PSYC 4908  Senior Seminar  

Purpose: to help other instructors teaching the same course

Common Course ID:   PSYC 4908
CSU Instructor Open Textbook Adoption Portrait

Abstract:  Instead of a textbook, research articles are being utilized in a psychology course for undergraduate students by Anne Duran at California State University, Bakersfield. The research articles are more current and varied than any textbook could be, allowing students to locate information relevant to their own research investigation. The main motivation to adopt research articles was to keep information current and easily accessible. Most students access the research articles via our library’s “OneSearch.”    

In my Senior Seminar course, there is no textbook that would work for all of my students, because they are investigating different topics that are relevant to them. I only use articles; some I have found and others the students have found. 

Senior Seminar PSYC 4908
Brief Description of course highlights:  In the Psychology Department at Cal State Bakersfield, professors teaching Senior Seminar have a range of approaches. In my version, students decide on a topic they’d like to explore; their task is to write a “Big Paper” about that topic through the lens of six (out of the eight we cover) different subfields of psychology. I model the task with my topic of Prejudice. Each week in class we cover a different subfield (biopsych, learning, cognitive, sensation & perception, developmental, social, clinical/abnormal, and personality). On the first day of the week, everyone reads an article I chose that covers that subfield and my topic (Prejudice) for us to discuss. The second day of the week, students work in small groups to share articles they’ve read for their topics, and the ‘coolest’ ones get brought out to the large group discussion. Catalog Copy https://catalog.csub.edu/course-descriptions/psyc/ 

PSYC 4908  Senior Seminar  (3)  
Consideration of enduring issues facing the discipline. Critical examination and evaluation of evidence and of the inferences drawn from such evidence. Integration of information from other courses.
Requisite(s): Prerequisite: At least 90 units and completion of JYDR.
General Education Attribute(s): Capstone
Typically Offered: Fall, Spring   

Student population: The students in this class are all seniors, typically graduating at the end of the semester. They will have been exposed to multiple subfields of psychology—but they usually do not have practice synthesizing information from all subfields. On our campus, most students come in with insufficient preparation; additionally, a significant portion are first-generation college students and/or first-generation in America.

Learning or student outcomes:  From my syllabus:
Goals and Objectives: This course is designed to support the Goals and Objectives of the Psychology Department (see http://www.csub.edu/psychology/mission.html for more information). Specifically, this course will emphasize the following Goals:

Goal 1: Content Knowledge and Applications
1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and theories in psychological science
1.2 Develop a working knowledge of psychology’s major subfields
1.4 Apply psychological content to solve practical problems
1.5 Provide examples of psychology’s integrative themes

Goal 2: Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking
2.1 Exercise scientific reasoning to investigate psychological phenomena
2.2 Interpret, design, and evaluate basic psychological research
2.3 Incorporate sociocultural factors in scientific research practices

Goal 4: Communication, Psychological Literacy, and Technology Skills
4.1 Interact effectively with others
4.2 Write and present effectively for different purposes for different purposes
4.3 Provide evidence of psychological literacy
4.4 Exhibit appropriate technological skills to improve communication

Each of these goals will be assessed using your weekly writing assignments, your "big paper," and your presentations.

This course also meets your Capstone requirement for your General Education. Specifically, this course is built to address the following goals and outcomes: 

Goal 1. Students will articulate how their foundational skills, other General Education coursework, and other major and minor coursework has prepared them for their career and will help or has helped them achieve other life goals.

• Outcome 1A. Students will articulate how their foundational skills and other General Education coursework has prepared them for their career and will help or has helped them achieve other life goals.
• Outcome 1B. Students will articulate how their major and minor coursework has prepared them for their career and will help or has helped them achieve other life goals.

Goal 2. Students will demonstrate proficiency in critical thinking, information literacy, oral communication, written communication, and quantitative reasoning. 

• Outcome 2A. Students will demonstrate critical thinking, information literacy, oral communication, written communication, and quantitative reasoning skills appropriate for a bachelor's degree.
• Outcome 2B. Students will create and deliver an effective oral presentation in a professional manner using information and techniques appropriate for the subject and audience.

Syllabus and/or Sample assignment from the course or the adoption:  PSYC 4908 Senior Seminar - Syllabus.docx

OER/Low Cost Adoption Process
Provide an explanation or what motivated you to use this textbook or OER/Low Cost option.  The primary reason I chose this approach is to broaden the possibilities and currency of the information the student’s access. Requiring a textbook would limit their experiences locating and evaluating current research. I believe it would also restrict their ability to integrate psychological knowledge; topics would likely be examined through just one subfield lens. Using articles instead of a textbook helps reach each one of the goals for this course.

How did you find and select the open textbook for this course?  I searched for articles that directly integrated ‘prejudice’ with each of the subfields (learning, cognitive, biopsych, sensation & perception, social, abnormal/clinical, developmental, and personality psych). The goal was to model articles the students might locate for their own project.

Describe any key challenges you experienced, how they were resolved  and lessons learned.   The key challenge is locating articles that are readable for undergraduate students, but on the edge of challenging. I want the students to feel capable, but stretch a bit. One of the biggest challenges was covering biopsychology. The terminology in biopsych articles is very jargon-y, as are articles on sensation and perception. Initially I had the biopsych article first, but it was too overwhelming. I now have it second, with developmental (always an easy read) first to give the students some confidence. I also preface the biopsych article with some words of encouragement (i.e., “you don’t have to understand the whole article” and “give it your best shot”). In our discussions about the articles, the students gain more confidence every week. They see that other students have struggled as well, so the ‘imposter phenomenon’ experience is decreased. It turns out that having biopsych—the big challenge—second is a huge confidence booster and motivator for the students! 

Instructor Name - Anne Duran
I am a Psychology professor at California State University, Bakersfield. 

Please provide a link to your university page.
https://www.csub.edu/

Please describe the courses/course numbers that you teach
Social Psychology
Social Psychology Lab
The Psychology of Sexual Orientation 

Many people have not seen a course like this. Here’s the catalog copy:

1. The purpose of this course is to incorporate information from a variety of different fields (e.g., history, sociology, biology) to address psychological issues relevant to sexual orientation. In this course, students will critically examine attitudes, assumptions, and research regarding straight, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people. Topics will include the development of gender and sexual orientation; historical views of sexual orientation; differences between individuals with different orientations; progression and change in orientation throughout the lifespan; social/legal policies regarding sexual orientation; and stereotypes and discrimination of individuals with particular orientations.

• Senior Seminar 

Describe your teaching philosophy and any research interests related to your discipline or teaching.  
I believe my role as a professor is to create a classroom that feels both safe and enjoyable—a space where students can take intellectual risks, consider other points of view, and reflect on why they believe what they believe. My job is to provide the knowledge and context that help students see the bigger picture, but also to bring the enthusiasm that makes learning feel energizing and fun. I see education as both an adventure and a conversation: we explore ideas together, ask questions, and discover that curiosity is not just encouraged—it’s contagious. 

Textbook or OER/Low cost Title: 

Brief Description:  I do not have a book per se. Again, this is all about locating articles that are relevant to our coursework and the student’s own topic/project.  Articles must be peer-reviewed and empirical.

Please provide a link to the resource  
“Doddering but dear ... even in the eyes of young children? Age stereotyping and prejudice in childhood and adolescence,” doi: 10.1002/ijop.12430 

 “Propranolol reduces implicit negative racial bias,” DOI 10.1007/s00213-012-2657-5

“What’s in an accent? General spontaneous biases against nonnative accents: An investigation with conceptual and auditory IAT,” https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2339

“Prejudice Masquerading as Praise: The Negative Echo of Positive Stereotypes,” DOI: 10.1177/0146167216649605

“Repeated Evaluative Pairings and Evaluative Statements: How Effectively Do They Shift Implicit Attitudes?” http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xge0000239 

“Clinical Manifestations of Prejudice in Psychotherapy: Toward a Strategy of Assessment and Treatment,” https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2850.1996.tb00084.x 

“Toward an Integrated Cognition Perspective on Ethnic Prejudice: An Investigation Into the Role of Intelligence and Need for Cognitive Closure,” ht tps://doi.org/10.1177/1948550617722201 

“Multicultural experiences reduce prejudice through personality
 shifts in Openness to Experience,” http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2189

Student access:  The articles are free to the students via our library’s OneSearch. 

Provide the cost savings from that of a traditional textbook.  Psychology: Themes and Variations, Wieten ( $149 paperback)  

A Brief History of Modern Psychology, Benjamin ($64 ebook)
Classic Experiments in Psychology, Mook ($94 hardcover)

 License*: The articles used in this class are accessed through the CSUB library catalog (OneSearch). They are licensed through the library.