Annie Trapp

Blocks to the effective use of information technology in higher education

Abstract This paper reports on the outcome of a seminar addressing issues in the exploitation of IT in teaching within Universities in the U.K. The seminar brought together experts with a range of experience in the use of educational technology, and focused on educational and organisational issues rather than on technical ones. Three surveys of the views of University lecturers on the use of computers in teaching, and the associated problems, are reported, followed by discussion of educational and organisational routes to lowering some of the existing barriers to more effective applications of educational technology.

Internet and the support of psychology education

The Computers in Teaching Initiative (CTI) Centre for Psychology has been promoting the use of computers in psychology education for the last 5 years. The advent of the Internet and ubiquitous access to the World-Wide Web has the potential to revolutionize the way the teaching and learning of psychology can be supported. This paper describes how we are using the Web to support psychology education through information dissemination, through the provision of teaching resources, and through facilities for communication.

Computers in psychology teaching in the U.K.

This paper describes the first year of operation of the CTI Centre for Psychology, which pro-motes the use of computers in psychology teaching in the U.K. We outline current use of computers in teaching and some of the obstacles to the effective development of computer-supported courses. In particular, we focus on the need for closer integration of innovative forms of teaching into courses. We describe the Centre’s strategy for supporting both conventional and innovative computer-supported teaching, and argue that effective use of software depends on both the instructional situation and the educational context.

How Can the Web Support the Learning of Psychology

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the main theoretical positions that have influenced thinking about uses of the Web to support. It attempts to draw out some of the common themes and principles that are relevant to learning with the Web, and suggests a framework to help categorize different uses of the Web to support the learning of psychology. It focuses on the Web as a tool that both enables learners to broaden their experience and supports them in making sense of their experiences. A range of theoretical positions informs educational and instructional design. Different theoretical camps adopt distinct but overlapping explanatory frameworks, and tend to apply them to distinct but overlapping learning situations. Educationalists in the situated learning camp place the main emphasis on the influences of the social contexts in which the acquired skills or knowledge are typically embedded. There are actually two aspects to the notion of social context. The first is the claim that learning activity must be “authentic” and therefore situated as closely as possible in the context of real use. The second claim is that the wider context is important, and this has led to the concept of a community of practice being influential in shaping the individuals relationship with what is to be learned.

CAL as a Trojan horse for educational change: the case of psychology

Abstract The use of CAL in psychology teaching in higher education in the U.K. is reviewed from a perspective of educational change. Approaches vary in how they challenge the traditional educational and organization assumptions of university teaching, though virtually all require some re-thinking of educational objectives and context of use.

Teaching Psychology in Higher Education.

Psychology is one of the most popular degree subjects with the 49,010 full-time and 16,085 part-time students enrolled on psychology courses across the UK in 2010/11 (Higher Education Statistics Agency, 2012). Its popularity is also increasing in the pre-tertiary sector with many schools and colleges now off ering psychology courses to their students and is now the third most popular A-level examination completed. Psychology graduates may continue their education and train to become a psychologist in one of the applied areas of psychology discussed in other chapters of this book. However, some graduates will become teachers of psychology in either the pre-tertiary sector, including secondary and further education, or in higher education. This chapter will discuss the professional issues associated with the teaching of psychology, specifi cally in higher education. The chapter begins by defining what teachers of psychology do, training to become a teacher of psychology and outlining the main areas taught in undergraduate psychology. The chapter then discusses important issues involved with the teaching of psychology including assessment and student employability as well as exploring some of the ethical issues that might arise in the role of a psychology teacher. The application of psychological theories and methods to the teaching of psychology is also discussed. The chapter concludes by describing future directions in the teaching of psychology within UK higher education.

Psychology: The Use of Educational Technology in U.K. Psychology Departments

This paper reviews the use of educational technology within United Kingdom university psychology departments based on the experience of a national support center, the Computers in Teaching Initiative (CTI) Centre for Psychology. First we describe the background and work of the center. This is followed by presentation and discussion of the results of a major survey to assess both current usage and the factors that enable or inhibit use of educational technology within psychology. Finally, we provide an overview of the current and potential use of computers within the teaching of psychology. Keywords: psychology, computers, United Kingdom, educational technology, teaching.

Building the Knowledge Base for Evidence-Informed Teaching

Zeedyk’s article evaluating a novel approach to increasing students’ comprehension and enjoyment of statistics is an example of how teaching must be prepared to adapt and evolve according to the needs of students. A large scale study of primary data as reported by Mulhern and Wylie is a good example of an evidence-informed approach to developing our understanding of student needs. In fact this article goes further by providing an analysis of the errors in students’ mathematical reasoning and thereby provides the opportunity for the creation of targeted support materials.

Small group teaching across the disciplines: setting the context for networked learning

ASTER is a cross-disciplinary project exploring the use of educational technology to support small-group learning and teaching activities in the Physical Sciences, Psychology and disciplines within the Humanities. The main aims of the ASTER project are to identify the different ways in which communications and information technologies (C&IT) can support small group work, identify similarities and differences between the disciplines and examine the case for cross -disciplinary transfer of good practice.