Introductory and capstone experiences in the undergraduate psychology program are crucial ways to engage students in their major and psychology department, impart realistic expectations, and prepare them for life beyond college. Providing the right orientation and capstone courses in psychology education is increasingly a concern of instructors, department chairs, program directors, and deans, and both types of courses have become important sources for gathering pre- and post-coursework assessment data for degree learning outcomes. The strategies presented here have been designed to help educators examine issues around teaching the introductory or careers course and developing a psychology-specific orientation program. The authors also provide concrete suggestions for building capstone experiences designed to fit the needs of a department, its pedagogical philosophy, or the educational agenda of the college or university. Undergraduate psychology curriculum designers and instructors can benefit from learning innovative and effective strategies for introducing the major to first-year students and, at graduation, for bringing closure, reinforcing the overall departmental learning outcomes, and helping students apply their disciplinary knowledge in capstone experiences and post-graduate life. In this collection of articles, psychology instructors involved in the improvement of teaching and learning review the research and share their own successes and challenges in the classroom. Discussions include effective practices for helping students become acclimated to and engaged in the psychology major, application of developmental knowledge and learning communities to course design, and use of quality benchmarks to improve introductory and capstone courses. Other chapters describe innovations in the design of stand-alone courses and offer concrete advice on counseling psychology graduates about how to use what they have learned beyond their higher education experiences.

The Oxford Handbook of Undergraduate Psychology Education is dedicated to providing comprehensive coverage of teaching, pedagogy, and professional issues in psychology. The Handbook is designed to help psychology educators at each stage of their careers, from teaching their first courses and developing their careers to serving as department or program administrators. The goal of the Handbook is to provide teachers, educators, researchers, scholars, and administrators in psychology with current, practical advice on course creation, best practices in psychology pedagogy, course content recommendations, teaching methods and classroom management strategies, advice on student advising, and administrative and professional issues, such as managing one's career, chairing the department, organizing the curriculum, and conducting assessment, among other topics. The primary audience for this Handbook is college and university-level psychology teachers (at both two and four-year institutions) at the assistant, associate, and full professor levels, as well as department chairs and other psychology program administrators, who want to improve teaching and learning within their departments. Faculty members in other social science disciplines (e.g., sociology, education, political science) will find material in the Handbook to be applicable or adaptable to their own programs and courses.

The concepts of psychological literacy and the psychologically literate citizen promise to invigorate a new global approach to psychology education. They pose a basic question: What attributes and capabilities should undergraduate psychology majors acquire? Many psychological organizations have defined psychological literacy by guidelines and lists of student learning outcomes, but although psychology educators across the globe have been working towards helping students to acquire these attributes over the past 50 years, educators have only recently explicitly delineated attributes and learning outcomes, and sought to develop appropriate learning, teaching, and assessment strategies, including whole program approaches. The contributors to this volume argue that psychological literacy is the most important outcome of an undergraduate psychology education and that psychologically literate citizens use their knowledge of psychology to problem-solve in ethical and socially responsible ways that directly benefit their communities. In this book, a rich variety of international perspectives contribute to the development of the two key concepts of psychological literacy and the psychologically literate citizen. Authors provide practical guidance for classroom psychology educators, as well as curriculum developers and reviewers. Ultimately, they make the case for a paradigm shift in psychology education.

Introductory and capstone experiences in the undergraduate psychology program are crucial ways to engage students in their major and psychology department, impart realistic expectations, and prepare them for life beyond college. Providing the right orientation and capstone courses in psychology education is increasingly a concern of instructors, department chairs, program directors, and deans, and both types of courses have become important sources for gathering pre- and post-coursework assessment data for degree learning outcomes. The strategies presented here have been designed to help educators examine issues around teaching the introductory or careers course and developing a psychology-specific orientation program. The authors also provide concrete suggestions for building capstone experiences designed to fit the needs of a department, its pedagogical philosophy, or the educational agenda of the college or university. Undergraduate psychology curriculum designers and instructors can benefit from learning innovative and effective strategies for introducing the major to first-year students and, at graduation, for bringing closure, reinforcing the overall departmental learning outcomes, and helping students apply their disciplinary knowledge in capstone experiences and post-graduate life. In this collection of articles, psychology instructors involved in the improvement of teaching and learning review the research and share their own successes and challenges in the classroom. Discussions include effective practices for helping students become acclimated to and engaged in the psychology major, application of developmental knowledge and learning communities to course design, and use of quality benchmarks to improve introductory and capstone courses. Other chapters describe innovations in the design of stand-alone courses and offer concrete advice on counseling psychology graduates about how to use what they have learned beyond their higher education experiences.

The International Handbook of Psychology Learning and Teaching is a reference work for psychology learning and teaching worldwide that takes a multi-faceted approach and includes national, international, and intercultural perspectives. Whether readers are interested in the basics of how and what to teach, in training psychology teachers, in taking steps to improve their own teaching, or in planning or implementing research on psychology learning and teaching, this handbook will provide an excellent place to start. Chapters address ideas, issues, and innovations in the teaching of all psychology courses, whether offered in psychology programs or as part of curricula in other disciplines. The book also presents reviews of relevant literature and best practices related to everything from the basics of course organization to the use of teaching technology. Three major sections consisting of several chapters each address “Teaching Psychology in Tertiary (Higher) Education”, “Psychology Learning and Teaching for All Audiences”, and “General Educational and Instructional Approaches to Psychology Learning and Teaching”.

The use of technology and teaching techniques derived from technology is currently a bourgeoning topic in higher education. Teachers at all levels and types of institutions want to know how these new technologies will affect what happens in and outside of the classroom. Many teachers have already embraced some of these technologies but remain uncertain about their educational efficacy. Other teachers have waited because they are reluctant to try tools or techniques that remain unproven or, as is often the case, lack institutional support. This book is designed to help both groups, so that those with technological expertise can extend their knowledge, while technological novices can "ramp up" at their own pace and for their own purposes. Best Practices for Technology-Enhanced Teaching and Learning brings together expert teacher-scholars who apply and assess technology's impact on traditional, hybrid or blended, or completely on-line courses, relying on technology as a teaching tool for classroom management and interaction (e.g., Blackboard, PowerPoint, student response or "clicker systems," multimedia tools), as well as student-based uses of technology largely independent of instructors (e.g., social networking on popular sites including Facebook and MySpace). Each chapter will address how technological improvements can be connected to assessment initiatives, as is now routinely advocated in psychology and social science education. The book features current scholarship and pedagogy involving innovative technology that impacts on student learning in psychology and related disciplines, focusing also on student reactions to these novel technologies, and proper assessments of how well they promote learning. This text will serve as the standard reference on emerging technologies for undergraduate instructors.

Using Quality Benchmarks for Assessing and Developing Undergraduate Programs Using Quality Benchmarks for Assessing and Developing Undergraduate Programs introduces selected performance criteria—benchmarks—to assist undergraduate programs in defining their educational goals and documenting their effectiveness. The book explores the attributes of undergraduate programs by focusing on educationally related activities in eight domains: program climate; assessment, accountability, and accreditation issues; student learning outcomes; student development; curriculum; faculty characteristics; program resources; and administrative support. Further, it conceptualizes a continuum of performance for each attribute in each of the domains to characterize underdeveloped, developing, effective, and distinguished achievement for undergraduate programs. The goal of the book is to encourage individual departments at various types of institutions to evaluate what they currently do well while identifying areas for refinement or future growth. When benchmarks reveal that a program is underdeveloped, faculty and administrators can plan for how they can best direct subsequent efforts and resources to improve a program's performance and ability to serve students. Emphasizing formative assessment over summative or punitive evaluation, the benchmarks in this book are designed to improve program quality, encourage more effective program reviews, and help optimally functioning programs compete more successfully for resources. Using performance benchmarks to identify areas of program strength can, in turn, be used to recruit and retain students, seek funding via grants or alumni support, and enhance the perceived rating of an institution.