Psychology today: A project to increase diversity in psychology curriculum.

Abstract

Although psychology graduates a diverse group of students in the United States, students are unlikely to encounter diversity in standard introductory course textbooks and materials. Embedding diversity within curriculum fosters a sense of belongingness and conveys the message psychology as a field values diversity and inclusion. This study sought to assess student perceptions and examine an instructional strategy designed to improve curricular diversity. The present study describes an Introduction to Psychology project assigned at a small, liberal arts college in the United States, where students were tasked with finding a contemporary study that built upon a classic psychological study but that also incorporated a component of diversity. The assignment culminated in an in-class discussion exploring the value of diversity to psychological science. Mixed-methods analyses were used to assess student perceptions of the assignment as well as sense of diversity and belonging within the field of psychology. Students found the project a useful tool for exploring diversity within psychology and endorsed the use of the assignment in future semesters. Perceptions of belongingness and diversity in psychology were mixed. Strategies for project use and future research are also presented.

Priming metacognition and critical thinking to dispel psychological misconceptions.

“…Additionally, instructors are responsible for actively recognizing and incorporating all students’ contributions to create an inclusive classroom that facilitates students’ learning (Etengoff, 2022). Furthermore, instructors are responsible for moving past merely depositing information into students (Etengoff, 2022; Prevatt et al, 2021) and, instead, coconstructing knowledge with their students such that this knowledge is socioculturally contextualized and meaningful to each student and/or their communities (Etengoff, 2022). As such, it is not enough to merely tell students about a few common psychological misconceptions and the associated facts aligned with current psychological science, but rather let students discover and dispel the misconceptions that are most relevant to their contexts and identities.…”

“…In these journals, students would be asked to record and reflect on psychological misconceptions they hear in their day-to-day lives, where and from whom they hear such misconceptions, why it might be enticing to believe in such misconceptions, and finally what the evidence is that refutes such misconceptions. By highlighting diversity and contextualizing misconceptions in this way, students who identify as a minority group member may begin to see themselves in the field of psychology and, as such, enjoy a sense of belonging in the field (Prevatt et al, 2021). In accordance with strengths-based approaches to DEI-informed instruction (Etengoff, 2022), students should also be given the opportunity to revise their journals throughout the semester, particularly if the students have not adequately refuted the misconceptions identified.…”

“…12 BAMBERGER, CAMPBELL, AND SMITH students (Etengoff, 2022;Prevatt et al, 2021) and, instead, coconstructing knowledge with their students such that this knowledge is socioculturally contextualized and meaningful to each student and/or their communities (Etengoff, 2022). As such, it is not enough to merely tell students about a few common psychological misconceptions and the associated facts aligned with current psychological science, but rather let students discover and dispel the misconceptions that are most relevant to their contexts and identities.…”

An introduction to the special issues on teaching the introductory psychology course.

“…And of course, each article in the special sections represents yet another resource.Another key theme in special sections is the importance of engaging students. Engagement predicts introductory psychology students' performance in the course and their interest in the field (Yust et al, 2021), so it is worthwhile to increase engagement by using a variety of teaching methods (Richmond et al, 2021), giving students opportunities to interact (Cavazos et al, 2021), organizing the course around important themes (Halonen et al, 2021), and assigning creative and rewarding work (Altman et al, 2021;Prevatt et al, 2021). In short, to boost performance and interest in psychology, design engagement into the course.Students who feel like outsiders may not be engaged by introductory psychology, so another theme is to foster students' sense of belonging.…”

“…In short, to boost performance and interest in psychology, design engagement into the course.Students who feel like outsiders may not be engaged by introductory psychology, so another theme is to foster students' sense of belonging. Like engagement, belonging predicts course performance (Yust et al, 2021), but students vary in how much they connect with their classmates (Cavazos et al, 2021) and some students do not see themselves represented in the science of psychology (Prevatt et al, 2021). Gender and multiculturalism are the two topics most likely to be omitted from the course (Richmond et al, 2021), and that is a missed opportunity to demonstrate the value of diversity in psychology.…”