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I discovered quite a bit about myself by writing the ten papers required for this course. After spending the last two years of my undergraduate career bouncing from major to major and guessing at what career I wanted to pursue based on salary and the amount of required schooling, B103 finally forced me to do some serious self-reflection and to honestly evaluate my true interests and goals. I am now confident that I am in a major that is appropriate for me and that I am getting very close to successfully deciding what type of graduate program I will pursue. B103 scared me, stressed me out, and made me a better, more complete person all at the same time. I have realized over the last few months that the reason I was floundering around with no direction was because I was hoping everything would just magically fall into place. Through some serious soul searching, caused mainly by the stress of having to make certain decisions in order to successfully write my papers, I learned I have never had to truly fight for anything in my life before and now the time has come for me clarify my goals, make a plan to attain them, and aggressively pursue the things I want for my future. I have also realized I am capable of achieving anything I want if I plan ahead and try hard enough. B103 was by far the best course I have ever taken in terms of the value it holds for my future. It feels good to be savvy psychology major instead of floundering with no direction, and that feeling is due solely to this course.
A Class Designed to Facilitate the Accomplishment of Goals 4 and 5of APA’s New Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major Drew C. Appleby, PhD Professor Emeritus of Psychology Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Imagine you have been hired to create a class that helps psychology majors begin the process of accomplishing Goals 4 and 5 (Communication and Professional Development) of APA’s new Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major. Further imagine that this class is titled B103 Orientation to a Major in Psychology, and that it is only a 1-credit-hour course in a 40-credit-hour undergraduate psychology curriculum. How would you accomplish this?
Students accomplish Goal 4 (Communication) of APA’s new guidelines when they can • demonstrate effective writing, • use expert feedback to revise writing of a single draft, and • exhibit effective presentation skills.
Students accomplish Goal 5 (Professional Development) of APA’s new guidelines when they can • apply psychological content and skills to career goals, • exhibit self-efficacy and self-regulation, • refine project management skills, • enhance teamwork capacity, and • develop meaningful professional direction for life after graduation.
B103 Orientation to a Major in Psychology was… • a one-credit hour course, • required for all psychology majors, • capped at 35 students per section, • taught at two developmental levels, and • a challenging course, not because of the inherent difficulty of its content, but because it required a considerable amount of work and serious reflection about important personal, academic, and career-related issues.
Unfortunately, many undergraduates deny or ignore these important issues for as long as possible, as illustrated by the next slide, which contains a plaintive warning from one of my graduating seniors I found taped to my classroom wall the week before graduation.
Fellow Seniors Life, as we have always tried to avoid it, is about to happen. Andy Kosegi
I will describe this class to you today by identifying and explaining the Nine Ps of B103 Orientation to a Major in Psychology.
The Prelude, The Publication, The Purpose, The Process, The Prerequisites for Success, The Personnel, The Products, The Payoffs, and The Proteges
ThePrelude It all started 44 years ago in 1971 with Mike’s question that I couldn’t answer.
ThePrelude… Mike’s question was: “What can I do with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology if I don’t go to graduate school?”
ThePrelude… My very embarrassing answer to Mike’s very relevant question was: “I don’t know.”
ThePrelude… My motivation to help psychology majors prepare for careers began at this point and continued for the rest of my career because of disturbing data such as the following from The Wall Street Journal.
The Prelude… I have always been an educational idealist, and my educational idealism is based on my understanding of the Latin word educare, from which the word education is derived. Educareis a Latin infinitive that means to lead out of. The ducare means to lead and the e is a prefix, which means out of.
An education to me is not just the attainment of a diploma. It is a powerfully transformative experience that can lead a person out of one place to another in crucial areas such as: • knowledge (from ignorance wisdom), • skills (from inability ability), and • personal characteristics (from stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination tolerance, acceptance, and the valuing of human differences).
The Publication Handouts, handouts, handouts My one and only sabbatical
The Publication… Handouts, handouts, handouts My one and only sabbatical My journey into the world of publishing The Savvy Psychology Major
The Purpose B103 was designed to produce what I call savvy psychology majors who can provide clear, coherent, confident, and educated answers to the following career-planning questions.
What occupations can I enter if I major in psychology? • Which of these occupations can I enter with a bachelor’ degree, and which will require me to earn a graduate degree? • What are the specific tasks I would perform in these occupations? • What specific sets of knowledge, skills, and characteristics (KSCs) must I possess to enter and succeed in these occupations? • How can I use both the curricular and extracurricular resources and activities of my undergraduate education to develop these KSCs? • Who can serve as a mentor to guide me in the identification, selection, and engagement in these resources and activities? • What strategies can I use to convince employers or graduate school admissions committees to hire me or admit me into their programs?
The Process Students engaged in the following activities in B103 Wrote 10 one-page papers in APA Style
The Process B103 students engaged in the following activities Wrote 10 one-page papers in APA Style Took 10 quizzes that covered material from The Savvy Psychology Major Created a Career Plan A and a Career Plan B Constructed a complete, semester-by-semester graduation plan
The Process… B103 students engaged in the following activities Wrote 10 one-page papers in APA Style Took 10 short quizzes that covered material from the textbook Created a Career Plan A and a Career Plan B Constructed a complete, semester-by-semester graduation plan Presented a collaborative oral report on a campus resource or opportunity Took field trips to our Advising Office and the university’s Career Center Interacted with a panel of graduate students and graduate faculty Provided catering to the class at least once during the semester Created a “dream” resume or curriculum vitae Combined their papers, graduation plan, and resume/CV into a poster Presented their poster during a poster session on the final day of class Provided catering for and invited an “honored guest” to the poster session
The 8 Prerequisites for Success in B103 You will perform well in B103 if you engage in the following behaviors. • Work hard. • Come to class, come to class on time, and stay for the entire class. • Follow directions. • Submit assignments when they are due. • Communicate in a timely manner with your TA and instructor. • Act in an academically honest and ethical manner. Collaborate in an effective and civil manner with your fellow students, your TA, and your instructor. • Use the feedback provided by your instructor and your TA to improve the quality of your work. (Please note how similar these are to the behaviors that students will have to exhibit in order to be successful on-the-job after they graduate.)
The Personnel I started alone…grading both the content and APA style of ~70 3-4 page papers each week. When one of my students said, “Dr. A, you need a TA,” I followed her advice, and I soon had ~12 TAs in each of my classes sections. My TAs used the CREATER model of academic case management to create success in the individual members of small groups of B103 students we referred to as “families.”
The Personnel… The Acronym CREATERstands for… Counselor Referral Agent Evaluator Advocate Teacher Encourager Role Model
The Personnel… Each TA volunteered for a particular duty Lead TA Oncourse TA COR Report TA Field Trip TA Graduate School Panel TA Catering TA
The Personnel… Quiz TA Grade Book TA Extra Credit TA Assessment Data TA Poster Session Program TA Poster Session Invitation TA
The Products “The Book” was once the product of B103. A 6-week summer school course changed the product from a book to a poster created from 10 one-page papers written in APA style. A poster session was held on the last day of class and was attended by “Honored Guests.”
The Products . . . The titles of the 10 papers on the poster were… #1: How to Become a Savvy Psychology Major #2: My Plan to Graduate with a BA or BS in Psychology #3: Strategies to Increase My Academic Success #4: Who Will Be My Mentor(s) #5: Plan A or B: Going to Graduate School #6: The Graduate School Application Process #7: How to Gain Acceptance to Graduate School #8: Plan A or B: Entering or Remaining in the Workforce #9: My Dream Resume or Curriculum Vitae #10: Are My Major and My Career Plans Still Appropriate for Me?
As an Example, Here Are the Questions From One Paper Paper #7: How to Gain Acceptance to Graduate School • What three criteria should you use to choose the people who you will ask to write your letters of recommendation? What are the names of three specific people you will choose on the basis of these criteria, and how does each of these three people meet all three of these criteria? • What are the steps of the procedure described in The Savvy Psychology Major that will enable you to gain strong letters of recommendation? • What can students do to guarantee they will not receive strong letters of recommendation? In which of these behaviors do you engage now, and how can you stop doing them in the future? • What are the kisses of death in the graduate school application process, and what specific strategies can you use to avoid committing them?
The Products . . . The subjects of the 10 COR reports were… The Writing Center Psychology Club and Psi Chi The Psychology Resource Center The Center for Service and Learning Purdue’s OWL APA-Style Resource Website The Counseling and Psychological Services Center The Psychology Department’s Track Concentrations The Psychology Department’s Undergraduate Website The School of Science Career Development Services Website An Online Resource to Enable Psychology Majors to Identify, Investigate, and Prepare for 172 Psychology and Psychology-Related Careers
The Payoffs For my students For my university’s stakeholders For my university’s assessment needs For me
Payoffs for My Students
Paragraph From a Request for a Letter of Recommendation for Graduate School Several years have passed since we last saw each other, but I was a student in your B103 class in the spring semester of 2008 at IUPUI. At the end of the semester, my B103 book was one you selected to reference at the 2008 American Psychological Association Convention as an example of a positive outcome of B103, and I later become a TA for B103 for both semesters of the 2008-2009 academic year. My experience as a student and subsequently as a TA for B103 was the first time I felt excited about and connected to my college experience. Shortly after becoming a TA, I declared a major in psychology. One of the most important lessons B103 taught me was that a major in psychology can be a valuable asset in many different careers.
Payoffs For My University’s Stakeholders
I have seen an absolute change in Derric’s habits since he entered this class. He has begun to show more ambition and drive toward his academic goals. Applying for various internships and volunteer activities in his desired field is something Derric has never done before. He has also created a date-specific plan for accomplishing his goals. His new change in spirits has lifted my spirits as well. With his new outlook, I know he will be able to accomplish his goals. (Derric’s mother)
Renee did an amazing job of taking this opportunity to focus on her future plans. This course and this poster presentation helped her to outline her next steps in school. The networking she was able to do during this poster session was the most beneficial part, and I can tell she has already begun to add new strategies into her current vocational plan with what she learned today. (Renee’s vocational rehabilitation counselor)
Payoffs for My Department’s and My University’s Assessment Needs
My Seven-Step Assessment Strategy • Identify the course’s most crucial student learning outcomes (SLOs). • Create assignments to assess students’ accomplishment of these SLOs. • Develop effectiveness ratings for student performance on these assignments. • Gather, analyze, and interpret evaluation data from these assignments. • Create data-based changes designed to increase student performance in the SLOs that have not been accomplished at an acceptable level of effectiveness. • Implement these changes the next time the course is offered. • Repeat Step 4 to see if these changes produced the desired outcomes. The following slide provides B103’s SLOs and the assignments used to assess them.
B103’s Targeted Student Learning Outcomes and the Assignments Used to Assess Their Accomplishment
What were the results of my assessments of these three SLOs during my Spring 2010 class?
