Australian Psychology Learning and Teaching
First Roundtable
Susan Nolan and Aaron Richmond’s interview: https://youtu.be/lrKtgMkOgZc (25 mins).
Overall presentation: https://youtu.be/NR9O_Lefa20 (1 hr 47 mins)
Innovations in Undergraduate Psychology Innovation
Around 100 Australian psychology educators registered for the first roundtable held on 9th Feb., 2022.
Two recorded presentations by Susan Nolan and Aaron Richmond included overviews of the APA Intro Psych Initiative and the forthcoming APA Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major 3.0.
These were followed by presentations on topics:
- “Themed and renewed introductory psychology offerings” by Associate Professor Matthew Hale;
- “First-year research methods course emphasising the ‘why’ of learning research methods” by Dr Janie Busby Grant;
- “Scaffolding lab report assessments” by Dr Leonie Miller;
- “A case study of program and curriculum redesign at Monash for the undergraduate psychology major” by Professor Judith Gullifer.
- Jacky Cranney also spoke about proposed international psychology major outcomes, plus benefits of STP engagement
- Tony Machin described the Australian Handbook for Careers in Psychological Science (https://usq.pressbooks.pub/psychologycareers/)
Assessment in Psychology Education
Around 80 Australian psychology educators registered for the second roundtable held on 4th May, 2022.
- A/Prof Erich Fein presented about “Implementing Frame-of-Reference (FoR) training to Honours thesis marking“.
- Dr Carina Chan presented on “Assessing Skills Building and Personal Development Using Portfolio“.
- A/Prof Katherine Lawrence presented about “Competency-based evaluation tools for training postgraduate psychology students“.
- Dr Alyssa Sawyer presented about “Investigating standardised assessment of standardised test administration competencies in postgraduate psychology trainees.“
Third Roundtable
Cultural Responsiveness
Around 40 Australian psychology educators registered for the third roundtable held on 3rd August, 2022.
The discussion about the Draft annexure to the APAC Evidence guide – Standard 3 Program of study, criterion 3.8 was facilitated by Associate Professor Dawn Darlaston-Jones and Professor Emeritus Tony Machin.
The 2022 Roundtables included the opportunity to provide feedback about each activity.
Extra Resources provided for the APA IPI and Guidelines:
• APA’s Introductory Psychology Initiative – www.apa.org/ipi Learn all about the initiative, find the learning outcomes, or purchase the book “Transforming Introductory Psychology”, the main deliverable from the 3+ year project.
• APA IPI Learning Outcomes for Intro Psych – Intro Psych Outcomes including “integrative themes”.
• Video Series on the 7 Integrative Themes. This video series is to help support instructors who are teaching psychology’s seven integrative themes (Gurung and Neufeld, 2021). It can be accessed FOR FREE by signing up for a free premium account with Macmillan Learning, here. Then, resend this link to find the videos. After an introductory video, each short video explains one integrative theme.
• Choosing Content (more like letting go of content!) with the “Pillars” model. Here is a short article that gives an overview of the Pillars. Here is the first iteration of Pillars, and a follow-up article from the American Psychologist.
• STP Membership – www.teachpsych.org The Society for the Teaching of Psychology (APA Div. 2) – a teaching community full of resources, opportunities, grant money, and more. USD25/year.
• Podcast – The PsychSessions Podcast: Conversations about teaching ‘n’ stuff. Hosts: Garth Neufeld, Eric Landrum, and more! Hear interviews with expert teachers and on special topics series like Intro Psych, Teaching and Learning Centers, Writing for Psychology, and more. On Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts
References for Katherine Lawrence’s presentation:
Carrier, S., Wong, D., Lawrence, K., & McKay, A. (2022) Preliminary validation of a new competency tool for evaluating assessment skills in professional psychology trainees. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 16, 166-172. https://doi.org/10.1037/tep0000394
Gonsalvez, C. J., Shafranske, E. P., McLeod, H. J., & Falender, C. A. (2021). Competency-based standards and guidelines for psychology practice in Australia: Opportunities and risks. Clinical Psychologist, 25(3), 244-259. https://doi.org/10.1080/13284207.2020.1829943
Yap, K., Sheen, J., Nedeljkovic, M., Milne, L., Lawrence, K. & Hay, M. (2021) Assessing clinical competencies using the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in psychology training. Clinical Psychologist, 25, 260-270. https://doi.org/10.1080/13284207.2021.1932452
The feedback about the Roundtable highlighted that participants gained a better understanding of the purpose of the APAC draft document and also understood the difference between reflection and reflexivity.
Challenges that educators experience when integrating cultural responsiveness into the curriculum include difficulty in accessing the specialised skills and knowledges of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Educators accepted there is a need to be better educated and would value access to appropriate resources.
Finally, it would benefit educators if resources could be shared and if additional examples were provided at different levels (1-4), especially if these have been endorsed as suitable by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
All respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with the Roundtable.