Fact or fiction? Using popular myths and surprising facts to promote student engagement in introductory psychology

McConnell, B. (Bill)
North Island College, 2300 Ryan Road, V9N 8N6, Courtenay, BC, Canada

 

Submission type

Oral only

Scheduled

Sinzendorfzaal, 25-09-2019, 15:45 - 17:15

Keywords

student engagement, introductory psychology

Summary

 

To highlight the fact that psychological research findings often run counter to intuition and common sense, the author asked 75 students in three sections of introductory psychology to judge the veracity of popular myths, and factually correct statements selected as likely to be perceived as surprising.  Each section met twice per week for 13 weeks, and a myth and a factually correct statement tied directly to the day’s content was introduced in each class.  The students tended to judge the myths as factually correct, and the factually correct statements as incorrect, which typically produced demands for empirical refutation of the myths and substantiation of the factually correct statements, thereby generating lively classroom discussion.  Course evaluations indicated that the students enjoyed the activity, that it increased their interest in the course, that it helped them understand the course material, and that they recommended including the activity in future sections of the course.  The activity may also have contributed to learning gains, with students in the study receiving higher grades than those in three sections of the course that did not include the activity.

 

Auteurs