Society for the Teaching of Psychology: Division 2 of the American Psychological Association

Updates from the GSTA Blog

10 Sep 2020 12:00 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

This has been an incredibly difficult year to say the least. Now that many of us are teaching online for the first time and campuses are largely closed, some may feel overwhelmed and/or isolated from the teaching community. The Graduate Student Teaching Association (GSTA) Blog has long been a great resource for graduate student instructors and seasoned faculty to share their pedagogical techniques, research, and advice. This summer’s blog posts have continued to focus on evidence-based teaching in general, as well as various ways to make online courses student-centered and engaging. Additionally, the GSTA Blog Editorial Team stands proudly with #BlackLivesMatter and is motivated to use the platform to feature voices for change. To this end, there is now a greater emphasis on posting pieces advocating for and promoting inclusion, equity, and anti-racism in pedagogy.

Some of the most recent blog posts include:

Online Teaching

Using Technology to Teach in the COVID-19 Era: Some Considerations

by Richard J. Harnish, Ph.D.

This post focuses on the three main challenges instructors may face with online course instruction. Dr. Harnish invites you to consider how a student’s physical/learning disabilities, access to resources, or psychological motivation may impact their engagement with your online course.

Bringing Classroom Activities to Life Online

by Alison Jane Martingano, M.Phil

In this timely post, the author shares some of her favorite classroom activities and how they can be translated into an online format, aiming to ensure that the dynamic classroom experience is not lost in transition.

Evidence-Based Pedagogy

Using Project Syllabus to Create a Learner-Centered Syllabus

by Amy S. Hunter, Ph.D.

This piece by Dr. Hunter, editor of STP’s Project Syllabus, presents three practical ways to create student-centered syllabi and better prepare students for the upcoming semester.

Small Teaching Changes that Make a Universal Impact

by Stephanie Baumann, MS

In this post, the author presents a teaching framework that is evidenced to help improve and optimize teaching for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn, focusing on three primary components of engagement, representation, and action and expression.

Promoting Diversity and Anti-Racism in the Classroom

Ways to Make Our Classrooms More Inclusive, Equitable, and Anti-Racist: A Three Part Series by GSTA Steering Committee:

Part 1, Part 2, (Part 3 to be published soon)

In this three-part series, the GSTA Steering Committee explores six actions graduate student instructors and assistants can take to make instruction more equitable and anti-racist. Each post presents practical strategies and resources to guide the creation of a psychology course promoting inclusion and celebrating diversity.

Teaching with Empathy

by Brian C. Smith, Ph.D., and Sal Meyers, Ph.D.

In this piece, the authors shift the reader’s focus to the social aspect of education, arguing that teacher empathy improves the quality of student-teacher interaction and leads to better learning.

If you would like to contribute to the GSTA Blog, we would love to hear from you! Please email us.


GSTA Invited Speaker at APA 2020

Dr. Amy Silvestri Hunter gave the GSTA invited address at the virtual 2020 APA Convention. Dr. Hunter is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology at Seton Hall University and the Associate Director of Project Syllabus, a compendium of model psychological syllabi sponsored by the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (APA Division 2). Dr. Hunter provided a brief background on the empirical basis for the current rubric used to evaluate syllabi and then provided suggestions for easy-to-implement changes to ones’ syllabus consistent with the Project Syllabus rubric that are likely to enhance student satisfaction.



GSTA Blog Editorial Team

Sarah Frantz, The Graduate Center, CUNY

Maya Rose, The Graduate Center, CUNY

Hallie Jordan, University of Southern Mississippi

Tashiya Hunter, The Graduate Center, CUNY

Raoul Roberts, The Graduate Center, CUNY

Megan Nadzan, University of Delaware

Laura Mason, Ohio State University

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