Psychology learning and teaching最新文献

The population of older adults is growing rapidly and there will be an increased need for psychological services for this population. Current estimates indicate a significant workforce gap such that all psychologists, regardless of specialty area, will likely be called upon to work with older adults. Education and experience in the care of older adults has been consistently connected with improved competence and interest in working with this population. Further, the APA requires that training programmes adequately cover aspects of individual diversity, though age-related education and training may be largely lacking and/or minimally addressed. The present study explores age-related training within a sample of psychology doctoral students. Participants (n = 85) consisted of doctoral trainees recruited via email (listserv) to complete an anonymous online survey as part of a larger study. Results indicate that (1) training in aging varies and is inadequate in some programmes; (2) knowledge in aging varies and is associated with training opportunities; (3) training in aging is less than training in race/ ethnic diversity; and (4) attitudes toward older clients are most strongly predicted by extent of training in aging. The authors offer suggestions for expanding age-related aspects into generalist training.

Finding valid and reliable ways to assess complex clinical skills within psychology is a challenge. Recently, there have been some examples of applying Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) in psychology for making such assessments. The aim of this study was to examine students' and examiners' perceptions of a digital OSCE in psychology regarding quality and students' feelings about the OSCE. Participants were 51 students enrolled in the Programme for Master of Science in Clinical Psychology during two semesters and nine examiners assessing each OSCE occasion, at Umeå University, Sweden. Web-based questionnaires were used for data collection. Psychometric analyses indicated that the subscales in the student questionnaire had adequate or close to adequate levels of item and scale reliability. Both students and examiners felt that the digital OSCE was realistic, valid and well-aligned with professional practice. Although students perceived the digital OSCE as stressful, the results showed that they were focused and concentrated and found the OSCE to be a positive learning experience, implying that the stress did not affect performance to any significant extent. Based on the examiners' experiences, it can be concluded that there are both advantages and disadvantages which need to be considered when planning future digital OSCEs.

The number of health psychology courses offered in higher education institutions has dramatically increased over the past 30 years. Health psychology courses provide students a unique opportunity to learn about important public health issues and health disparities affecting our society from a biopsychosocial perspective. Prior research indicates that students taking these courses, many of whom are non-biology majors, often report feeling anxious about learning the underlying biological mechanisms that affect health outcomes, particularly as they relate to stress and disease. Therefore, innovative teaching strategies, such as the use of active learning approaches, are needed to promote student confidence and engagement in learning these interdisciplinary models of health. Despite rapid advancements and innovations in health technologies, few health psychology courses have integrated these technologies as a modality of active learning. This article describes the implementation of health technologies (e.g., biosensors, biofeedback equipment, wearable technologies) as an active learning modality and innovative teaching approach to promote student engagement and learning outcomes in an undergraduate health psychology course taught in the U.S. Eighty students from a minority-serving university participated in this pilot course redesign. Student responses to the use of health technologies in their course were very positive. A description of the course curriculum is provided and results from student responses and feedback are presented. Implications and recommendations for implementing these technologies and pedagogies in future health courses are also discussed, including university support for sustaining these high impact teaching practices.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to an abrupt change from in-person to online teaching in higher education, resulting in increased use of information and communication technology (ICT) and students' stress and uncertainty. Integrating theories of human motivation, stress, and humane work design, we investigated whether different types of action regulation hindrances (ARH) pertaining to human (ICT competence deficits), technology (technical problems), interaction (coordination difficulties), and task aspects (work overload) related to technostress (H1). Furthermore, we examined if this relationship was mediated by satisfaction of the basic human needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness (H2). Our analysis of causes and mechanisms of technostress is based on cross-sectional survey data (self-report) from 205 psychology students attending an organizational psychology class that was switched from an in-person to an online format due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Structural equation modeling revealed that different types of ARH (i.e., ICT competence deficits, technical problems, coordination difficulties, work overload) positively predicted technostress (β  =  .17 to β  =  .42, p < .05). The effects were (partially) mediated by satisfaction of the need for autonomy (β  =  .11 to β  =  .15, p < .05), for all ARH except technical problems (β  =  .01, p  =  .86). We discuss implications for online course planning, technostress prevention as well as potential interventions beyond pandemic times.