Psychology Learning and Teaching in Wales

A Learning and Teaching Support Network (LTSN) for Psychology sponsored workshop was held in April 2003 to discuss issues related to the research, teaching and learning of psychology in Wales. Representatives of a number of psychology departments from Welsh Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) attended the workshop. This introductory paper presents an overview of the current teaching of psychology in Welsh higher education: the departments, the research being carried out and the unique political context in which Welsh HE currently finds itself.

Following this introduction are articles from Enlli Thomas who discusses the problems associated with attempting to teach psychology in Welsh; Paul Sander who reports on the problems associated with teaching increasing numbers of students; Lance Workman who reports on the differing and changing, self-perceptions of old and new university students; and finally Ray Crozier, who presents a study that explores shy students' views on seminars.

Assessment as a Tool for Fostering Key Skills

Key skills are increasingly being seen as an essential component of a psychology degree, but achievement of such skills does not always feature in student assessment. This paper looks at some of the problems involved in traditional student assessment techniques and suggests some alternatives which might be of better use in the measurement of student attainment in the area of key skills. Suggestions are also made as to how the current degree classification system used in this country could be modified to reflect in more detail student achievement on a psychology degree.

Critical Analysis of Psychological Research II: Delivering a Course for Inclusion in the Core Curriculum for Psychology

It was argued in a previous paper (Barber, 2002) that first degree programmes in psychology are at present unlikely to enable students to acquire the critical thinking skills needed to appraise the research literature of the subject. The inclusion of a course in critical analysis of psychological research is therefore proposed, preferably at a stage in a psychology degree programme when a robust and mature commitment to the subject can be assumed. In the present paper, the proposal is made in concrete form, with aims and objectives, an outline timetable and a method of formal assessment. This is based on a final-year course of long standing in which students learn about the critical evaluation of published research papers. Practical details of this course and some issues that may arise in the conduct of such a course are described. Comments and feedback regarding the existing course are reported. It is argued that this type of provision should be part of any core curriculum in psychology.

Critical Analysis of Psychological Research: Rationale and Design for a Proposed Course for the Undergraduate Psychology Curriculum

Critical thinking about psychological research appears seldom to be taught to an advanced level on UK psychology degrees, or to be allocated a substantial amount of learning/teaching time at any level. It is likely that students may graduate with an inaccurate and passive uncritical view of discipline knowledge unless the relevant skills needed to appraise that knowledge are acquired. A common assumption seems to be that this is implicitly recognised in traditional research methods teaching, and the skills are therefore emergent from conventional lectures, practicals and research projects. Since the manifold pressures on students and teachers combine to increase the reliance on secondary sources, the explicit provision of a course in critical thinking about research should be considered. It is argued that this is best offered at a relatively late stage in a psychology degree programme. Since psychology graduates are more likely to become research users than research producers, it is argued that skills training for critical analysis of research reports will be professionally advantageous. A framework for a critical analysis course is described to enable students to undertake a comprehensive critical appraisal of a research article. This is based on a long-established final-year course that treats critical analysis, of published research papers, as the vehicle for training students to treat the literature with more circumspection, and the respect it deserves.