Instructor in the Psychology Departments of OCC and GWC
From 7/13/07-7/15/07 I had the privilege of
being sponsored by Coast CCA to attend an
International Psychology Teaching Conference,
where psychology instructors from all over the
world gathered together to share innovative
teaching techniques.
One of the major
highlights of the conference was keynote speaker
Dr. Carol Tavris, who shared with us how we can
apply cognitive dissonance theory to understand
our behavior in everyday life. Cognitive
dissonance theory tells us that when we engage
in a behavior that is not consistent with our
values, we tend to do everything we can to
justify this behavior (resolve the dissonance)
rather than admit to ourselves that our behavior
is wrong. Tavris shared several examples of
this phenomenon, including President Bush’s
continued justification of the Iraq occupation
and President Roosevelt’s justification of the
Japanese interment camps during World War II.
Tavris explained that when Roosevelt was
confronted with evidence that Japanese Americans
were not involved in a conspiracy, Roosevelt
justified the interment camps by stating that
the fact that they were not involved in a
conspiracy was evidence that they would plan a
conspiracy in the near future. Tavris’
presentation was very illuminating, and inspired
me to self-reflection to ensure that I don’t
inadvertently justify mistakes I make in my
personal and professional life, including my
teaching, rather than being willing to admit
mistakes and grow from them.
Other educational presentations
included applying positive psychology principles
to our teaching and using the minute paper to
obtain student feedback. Positive psychology
focuses on human strengths, rather than
psychopathology. Sometimes we inadvertently
focus on what our students are doing wrong, e.g.
errors on their exams or papers, rather than
what they are doing right. This presentation
reminded me to always include positive feedback
on student projects, focusing on student
strengths, as well as the usual constructive
criticism provided on their work.
The minute paper technique involves asking
students at the end of the class to take a
minute to anonymously write down what they
learned from today’s class. What concepts are
they still struggling with? What are their
suggestions for improvement? Rather than waiting
for student evaluations, I plan to use the
minute paper in order to get feedback on
improving my teaching techniques.
I would like to thank Coast CCA
for providing me with this educational
opportunity. I look forward to applying what I
have learned in the classroom.