recruited students’ accounts of doing a psychology degree

JODI WALLWORK, BERE MAHONEY & SARAH MASON University of Worcester, United Kingdom

doi:10.2304/plat.2007.6.2.139

Learning and teaching researchers have consistently identified a mismatch between student and tutor expectations and goals. With student diversity increasing along with widening access, student perceptions, misconceptions and attitudes may be just as important to learning and teaching psychology as individual ability and knowledge. The authors set out here to explore the accounts given by newly recruited psychology students of their beliefs and understandings about the subject of psychology and how psychology students learn. Their findings suggest that, although some of these students’ understandings are consistent with the psychology undergraduate programme, there are also beliefs that present challenges and opportunities to tutors and programme designers. The authors suggest that, at the very least, engagement in an exercise similar to that undertaken in this study may be valuable in enhancing understanding and reshaping the beliefs and expectations of both students and tutors.

The Academic Conference Evolves: the fMRI experience

CARL SENIOR & PETER REDDY Aston University, United Kingdom

doi:10.2304/plat.2007.6.2.150

The fMRI Experience began as a postgraduate organised conference, to enable novice access to expertise in a developing and technically complex area, and for mutual support. This article investigates the seventh annual iteration of this emergent conference and evaluates its educational value. Key features are free attendance supported by sponsorship, a clear focus on student needs and a strong social programme and participation ethos to facilitate interaction. Predominantly qualitative data suggests that the event is of value to postgraduate participants and is also successful in attracting the participation of internationally leading researchers. The implications and value of the event for postgraduate education and for developing new fields of enquiry are discussed.

Student Response to a Pub Quiz Style First Year Psychology Assessment

PETER REDDY & VANESSA PARSON Aston University, United Kingdom

doi:10.2304/plat.2007.6.2.154

The deterioration in staff-student ratios in UK higher education has had a disproportionate impact on assessment and feedback, meaning that contemporary students may have fewer assessments and much less feedback than a generation ago (Gibbs, 2006). Early use of a quiz assessment may offer a blend of social benefits (social comparison, shared problem solving leading to engagement, belonging and continuation), academic benefits (early formative assessment, immediate feedback) and administrative benefits (on-the-spot verbal marking and feedback to 230 students simultaneously). This study sought student views on the acceptability and contribution to learning of the quiz. Social benefits were apparent but difficulties in creating questions to elicit deeper reasoning and problem solving are discussed and the quiz had limited pedagogic value in the eyes of participants. The use of assertion-reason questions are considered as a way of taking the table quiz to a higher level and extending its pedagogic value.

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