A Skills-Experience Inventory for the Undergraduate Psychology Major

Abstract

Psychology majors develop a number of academic skills during their studies that are valuable in future careers and other domains. However, assessment of experiences related to skill development can be quite difficult and resource intense. We present results of 2 studies using a skills-experience inventory to assess academic skill exposure. In the first study, graduating senior psychology majors reported greater exposure than freshmen in 7 skill-experience areas. The second study showed significant differences in exposure to 5 skill areas among graduating seniors in 4 academic areas. A skills-experience inventory may be an efficient tool for documenting the skills and experiences students encounter when majoring in psychology.

Guidelines for a Scientific Approach to Critical Thinking Assessment

“…For example, the JMU Psychology Department collected self-report ratings on how well students thought they had achieved the goal of acquiring CT skills and how well the program provided them opportunities to achieve it, followed by open-ended explanations for their ratings (Apple et al, 2008). JMU has also used an inventory developed by Kruger and Zechmeister (2001) asking students to report their experiences with CT and other skills in the program.…”

Statistics Can Wait: Career Plans Activity and Course Preferences of American Psychology Undergraduates

“…The professional position is that varieties of resultant skills make the undergraduate study of psychology worthwhile, because such profi ciencies confer an edge in the job market and new economy (Lorig, 1996;Murray, 1997;Volpe, 2002). Curricular outcomes are said to include literacy, numeracy and research experience (Graham, 1998;Hayes, 1997;Knotts, 2002;Kruger and Zechmeister, 2001;Levy, Burton, Mickler and Vigorito, 1999).…”

Skills for Undergraduate Psychology Majors: Because You Need It, Do We Measure It?

“…Although psychology educators have been talking about skills for some time, more recent eff orts have been more detailoriented about the assessment of skills and abilities. For example, Kruger and Zechmeister (2001) developed a skillsexperience inventory that students might use to gauge their own progress. Fried and Johanson (2003) asked psychology alumni to self-assess their own level of skill development, and link these skill levels to specifi c courses in their undergraduate curriculum.…”