Uncategorized January 20, 2020

The humility of learning: A new approach to the process of changing knowledge

As a cognitive psychologist, I think A LOT about learning. In many classes, I’ve talked about how curiosity generally opens us up to learning. Think of the desire to catch bugs or find evidence of black holes. It is almost impossible to sit across from a kid who is searching the night sky for popular constellations and stars and not get into it. Everyone can have fun recognizing the big and little dipper and doing so again and again; it is a magnetic experience!

Undergraduate Teachers January 13, 2020

One course, two courses, three courses, more? Providing career support throughout the undergraduate curriculum

Scenario One

When Shannon asked for a letter of recommendation from the department chair to support her applications for graduate school, the chair asked why she was applying to clinical programs. Shannon said she did not know what else she could do with her bachelor’s degree.

Scenario Two

Rafael took a required psychology careers course in the fall of his sophomore year. He knew he wanted to be a sport psychologist, so he did not consider other careers at that time. With each new psychology course, Rafael’s interests evolved. By the time he entered his senior year, Rafael knew he wanted to pursue a career that aligned with his new interests but did not know what the options were.

Undergraduate Students, Undergraduate Teachers December 30, 2019

Increasing community awareness of the value of psychology skills

As one of the most popular college majors, our discipline holds a key role in educating students and the larger community about the vast applications of psychological science. Because of its interdisciplinary nature, we are poised to help inform other disciplines about how to better understand behaviors and mental processes in the work that they do. It is the skills that psychology majors acquire that make them equipped to adapt to the dynamic circumstances of various professions.

Graduate and Postgraduate Teachers, High School Students, Undergraduate Teachers December 16, 2019

Early research experiences: becoming a research mentor to high school students

Part two of our series on student research experiences focuses on the mentors. If you have not read our first article make sure to check it out to see student testimonials on how participating in a research mentoring program affected their lives.

This year, as part of the CUNY College Now STEM Research Academy, we had 154 students from 50 high schools across New York City participate in a science-focused pre-college course. Of that initial cohort, 78 students opted to engage in research with faculty over the summer. Over 30 research faculty, across nine City University of New York (CUNY) campuses, mentored Academy students this year. This article is a result of our experiences and as well as our research mentors.