Class Descriptions
General Psychology
Why do we do what we do, feel what we feel, think what we think? What will make us happy? Are we rational? Does our environment determine our behavior? Are we wired to acquire language? This course is designed to provide students with a broad introduction to the field of psychology and its areas of specialization. We will survey some of the major psychological theories and findings in areas such as sensation and perception, learning and memory, language, and development.
Research Methods
This course is designed to prepare you to conduct your own psychological research, to critically evaluate published research, and to develop your scientific report-writing and presentation skills. This will be accomplished through in-class discussions, mini-experiments, and a group research project (which includes choosing a topic, preparing materials, collecting data in an ethical manner, analyzing the data, presenting your project, and writing up an APA-style research paper).
Developmental Psychology
This course provides an overview of the theories, methods, and phenomena of child psychology and examines the implications of this information for enhancing child development. Multiple aspects of development, including physical, cognitive, and social development from conception to school age are considered.
Psychology of Language
Do birds, bees, and monkeys talk? Are your thoughts determined by the language you speak? Are women more talkative than men? Where does language come from? Does being bilingual rot your mind? Are dogs better than children at learning words? These are just a few of the topics that we will consider in this seminar that takes an in-depth look at both the enduring and hot topics in language research. In this seminar, we won't watch what we say, but we'll definitely study it.
Example Project
Museum Exhibits for Children
A summary from the Fall 2010 semester
In Developmental Psychology, students entered into a partnership with the Children's Museum of Southern Minnesota and the Creative Play Place and worked with museum representatives to create exhibits for children. From this partnership, we hoped that students would (a) develop a deeper understanding of developmental psychology concepts by conducting research and applying that research to exhibit design, (b) see developmental concepts come to life as they observed hundreds of children and parents interact with their exhibit, (c) practice communicating their knowledge to different audiences--children, parents, and museum representatives, and (d) foster connections with museum representatives leading to internships for students.
Students worked in groups of approximately five, assigned based on common interests in developmental topics (e.g., motor development, memory, and health and nutrition). Groups researched their developmental topic and participated in discussions about different forms of play and their contribution to child development (Golinkoff, Hirsh-Pasek, & Singer, 2006). In addition, students did observations at the Creative Play Place, a free indoor play area. With this background, students generated ideas for their museum exhibits. They presented these ideas to museum representatives, who gave them feedback on which idea seemed the most promising and guidance on how to develop it further. Throughout the semester, each group maintained a website that justified their design decisions using academic research and child observations and that responded to feedback they received from the museum representatives. Eleven weeks into the semester, parents and children interacted with the students and their exhibits at a public event.
During the 2010 semester, students (N = 59) evaluated the project using questions adapted from a recent psychology service learning project (Muir & van der Linden, 2009). Students agreed that the project was an enjoyable (88%) and a valuable learning (85%) experience that increased their understanding of psychology (64%) and should remain a regular part of the course (80%). In addition, the project solidified students understanding of how children learn (81%) and play's contribution to learning (87%). Finally, the project increased student interest in early childhood education (85%) and made them more comfortable interacting with children, parents, and community members (75%).
The museum exhibit partnership allowed students to engage more deeply with developmental concepts and observe them in children. As one student summarized, “I was able to implement what I learned in class and lectures towards our project. By working on the project, we had to look deeper into understanding child behavior and development, and then see it all in action when we presented our project.”
In addition, the project fostered community connections. The children’s museum chose three student exhibits to develop further by working with three interns that came from the developmental psychology class.
Photos from 2011
Photos from 2010
Photos from 2009
Project in the News
2011
Developmental Psychology classes create museum exhibits for children (Gustavus Weekly)
Names & Notables (Mankato Free Press)
Faces & Places (Mankato Magazine)
Presidents’ Civic Engagement Steward Award Recipient (Minnesota Campus Compact)
2010
Museum Adds Play Lab (KEYC)
Psychology Classes Get Creative for Kids (Gustavus)
2009
Learning Through Service (Gustavus Quarterly, p. 10)
Toy Design
This seminar introduces you to critical thinking and a discussion of values, and develops oral and written communication skills by completing a series of 4 design projects related to early childhood development.
Playgrounds: During the first month, we’ll will visit playgrounds, interview parents & children, and talk with the Director of Recreation and Leisure at the St. Peter Community Center. Based on these observations and conversations, we’ll design an ideal playground.
Nutrition Policies: The next month, we’ll apply our creativity to solving the problem of childhood obesity by designing a new social policy to help reduce the rate of childhood obesity nationwide.
Books: Then, we’ll read children’s books and their critiques and talk with the president of a children’s book publishing company here in Minnesota. We’ll use this information to write a new children’s book.
Toys & Games: Throughout the semester, you will work in groups to design and produce a child’s toy or game. Similar to the other design projects, we will gather information by interviewing and observing people who use toys and meeting with the president of a Minnesota toy company, but we will also create toy prototypes and revise them based on user testing with children and parents.
Below you’ll find descriptions of the courses that I regularly teach as well as an example of a course project in Developmental Psychology, making museum exhibits for children. Course materials and on-campus contact information are available on my campus website after signing in using Gustavus credentials.