Course Descriptions, Instructor Resources, and Teacher Training
Below is information about courses I teach and example syllabi. There are resources available for instructors that focus on teaching practices that make material more accessible for students and more student-centered. Teacher training activities are also given below. Details about of my SoTL (Scholarship of Teaching & Learning) activities can be found under the Research tab, and focus on the use and function of autobiographical or personal stories in the classroom.
Primary Courses
Research Methods (PSY10A)
In this course students gain an understanding of, for example, psychology as a branch of science, the types of research designs that are most commonly used, considerations for measuring psychological constructs, and ethical concerns. Students develop skills for reading and effectively communicating information from primary theoretical and research articles. They learn how to design their own experiments and how to write an APA-style research proposal.
Statistics (PSY10B)
The course reviews foundational statistical concepts, such as descriptive statistics, probability, and sampling distributions, and introduces students to inferential statistical techniques used in psychological research. The emphasis is on how researchers use statistics in psychology, meaning that students learn some “recipe-type” math, but the emphasis is placed on using R to run statistical analysis and conceptually understanding outputs so that students can write up results in APA style.
Adult Development & Aging (PSY151)
This course emphasizes that adult development and aging is multidirectional and multidimensional, meaning that students learn about the gains and losses across adulthood in various domains, such as: age-related changes in the brain, in cognitive functioning and memory ability, in social relationships, changes and stability in personality and emotions, and the mental health concerns of late life. Understanding the nuanced methodologies associated with studying age differences and age change is a key component of the course, as is applying what is learned to older adults' daily life.
Specialty Courses
The Art & Science of Autobiographical Storytelling (Discovery Seminar)
This seminar is taught in collaboration with Ellen Whittet from the Writing Program. It bring together the science behind remembering the personal past and the implications of remembering for psychological outcomes, and the process of writing autobiographical stories. The course includes lectures about how and why people remember so much of their life for such a long period of time, and students study different writers' crafts, looking at the writing decisions they have made, gathering a repertoire of tools. This information is put to use with a final project in which students write a short memoir and evaluate the role of autobiographical remembering in their written works.
Aging & Longevity Studies (Discovery Seminar)
There are more older adults alive today than at any other point in human history. This demographic shift has implications for all aspects of society: the economy, healthcare, education, climate change, and individual wellbeing. This seminar will showcase just some of the research occurring across the UCSB campus that is addressing the problems and promises of growing older and living longer lives. Faculty from multiple disciplines, such as psychology, biology, anthropology, cultural studies, and communication, will provide an overview of their research area, and discuss the most pressing questions that are being addressed to help ensure that we all age successfully.
Teaching Resources
AI Contribution Statement
Students are using Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, like Chat GPT and explainpaper. The onus is on the instructors to teach students how to use these technologies ethically and responsibly. One way to accomplish this is by having students include an AI Contribution Statement when submitting written materials, like a research proposal. This AI Contribution Statement resource asks students to detail the ways that they relied on AI technologies, like ChatGTP, throughout a course, and to summarize these uses in a Statement that was submitted with a research proposal. The resource provides students with specific points to consider about the use of AI, example ways to talk about its use, and additional resources.
Alea Albada, N. & Woods, V. E. (2024). Giving credit where credit is due: An artificial intelligence contribution statement for research methods' writing assignments. Teaching of Psychology, Online first: https://doi.org/10.1177/00986283241259750
Stats Glass Videos
Stats Glass Videos are a series of pre-recorded videos that walk students through how to hand calculate statistical equations used in most introductory statistics courses. These pre-recorded videos free up precious class time. The videos were recorded using the Learning Glass platform, which allows instructors to write behind a glass frame that the camera then inverts for students' viewing. PPT slides can be edited into the videos to avoid overcrowding the Learning Glass frame. Developing Stats Glass videos requires having a detailed, well-rehearsed storyboard script, which includes consideration of the size of the writing on the Learning Glass and the instructor's head placement so as not to obstruct students' views of the material.
* This resource was developed in collaboration with Vinnie Wu. Access to all the Stats Glass videos available upon request.
Participation Self-evaluation
The Participation Self-evaluation resource allows students to self evaluate their participation in a course across categories that are pre-defined by the instructor. This method for assessing student participation moves away from an instructor and culturally-narrow definition (i.e., raising one's hand) of what it means to participate in a course, and allows students to define and evaluate their participation. The evaluation form includes two parts. The first part has students rate their participation in a course on dimensions relevant to the course goals. The second part has students keep a weekly log of their participation in the course as ‘evidence’ of their self-evaluation ratings.
*The first portion of the evaluation was modelled after one from The University of Kansas: Center for Teaching Excellence. (source: https://cte.ku.edu/sites/cte.drupal.ku.edu/files/docs/CTEprograms/
CHRP/Portfolios/Kupatadze/SelfAssessment_ClassParticipation.pdf.)
Focus Articles
Focus Articles are instructor-selected published empirical papers that span basic methodological research issues from core areas of psychology that are current and relevant to students (e.g., learning via virtual reality from cognitive psychology, exploring social psychological factors associated with beliefs about climate change, etc.). In-depth PPT slides provide an overview of each article and students select which article to focus on throughout a course to enhance agency. Small discussion groups based on shared interests and worksheets that link with concepts being covered in the course (e.g., developing a rationale for a research topic, intricacies of participant recruitment, etc.) scaffolded students' understanding for how to read empirical work.
*This resource was developed in collaboration with Dr. Vanessa Woods and Madeleine Gross. The Focus Article PPT slides and worksheets are available upon request.
Teacher Training
Ideas for Teaching Large-Enrollment Courses in Diverse Contexts
Teaching large-enrollment courses can be challenging. Instructors have fewer opportunities to get to know their students, their goals, and baseline skill levels when the teacher-student ratio is imbalanced. It is easiest in large-enrollment courses to adopt a a didactic teaching style: the instructors lectures to students who listen However, learning science research emphasizes that a student-centered approach is more likely to develop skills expected in higher education, such as scientific reasoning and critical thinking. Thus, below are resources available for instructors who want to change the way they teach their large-enrollment courses and points to consider when teaching these types of courses in non-Western contexts.
Cross, V. L., Alea Albada, N., Ditta, A. S., Geller, E. H., Hendley, H. Sh., Paquette-Smith, M., Pilegard, C., Woods, V. E. (in press). Scaling up APA Guidelines 3.0 for large-enrollment classes. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology.
Alea Albada, N. & Arneaud, M. J. (in preparation). A multilevel cultural approach to teaching internationally: Challenges, opportunities, and insights. Invited chapter to appear in Incorporating Cultural Psychology into Teaching Psychology. Eglar Guides to Teaching Series.
Tools for Using Personal Stories in Classes
Instructors use personal stories often as a pedagogical tool. Although the intended purpose of sharing personal stories may be to enhance students’ understanding of course material, personal stories also have the ability to foster community in courses. Instructors sharing their personal stories with students and students share their personal stories with one another can create a space for building bonds and empathic understanding. Drawing from my SoTL research, the resources and references below, provide examples of how personal stories can be infused into various aspects of a course (e.g., syllabus, lectures) and through class activities and assignments.
Alea Albada, N., Woods, V. E., German, T., & Ma Bon de Sousa Pernes, A. (in preparation). Gaining insights: Learning about Introduction to Psychology from former students’ personal stories. Chapter invited to appear in Teaching Introduction to Psychology. Elgar Guides to Teaching Series
UC Psychology Teaching & Learning Conferences
A group of teaching professors across the University of California (UC) system have worked together to develop an annual conference on the scholarship of teaching and learning in psychology. The overall goal of the conference each year is to provide graduate students and colleagues with mentorship and guidance on teaching best practices. The conference foci varies each year, aligning with the most pressing teaching and learning issues of the day.
The 2020 conference focused on Teaching and Learning Online.
The 2021 conference focused on Equitable Teaching Practices in Psychological Research Methods and Statistics.
The 2022 conference focused on PsychTERMS (Teaching to Enhance Research Methods & Statistics).
The 2023 conference focused on PsychTERMS (Teaching to Enhance Research Methods & Statistics).
The 2024 conference focused on PsychTERMS (Teaching to Enhance Research Methods & Statistics).
