Collaboration and Creativity in Psychology Education:

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• Collaboration and Creativity in Psychology
  Education
• From Chaos to Clarity
• Margaret Stubbs, Mary Beth Mannarino, Sheila
  Seelau
• Deanna Hamilton, Mary Jo Loughran, Stephanie
  Valutis
• Chatham University
• Pittsburgh, PA

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Introduction

• Chatham then founded in 1869 to provide women
  with an education comparable to that which men
  could achieve at the time (15 faculty, about 100
  students)
• Chatham now a private, fully accredited,
  nonsectarian university, consisting of three
  distinct Colleges
• Chatham College for Women, offering baccalaureate
  degrees to women only
• College for Graduate Studies, offering master's
  and doctoral degrees and teacher certification to
  both women and men and
• College for Continuing and Professional Studies,
  offering undergraduate, graduate, professional
  and continuing education online to both women and
  men.
• Serves nearly 2300 students

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In between.

• Financial challenges in the 80s
• Shrinking number of all-women undergraduate
  colleges, affecting applications and enrollment
• Changes in the marketplace re jobs
• Changes in expectations about purposes of UG
  study greater expectations about job
  preparation

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The challenge

• What could be done to help move the institution,
  in general, and the psychology program, in
  specific, from this unsettled period with its
  shifting expectations to a new state of strength
  and clarity?

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Institutional growth from mid 90s on...

• Included introduction of co-ed graduate programs
• Our task to take the largest UG major
  (Psychology) and develop innovative curriculum
  and programs to attract and keep students, and to
  better prepare them for jobs and advanced study
• Rapid, Challenging.AKA chaotic!

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Our purpose for todayto

• Share whats emerged from process as positive
  attributes of our program
• The 5 Year Masters program
• Multidisciplinary programming
• Innovative teaching , and
• Meaningful assessment that can actually be
  implemented!
• Encourage discussion of strategies you have found
  helpful in quality program expansion within
  fiscal constraints

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CHAOS Expanding Undergraduate Study in
Psychology to Graduate Study

• Undergraduate psychology faculty became aware of
  PA legislature plans to pass a law leading to
  licensure for masters level counselors and
  discussed building a masters program upon the
  foundation of the strong UG psychology program
• The decision was made to place the masters
  program in the psychology department, rather than
  education
• Initial plans included having all UG and Graduate
  faculty teach across both levels of study, with
  close collaboration and communication

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Masters of Science in Counseling Psychology
(MSCP) Program

• Prepares students to become eligible for
  licensure as professional counselors
• 60 total credit hours of study required for
  licensure eligibility
• 48 credit hour degree also offered for students
  not yet seeking licensure
• Combines academic study in counseling and
  psychology with practicum and internship work in
  a variety of community counseling settings

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Still Some CHAOS

• Both UG and Graduate programs became very large
  the initial attempts to cross-teach diminished,
  but other opportunities for growth emerged

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MSCP Integrated Degree Program

• Other names 5 year program, 3/2 program,
  accelerated program
• PURPOSE strong Undergraduate students may apply
  in the spring of the junior year for early
  admission to the Masters of Science in Counseling
  Psychology program. The first year of Graduate
  study serves as the final year of Undergraduate
  study.

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Advantages of MSCP Integrated Degree Program

• Allows students to complete a bachelors degree
  and a masters degree with a specific career focus
  and potential for further doctoral study in five
  years (bachelors expected to be completed at end
  of year 4, and masters at end of year 5)
• Reduces costs for students
• Attracts strong students to Chatham University

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A Little More CHAOSChallenges of ID MSCP Program

• Developmental issues for some Undergraduate
  students entering MSCP program
• Are young, traditional-aged UG woman
  developmentally prepared to tackle Graduate study
  that includes professional counseling work with
  clients in the community?
• Do they have the time-management skills and
  cognitive maturity to do Graduate study?
• Work-load UG women complete a tutorial research
  project during the final year of study
• Coupling that project with the first year of
  Graduate study has presented difficulties for
  some students

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Responses to Challenges

• Careful advising of students regarding individual
  strengths and needs, and the wisdom of
  accelerating study
• Education of UG applicants to the ID program
  about the non-academic professional behavior
  expectations in the program
• Close monitoring and advising of UG students once
  they enter the MSCP program for early
  identification and resolution of problems
• At times, results in advising student not to
  continue with graduate study and to focus on
  completion of bachelors degree first
• Student may then re-apply to MSCP program

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Clarity about MSCP Program

• CLARITY comes when we.
• Maintain selective screening of UG applicants to
  the accelerated program on both academic and
  professional maturity dimensions
• Carefully monitor and support the students in
  this program
• Maintain frequent and regular communication and
  collaboration between UG and Graduate faculty
• RESULT for some students, the MSCP program
  provides a unique opportunity to do earn a
  bachelors degree, do advanced study for a masters
  degree, and become prepared for a specific career
  within 5 years

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Multidisciplinary Programming Forensics

• In the beginning (2004)... Chaos!
• What exactly is forensics?
• What should be the focus of our program?
• CSI effect
• High interest, but little understanding
• Media distortion CSIs, profilers, psychics...
• How can our program be unique yet practical?
• Can interests be shaped to job market realities?
• Will liberal arts base survive push for
  applicability?

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First steps toward clarity (2004-05)

• Forensics applications of behavioral science
  theory, methods and data to problems in the
  justice system
• Forensics Major Minor with social science focus
• Forensic Science Minor with natural science focus
• Multidisciplinary course requirements will draw
  on existing strengths in PSY, SWK, BIO/CHM
• Collaboration will build FOR and strengthen
  partner programs

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Forensics Major 2004-2009

• 46 credits
• Natural sciences Biology, Chemistry
• BIO The Organism? Applied Human Biology
• MATH Statistics ? PSY Statistics AND Research
  Methods
• Multidisciplinary course Crime Scene
  Investigation
• Social sciences Psychology, Sociology, Criminal
  Justice
• Intro upper-level courses in all 3 disciplines
• Electives PSY ? FOR ( PSY, SWK, Legal Studies)
• Multidisciplinary courses
• Internship Senior Tutorial

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New multidisciplinary FOR courses

• Forensic Psychology (Cross-listed in FOR, PSY)
• Women the Criminal Justice System (FOR, WST)
• Electives
• Juvenile Justice (FOR, SWK)
• Criminology
• FOR Special Topics Violent Predatory Crimes
• POL Special Topics Dilemmas of Criminal Law
  Terrorism Political Violence
• POL/Legal Studies American Judicial Process
  Constitutional Law I II (Civil Liberties) Sex
  Discrimination the Law Minority Groups the
  Law

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Forensics challenges clarity

• Multidisciplinary program requires faculty from
  many disciplines or with interdisciplinary
  training
• Media continue to distort images reality pales
• Must frame FOR as exciting, alluring, interesting
• Serving various student interests career goals
• Human services counseling
• Employment with B.A. PSY, SWK graduate programs
• Law, law enforcement, corrections

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Maymester at Chatham University

• Unique programs of study
• Each student must participate in two different
  Maymester sessions during her four years at
  Chatham
• For instructors, three weeks during the three
  week break between Spring and Summer semesters
• Classes meet for 3 hours four days/week
• Potential for Chaos

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Opportunities for Innovative Teaching and clarity

• Interpersonal Communication
• Women and the Criminal Justice System
• The Psychology of Harry Potter
• Interventions in Sport Psychology

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The Psychology of Harry PotterWe teachers are
rather good at magic, you know.Minerva McGonagall

• Using popular culture -- novels, music, films, to
  teach psychology courses is not uncommon
• Research has supported the use of popular
  television shows and music to effectively teach
  content in social psychology and child
  development
• The Harry Potter series has been used as an
  teaching tool in courses across many universities
  and a wide variety of disciplines

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AccioClarity

• Four main content areas
• Attachment
• Peer / Romantic Relationships
• Adolescent Mental Health Issues
• Grief, Trauma, Resilience
• Use of film clips to further illustrate concepts
• Guest speakers to highlight information
• Final presentation
• Groups create a dialogue with character related
  to concepts from class

For those not fluent in the language of Potter,
Accio is a summoning charm when used properly,
the object requested comes to the witch or wizard
who uttered the spell.
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Sport Psychology

• Graduate and Undergraduate Courses Offered in
  Maymester with Complementary Foci
• Graduate Course in Foundations of Sport
  Psychology
• Undergraduate Course in Performance Enhancement
  Techniques
• Both courses met separately for didactic sessions
• Concurrent Laboratory Sessions

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Concurrent Laboratory Sessions Sport Psychology

• Graduate students served as team leaders to
  facilitate undergraduate students learning
  experiences in performance enhancement techniques
• Activities included team building exercises, goal
  setting activities, and practice of relaxation
  techniques

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Challenges

• Initial hesitation by both groups of students to
  assume prescribed roles
• Boundary issues topics had the potential to
  raise emotional/psychological issues beyond the
  scope of a classroom environment
• Need for organization, planning, and close
  oversight

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Clarity

• Both constituencies benefited from the
  opportunity to see the concepts illustrated in
  vivo
• Opportunities for both groups to give and receive
  immediate feedback
• Both groups demonstrated increased confidence by
  course end

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• Clarity is the counterbalance of profound
  thoughts.
• Marquis de Vauvenargues

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If youve built it, it will fit.

• Existing
• university mission
• program description
• program objectives/learning outcomes
• course objectives/learning outcomes
• Flexibility of guidelines

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University mission and general education
skillsGlobal and Intercultural
UnderstandingInformation literacy, critical
reading
Program description

• Program goals
• Knowledge Base of Psychology
• Sociocultural and International Awareness
• Critical Thinking Skills in Psychology

• Program objectives/Learning outcomes
• Apply critical thinking to determine the
  credibility of information and develop, defend
  and criticize arguments. PG 3
• Demonstrate awareness of how basic psychological
  principles and theories may apply differently
  across cultures. PG 2

• Course objectives/Learning outcomes
• Appraise the impact of characteristics such as
  age, ethnicity, race, gender, class, culture,
  disability, family structure, marital status,
  national origin, religion and sexual orientation
  on development as demonstrated through
  application assignment. PO 2
• Become a more critical consumer of information,
  advertising and journalism as demonstrated
  through chapter objectives and Social Psych
  application assignments. PO 1

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• More important than the quest for certainty is
  the quest for clarity.
• Francois Gautier

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A full mouth cant chew.

• Applies to objectives and measures
• Be modest
• You do more than you must measure
• Be reasonable
• Sustainability is critical

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• Perfect clarity would profit the intellect but
  damage the will.
• - Blaise Pascal

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• FinallyCollaboration is Key
• Among faculty and students on research
• Mentoring and supporting new faculty in
  developing their own teaching and scholarship