Using Stepping Stones to Guide Students in Reading, Writing, and Speaking about Psychological Science
In this session, we explore the use of stepping stones for psychology courses. Stepping stones are a set of discrete steps, mnemonically organized, that guide students as they read, write, and even speak extemporaneously about science. We discuss how employing these tools can increase confidence and improve the ways in which our students communicate and understand scientific information.
Dr. Dan Corts, Augustana College
Psychology courses—from the introductory class to senior capstones—help students develop scientific literacy. However, the density of scientific information can present a daunting obstacle; even a short news article on a recent scientific advance requires that students understand a body of knowledge, a set of methods and principles, and the need for critical thinking. This complexity frequently leads students to misjudge what are the most important ideas to communicate, and to commit metacognitive errors when studying for exams. Stepping stones are a set of discrete steps, mnemonically organized, that guide students as they read, write, and even speak extemporaneously about science. Employing these tools increase confidence and improve the ways in which our students communicate about and understand scientific information.