PSYC 485-01, Senior Seminar, Spring 2007

Abstract

Course Description This course is designed to give students the opportunity to integrate skills and understanding critical to the discipline of psychology. Students will complete a major research project which will require the application of work they have done in methods and content area courses in psychology. We will work in teams, consistent with t a collaborative model that dominates contemporary psychological research. Class discussions will regularly focus on the implications of our work for psychological theory, for broader interdisciplinary questions, and for contemporary issues. Course Objectives Knowledge Objectives: Students will review a body of literature pertinent to a research project they will undertake. Each student will become fully conversant with the research and theory that is relevant to his or her project. The level of expertise students gain by the completion of their senior papers should prepare them to communicate effectively with professionals in their area of study. Personal Values/Commitment/Application Objectives: It is my hope that this course will make students more aware of both the value of well-conducted research for informing social and educational policy, and of the serious responsibilities of the researchers who undertake such projects. We will see how much people who make decisions that shape our institutions need the information that can be provided by psychological research that is (1) well-conceived, (2) carefully conducted, (3) thoughtfully analyzed, and (4) sensitively communicated. At the same time we will become more keenly aware of our responsibility as researchers to be attentive to the questions posed by those who will use research findings, and to be respectful of the voices and perspectives of the participants whose understanding of the world provides us with data. Student Skills Objectives: The student work and the use of class time in Senior Seminar focus on exercising and improving a set of skills used by professionals in psychology and in many other related fields. Most notably, these will include: 􀂋 research skills: students will put together the research skills they have developed in their work as a psychology major. They will conduct literature reviews, manage a data set, conduct data analyses, write a resesarch report in APA format, and disseminate results of their study to appropriate audiences. 􀂋 collaboration skills: almost all psychological research is done in a collaboration model. Students will have an opportunity to gain experience working as part of a research team and to gain experience providing and receiving critical peer feedback on all aspects of the work. 􀂋 professional communication skills: students will have opportunities to enhance communication skills in two areas: • the ability to make formal presentations to professional audiences. • the ability to contribute to conversations (in-class, and in out-of-class informal meetings) that encourage the thoughtful expression of different points of view and that deepen our mutual understanding of the work we are doing.