PsychSessions: Conversations about Teaching N' Stuff

Latest Episodes:

S1:E11 Jordan Troisi: Partnering with Career Services to Integrate Career Preparation into Lab and Content Courses Dec 12, 2023

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In this episode, I interview Jordan Troisi from Colby College. Jordan and I discuss the difference between asking students what they want to "be" and what they want to "do" and the impact family, cultural, and socioeconomic pressures have on students' career decisions. Jordan describes partnering with a director of career services to redesign a social psychology lab course that provided opportunities for skill development and direct instruction for articulating those skills during interviews. Jordan and I play "Guess the Job Title" and discuss the importance of explicit career preparation instruction.

S1:E10 Tim Lawson: The Significance of Experiential Learning and the Value of Alumni Engagement Dec 12, 2023

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In this episode, I interview Tim Lawson from Mount St. Joseph University. Tim and I discuss the value of experiential learning and cooperative education in career exploration and professional development, and Tim shares how his department has developed strong connections with alumni who serve as mentors for students and advisors to the department. Tim and I play "What Degree Does This Job Require?" and talk about the role alumni profiles and panels play in broadening students' perspectives of what someone can do with an undergraduate degree in psychology earned from their department.

S1:E9 Jaye Van Kirk: The Power of Portfolios Dec 12, 2023

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In this episode, I interview Jaye Van Kirk from San Diego Mesa College. Jaye shares fascinating stories of her experiences as a lifelong learner, and we discuss the powerful way she incorporates digital portfolio development in her courses to prepare students to be competitive job applicants. Jaye and I play "Can I Get This Job with an Associate's Degree?" and talk about examples of alternatives to traditional academic writing assignments she assigns to diversify the artifacts students include in their portfolios

S1:E8 Aaron Richmond: Teamwork as a Mechanism for the Development and Demonstration of all Five Skillful Psychology Student Skill Domains Dec 12, 2023

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In this episode, I interview Aaron Richmond from Metropolitan State University of Denver. Aaron and I discuss skill development, skill transfer, and how he uses teamwork to help students develop cognitive, communication, personal, social, and technological skills, the five skill domains included in The Skillful Psychology Student. Aaron and I play "Why is This Job a Good Fit for a Psych Major?" and talk about the importance of helping students make explicit connections between what they are learning in each of their courses and the careers that interest them.

S1:E7 Jane Halonen: Preparing Students to Respond to Misperceptions of the Bachelor's Degree in Psychology Dec 12, 2023

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In this episode, I interview Jane Halonen from the University of West Florida. Jane is co-author of the book The Psychology Major's Companion: How to Get You Where You Want to Go with Dana Dunn. Jane and I discuss preparing psychology majors to respond to the microaggressions they face due to misperceptions about the major (it is easy) and the value of the bachelor's degree in psychology (graduates won't be able to get a job). Jane shares the creative formats her positive psychology students use to present their five-year plans and the unique way she incorporates the APA Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major into her capstone course. Jane and I play "What Degree Does This Job Require?" and talk about ways students can engage in self-directed career exploration and professional development.

S1:E6 David Strohmetz: Combining Career Exploration with Skill Development Dec 12, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, I interview David Strohmetz from the University of West Florida. Dave is co-author of the Employable Skills Self-Efficacy Survey, a free web-based survey he developed with Natalie Ciarocco (the star of episode 5). We discuss the importance of providing opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate skills throughout the curriculum and how he combines career exploration with teamwork and leadership skill development in his social psychology course. Dave and I play "Guess the Job Title" and talk about the importance of creating opportunities for students to practice writing and talking about the skills they have demonstrated in their courses, so they are ready to answer skills-related questions during interviews.

S1:E5 Natalie Ciarocco: The Employable Skills Self-Efficacy Survey Dec 12, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, I interview Natalie Ciarocco, a professor and Department Advising Coordinator at Monmouth University. Natalie and I discuss the Employable Skills Self-Efficacy Survey, a free web-based survey she developed with David Strohmetz (the star of episode 6), the optional career preparation course she teaches, and the three career modules she created that are strategically attached to required sophomore, junior, and senior-level courses. Natalie and I play "Guess the Job Tasks" and talk about an assignment she created that provides a structure for students to share career exploration information with each other and to learn more about themselves by reflecting on why they are interested in specific jobs and why they are not interested in other jobs.

S1:E4 Ashley Waggoner Denton and Janet Peters: Plug-and-Chug Skills Resources for Faculty Dec 12, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, I interview Ashley Waggoner Denton from the University of Toronto and Janet Peters from Washington State University. We discuss the joint CABE-STP working group Ashley and Janet co-led and the materials the group created for instructors to easily incorporate the skills from The Skillful Psychology Student into nine core psychology courses. We play "Guess the Skills in the Job Description" and talk about how students can use The Skillful Psychology Student to monitor and plan skill development as they progress through the major.

S1:E3 Karen Z. Naufel: The Creation and Uses of the The Skillful Psychology Student: Prepared for Success in the 21st Century Workplace Dec 12, 2023

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In this episode, I interview Karen Z. Naufel from Georgia Southern University. Karen and I have a great time reminiscing about being part of The Skillful Psychology Student working group and discussing the methods the group used to identify the five employer-valued skill domains and 17 corresponding skills psychology undergraduates develop through the major. Karen and I play "Guess the Skills in the Job Description" and talk about how she broadens students' perspectives of career opportunities through an assignment that includes finding jobs that fit their skills and writing cover letters that align their skills with the responsibilities and qualifications included in the job descriptions.

S1:E2 Brittany Avila: The Misperception that You Cannot do Anything or Make Any Money with a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology Dec 12, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, I interview Brittany Avila, a faculty member and academic advisor at the University of Nevada, Reno, and host of the Career Journey podcast. Brittany and I discuss how being a first-generation college student motivates her to help students understand through stories that career decisions are not linear. We talk about the misperception that you cannot do anything with a bachelor's degree and an assignment she created to expose students to the diverse applications of the knowledge and skills gained through the psychology major. Brittany and I play "Guess the Job Title" and identify bachelor-level jobs that pay more than some doctoral-level jobs.

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