The Teaching of Psychology in Autobiography: Perspectives from Exemplary Psychology Teachers Edited by Trisha A. Benson, Caroline Burke, Ana Amstadter, Ryan Sidey, Vincent Hevern, Barney Beins, & Bill Buskist.
11 Variety is the Spice of This Teacher's Life Stephen F. Davis Emporia State University pp. 71-77

I am Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Emporia State University (Emporia, KS). I received my Ph.D. in General Experimental Psychology from Texas Christian University. I taught at King College (Bristol, TN), and Austin Peay State University (Clarksville, TN) before joining the Emporia State faculty. Most recently, I served as the 2002-2003 Knapp Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences at the University of San Diego.

My research interests include academic dishonesty, student professional development, student responsibility, conditioned taste aversion learning, and olfactory communication in animal maze learning. Since 1966 I have published over 275 articles and textbooks and presented nearly 900 professional papers; the vast majority of these publications and presentations included student coauthors.

I have served as the President of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (STP; Division 2 of the American Psychological Association [APA]), the Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology, the Southwestern Psychological Association, and Psi Chi (the National Honor Society in Psychology). In 1987, I received the first annual Psi Chi/Florence L. Denmark National Faculty Advisor. In 1988, I received the American Psychological Foundation Distinguished Teaching in Psychology Award, and in 1989, I received the STP Teaching Excellence Award. I am a Fellow of APA Divisions 1 (General), 2 (STP), 3 (Experimental), and 6 (Behavioral Neuroscience and Comparative Psychology).

My Early Development as a Teacher

My high school senior yearbook suggests that I was destined to excel in the world of drag racing and auto mechanics. My love of building and racing cars persisted from high school into my freshman and sophomore years at Southern Methodist University (SMU). These activities, plus the "responsibilities" associated with being a fraternity member, were not especially compatible with academics. My first-semester grade point average of 2.25 slipped to a 1.25 the next semester, and then to a 1.00; the Dean was poised to expel me. Then I managed to make a 2.00 and the Dean allowed me to stay in school.

This close brush with expulsion from SMU was sufficient to raise a new sense of purpose and dedication. The result, to the Dean's amazement, was a series of straight-A semesters. The support, guidance, and encouragement of three SMU faculty during this time was invaluable and had a lasting influence on my career as a teacher. Virginia Chancey, Al North, and Jack Strange showed me, in the broadest possible terms, what it means to be a teacher. They had both high standards and genuinely cared about their students. They opened more than one door of opportunity as I struggled to gain and maintain academic credibility.

Following completion of my B.A. degree, I remained at SMU for the M.A. degree. During my Master's program I was awarded an assistantship. The assistantship duties for my final semester at SMU involved assisting the new statistics professor. In this capacity I conducted review sessions and helped students who were having difficulty with their homework assignments. I had never taught before, but this experience convinced me that teaching was to be a major component of my professional career; little did I realize how major this component would be!

I began my doctoral program at Texas Christian University (TCU) in January, 1967. A few days after the end of my first semester at TCU, I happened to be riding on the elevator with the Department Chair who asked how my semester had gone. I replied "outstanding." Following a few more pleasantries, the Chair dropped what was akin to an atomic bomb on me. He indicated that my fellowship duties for the summer would be to teach a class. "Don't you mean helping one of the faculty teach a class?" "No." "When does summer school start?" "In two days." "What class will I be teaching?" "Statistics." I shudder to think what my blood pressure and heart rate were at that moment! My assistantship experience at SMU had been great, but it was a far cry from having such complete responsibility for a class.

With my copy of textbook in hand, a friendly pat on the back, and an encouraging "go get 'em" from the Chair, the 1967 summer statistics class was in my hands. I carefully prepared my lecture notes and printed in large letters on every other line of sheets from a legal pad. I tried to leave nothing out. I stayed exactly 1 day ahead of the class and prayed that no eager students would read ahead. Teaching the statistics class proved to be a major event in the evolution of my career. Despite my apprehensions, the students actually seemed to learn something about statistics and I fell passionately in love with teaching.

Working at Defining Myself as a Teacher

In the spring of 1969 I began to entertain visions of establishing my own career. Such considerations as institutional size, research or teaching orientation and private liberal arts college or state university never entered my mind. After several interviews and offers, I accepted a position at King College, a small, Presbyterian college located in Bristol, Tennessee. For the next 3 years I was half of a two-person psychology department and I truly learned the meaning of the term generalist. In addition to perpetuating and enhancing my love of teaching, the King College years spawned other activities that would become integral components of my professional life-research collaboration with students and taking students to conventions to present their own papers. So, at the outset of my career, I found my research focus shifting. To the dismay of my dissertation director, all of those hours he had invested in teaching me the importance of programmatic research seemed wasted. In some ways he probably was correct. I had come to the realization that my laboratory and research interests did not exist to serve any specific type of research; they existed for the training of quality students. I quickly found that this shift in focus meant that I was going to have to learn a lot about a large number of diverse areas and that I would be working with a consistently large number of students. Both of these changes fit my temperament and desire to work with students perfectly; yes, variety has been the spice of my life as a teacher!

The Examined Life of a Teacher

Major Principles in My Personal Philosophy of Teaching

Four major principles appear to be at the core of my philosophy of teaching. First, teaching and learning do not take place only in the classroom. In fact, I firmly believe that students learn some of their most valuable lessons when they are conducting a research project or attending a psychological convention. Second, my teaching rests on the belief that a substantial part of my job as a teacher involves challenging my students to achieve to the best of their abilities. Third, continually challenging my students means that I have to monitor my own standards carefully; what I reinforced as exemplary work in the classroom or research lab last year may not be exemplary work for that same student a year later. As students rise to and meet the challenges, the definition of excellence changes. Finally, I strongly believe that teaching should be fun and enjoyable for both students and teacher. In this regard I keep a card on my desk that says "Learning is a Grim and Serious Business." My dear friend, the late Michael Best, gave me that card, and anyone who knew Mike and his unparalleled passion for making psychology come alive and be fun for his students knows exactly how to interpret that message!

Changes in My Approach to Teaching During My Career

Probably the biggest change that has occurred in my approach to teaching was to wean myself away from a strict dependence on my lecture notes. This change occurred slowly and sometimes painfully; after all, lecture notes are a security blanket. As I found myself relying less and less on my notes, I found myself investing more and more of the class in the hands of the students. The amount of student discussion, in-class projects, and the number of student presentations increased. I quickly became convinced of the efficacy of peer teaching (see McKeachie, 1999). I commend these activities and peer teaching to all teachers. More recently, the technological and media revolution has impacted my approach to teaching. The Internet, e-mail exchanges, and PowerPoint presentations have become part of my teaching repertoire, just as they have for countless other teachers.

Rewards and Frustrations Associated with Teaching

Without any question, my greatest rewards from teaching have always come in the form of student successes. For me, student successes come in many different varieties. On a day-to-day basis, seeing the light "go on" in a student's eyes when he or she has mastered a concept never fails to serve as a reinforcer. Some successes, such as completing a research project, presenting a paper or poster at a convention, publishing an article, being admitted to graduate school, or accepting a position are more tangible but just as reinforcing. Charles Brewer put my sentiments to words very eloquently, when he indicated that "Good teachers stretch the mind and heart. I hope the world is a better place because we teachers make a difference to our students; after all, that is what teaching is all about" (Brewer, 2002, p. 507).

For me the most frustrating aspects of teaching have always centered around what I consider to be the plethora of "semi-meaningless" activities that we seem to find ourselves engaged in on a fairly regular basis. For example, during the 13 years that I served at department chair at ESU, I never really was able to embrace the endless succession of meetings, paperwork, and bureaucracy as completely and passionately as did the other administrators. On many occasions I commented to my friends that being able to teach an extra course (or two) was my reward for being chair. I still feel this way well over a decade later.

Reflection, Evaluation, and Assessment

Even though the need to assemble teaching materials for tenure and promotion have long since passed, I have assiduously maintained a personal teaching portfolio. My formally stated teaching philosophy, statement of teaching goals, and delineation of the teaching methods I use to attain these goals are of central importance in my teaching portfolio. I review and update these items on a regular basis. Additionally, I write a brief narrative about each course I have taught. These narratives include my thoughts about what went well, what could be improved, and the students. Finally, I add course materials and student evaluations. I believe that my portfolio is one for "reflection and change" (Korn, 2002); it has served, and continues to serve, this purpose quite well.

An examination of my teaching portfolio reveals that my methods of assessing student performance have changed over the years. Because my testing format has stayed relatively constant throughout the years (typically I use a mixture of multiple-choice and short essay questions), I believe that "expanded," as opposed to changed, is a better descriptor. In addition to completing several exams and a final, students in my classes can expect to (a) write an APA format paper on a topic that is uniquely related to their course, (b) engage in a group project and make an in-class presentation related to the project, or (c) prepare a portfolio of course-related materials. I have found that using a variety of assessment techniques provides a much better appraisal of my students.

Efforts to Improve My Teaching

For many years, my efforts to improve my teaching have included a variety of activities. For example, I routinely attend and make presentations at regional and national teaching meetings. I find that I can, and do, learn a great deal from my colleagues, especially the young faculty who have fresh ideas and an excellent understanding of the latest advances in technology. Also, I review and reflect on the contents of my teaching portfolio on a regular basis. Such review sessions always yield several new approaches to try or changes to make--some work, some do not. Finally, for many years my students and I have been conducting, presenting, and publishing teaching-related research (e.g., Condon et al., 2000; Davis & Huss, 2002; Kennedy, Nowak, Raghuraman, Thomas, & Davis, 2000; Kennedy, Rodrigue, & Davis, 2000). These activities help provide new insights about the teaching process, which, in turn, have impacted my own teaching.

Advice for New Teachers

The best advice I can offer someone who wants to be a good or even outstanding teacher is to read and reread Charles Brewer's "Ten Commandments of Teaching" (Brewer, 2002). These guidelines for "surviving and thriving in an academic career" (Brewer, 2002, p. 503) are truly invaluable; once you have read them, then conduct your teaching accordingly.

Although all 10 of Brewer's lessons are exceptionally important, I have always had a special affinity for Number 5:

For your learning and teaching, develop a passion that approaches religious fervor. If you are not passionate about what you are doing, your students will not be passionate about what you want them to do. I have often spoken and written about passion in teaching, which is the principle ingredient that separates adequate from exceptional teachers. Ralph Waldo Emerson insisted that 'nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm,' and he was right. The best teachers I know are as excited about learning and teaching as they were when they first started to learn and teach. The saddest people I know are teachers who have lost their passion for teaching, but they continue to teach. When teaching is no longer fun, give it up--grow geraniums, play golf, read mystery stories, help with Habitat for Humanity, watch soap operas, or become a football coach or rock star! Your colleagues and students will rejoice. (Brewer, 2002, pp. 504-505)

I believe that Charles Brewer's comments are right on target! Passion is the key to being a good, if not outstanding, teacher.

Final Thoughts

In his description of former American Psychological Foundation Teaching Award recipients, David Pittenger (1992) eloquently and correctly summarized my career as a teacher in the following manner:

It should be noted that Davis teaches at a state school that does not have a competitive admissions policy, a prestigious history, a national reputation, or a comfortable endowment, and that does not view itself as a research institution. Hence, Davis's level of activity appears to have been maintained by the reinforcing value of his continued interaction with his students. (p. 165).

Looking back over my teaching experiences from the 1960s to the present, I would have it no other way. My students have enriched my life in more ways than I can relate in the few pages of this chapter.

References

Brewer, C. L. (2002). Reflections on an academic career: From which side of the looking glass? In S. F. Davis & W. Buskist (Eds.), The teaching of psychology: Essays in honor of Wilbert J. McKeachie and Charles L. Brewer (pp. 499-508). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Condon, L. M., Hummel, J. M., Cox, M. A., Calahan, B. J., Davis, S. F., & Schmidt, C. R. (2000). Documenting passive cheating in college students. Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate Student Research, 5, 73-75.

Davis, S. F., & Huss, M. T. (2002). Training graduate teaching assistants. In S. F. Davis & W. Buskist (Eds.), The teaching of psychology: Essays in honor of Wilbert J. McKeachie and Charles L. Brewer (pp. 141-150). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum

Kennedy, K., Nowak, S., Raghuraman, R., Thomas, J., & Davis, S. F. (2000). Academic dishonesty and distance learning: Student and faculty views. The College Student Journal, 34, 309-314.

Kennedy, K. M., Rodrigue, K. M., & Davis, S. F. (2000). So you want to teach less in hopes of teaching more? The College Student Journal, 34, 626-632.

Korn, J. H. (2002). Beyond tenure: The teaching portfolio for reflection and change. In S. F. Davis & W. Buskist (Eds.), The teaching of psychology: Essays in honor of Wilbert J. McKeachie and Charles L. Brewer (pp. 203-214). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

McKeachie, W. A. (1999). Teaching tips (10th ed.). Boston: Houghton-Mifflin.

Pittenger, D. J. (1992). A brief history of the American Psychological Foundation's Award for distinguished teachers of psychology. In A. E. Puente, J. R. Matthews, & C. L. Brewer (Eds.), Teaching psychology in America: A history (pp. 153-170). Washington, DC: American Psychological Foundation.

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