Tag Archives: gigantic classes

Are you ready for more Intro Psych?

I’m teaching Intro Psych again in the fall, but my class size is increasing by 40%… from 260 to 425 students! And I have a big goal… I want to reach out to them even MORE than I was able to connect with our class this year. Having a TA is great — Liz has been an awesome TA for us – but there’s still only one of her and her time needs to focus on grading and meetings about grading-related issues.

So here’s what I’m thinking… I want you to help me reach out to the incoming students!

I’m looking for a few enthusiastic students to volunteer to be Peer Tutors. We can figure out the details together, but here’s what I have in mind so far…

  • Answer questions from new students (e.g., about our course, about transitioning to university… wouldn’t you have loved to have someone around to ask questions??)
  • Come to class at least once per week to be available, to model your interest in learning, and to provide me with feedback on how class can be improved
  • Come to invitational office hour once or twice a month to meet your students, face-to-face. Hopefully we can assign each Peer Tutor to connect with a specific sub-group of students, to break the class down into smaller groups.

Here’s what I think are some of the unique experiences and opportunities you can gain from this position:

  • Mentor and perhaps to make friends with members of the incoming class
  • Develop your leadership and teamwork skills
  • Consider a university-level course from a new, broader, perspective
  • Deepen your understanding of psychology (there’s nothing like revisiting course material to learn it more deeply!)
  • Potentially a reference from me

I’m looking for people who…

  • Have achieved at least a B+ in my Intro Psych, Section 6 2010/2011
  • Are enthusiastic about learning and about intro psych!
  • Are willing to learn, take risks to grow, and meet new people
  • Have solid verbal and written communication skills
  • Are majoring in any major (either Arts or Science)
  • Are willing and able to commit to coming to class once per week, invitational office hours a couple of times per month, answering email and Vista posts, meetings with me and fellow Peer Tutors to discuss the course.
  • Are able to meet with me in person (or, if needed, online) a couple of times during the summer months and through the school year.

If you meet most or all of these criteria and are interested in this position, please email me 4 things by May 31

  1. A statement (maximum 500 words) explaining why you are interested in this position, what skills you hope to develop, and what you think you can contribute to making next year’s intro psych class even better than this one!
  2. A copy of your transcript, downloaded/copied from SSC
  3. A brief resume
  4. Your contact information and intended major/minor (if known or suspected)