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.
34 Teaching Psychology, Teaching People Steven A. Meyers Roosevelt University pp. 233-240

I am an Associate Professor of Psychology at Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois, where I have been teaching since 1996. I completed my undergraduate education at Brown University and received both my MA and PhD degrees in clinical psychology from Michigan State University. I frequently taught undergraduate courses during my doctoral training, and was honored to receive both Michigan State's Excellence-in-Teaching Certificate and the McKeachie Early Career Teaching Excellence Award from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (STP) in 1994.

My research interests closely relate to my teaching and can be categorized into two areas. First, I study the interrelations among child development, family functioning, and broader social contexts. For example, I have explored topics such as how neighborhood characteristics help determine whether a particular parenting strategy is adaptive (Meyers & Miller, 2004), or the factors that shape adolescent mothers' parenting attitudes (Meyers & Battistoni, 2003). A second major area of my research addresses faculty development and effective college teaching. In conjunction with my colleague and friend Loreto Prieto, I have conducted several national surveys about the training and development of psychology graduate teaching assistants (Meyers & Prieto, 2000; Prieto & Meyers, 2001). Similarly, I have examined topics such as classroom conflict, the mentorship of graduate students of color, and the use of collaborative learning in the teaching of psychology (e.g., Meyers, 1997, 2003).

Finally, I am a licensed clinical psychologist in the State of Illinois and hold a diplomate in clinical psychology from the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). Since 1997, I have provided psychotherapy to children, adults, couples, and families in a private practice in suburban Chicago. I have previously worked in clinical settings such as a university-based clinic, inpatient psychiatric hospitals for children, and a private practice that catered to inner-city children.

My Early Development as a Teacher

My interest in teaching began when I was a child; it was fueled by two main forces. First, my mother, father, and grandmother convinced me that I had worthwhile ideas to share. Successful college teaching not only requires competence, but confidence. My family has provided me with praise and encouragement, which have been invaluable in my career and in my life.

Second, the opportunity to teach can spark an interest in a career in education, and even during childhood I had the chance to teach. Excited by the information that I learned at elementary school, I would come home and attempt to teach it to my younger sister, Michelle. My sister was the only student enrolled at "Steven School" and she dropped out at a young age.

Undeterred by this high attrition rate, I sought other opportunities to teach. In high school, I taught Spanish to younger children who enrolled in my school district's gifted and talented program. When I was a senior in college, I had the chance to teach lab sections of Introductory Psychology for two semesters. Bolstered by these successful experiences, I wanted to teach during graduate school and had full course responsibility after I received my MA degree.

I built on this foundation during the following years by trial and error when refining my teaching practices, emulating the styles of my favorite instructors, and seeking mentorship. Most of my training on how to teach actually occurred on an informal basis. I always had a faculty supervisor with whom I could consult, and I occasionally received materials to assist with lesson planning. However, the amount of structured training that I received for teaching in graduate school paled in comparison to the scope of my preparation to become a researcher and a clinician. Such a training gap is common among doctoral programs in psychology (Meyers & Prieto, 2000).

Nevertheless, I have been fortunate to have many teaching mentors. For example, I learned first hand about the importance of an instructor's ability to express compassion and understanding from John Edwards, a chemistry professor at Brown University. At the end of my first semester of college, Professor Edwards scheduled an appointment with me to share the news of my stunningly poor performance on his inorganic chemistry final exam. Perhaps he was concerned that I might begin to doubt my ability to succeed in college. His level of thoughtfulness is still inspirational and aspirational for me, even though I stayed away from Chemistry courses for the remainder of my college career.

My most influential teaching mentor was my advisor at Michigan State University, Professor Gary Stollak. I chose to attend Michigan State's doctoral program primarily to work with him. We share research interests that focus on the well-being of children and families, a commitment to clinical work, and a conviction that teaching is important. Gary is a thoughtful and dedicated college instructor, and he appreciated that I wanted to be a teacher more than either a researcher or therapist. In our conversations across several years, Gary provided me with the opportunity to crystallize my thoughts about teaching, shared his own insights and approaches, and communicated by example that college teaching is a worthwhile and fulfilling endeavor.

Working at Defining Myself as a Teacher

I always wore a tie and jacket during my first nine years of teaching. I chose to dress more formally in class because I was virtually the same age as many of my students. Further obscuring this distinction is the fact that I am relatively short and look relatively young for my age. I was concerned that I was not sufficiently professorial.

As years passed, I gained more experience, lost more hair, and started to dress more casually. My clothing has been a proxy for my level of comfort and ease in front of college students. Essentially, I have been able to incorporate my role as a teacher, researcher, and clinician more successfully into my identity as time has progressed.

Much of this development is attributable to experience and to having the opportunity to refine my skills. However, another aspect is achieving a certain synergy among my different responsibilities. More specifically, many faculty struggle with balancing teaching, research, service, and outreach activities. In my case, I have been able to align the focus of my work to maximize productivity. For example, I publish research work regarding effective college instruction, supervise graduate students' teaching responsibilities, lead faculty development efforts at my university, and remain active in STP. Knowledge and insights in one domain inspire my development in the others.

I am fortunate that my university allows faculty members to teach primarily in their specialties and that it actively caters to people's strengths. Sometimes I struggle to juggle particular responsibilities, but streamlining allows me to be interested and engaged in the work that I do. I also believe that this approach has consolidated my professional identity as a scientist-practitioner-educator.

The Examined Life of a Teacher

My personal philosophy changes as I grow as a teacher. The following thoughts currently form the core of my teaching philosophy: (a) people matter, (b) relationships matter, (c) students must participate in the process, and (d) structure and rigor matter.

People Matter

Many people believe that teaching is the transmission of the facts, theories, stories, and skills of a particular field or discipline. For some, good teaching mainly involves sharing this information with students in an interesting or inspiring way. I certainly subscribed to this belief when I started teaching. I focused a lot on the content of my classes and lessons. I wanted to ensure that my presentation was thorough, the readings were comprehensive and timely, and the coverage was clear.

My early years of teaching during graduate school were also a time of relatively rapid personal and professional growth in my life. I was also learning how to do therapy with children and families. Becoming a skillful clinician involves more than gaining a set of techniques. It frequently involves turning inward, monitoring your responses, learning your biases, and knowing how to draw on aspects of your personality to convey understanding to clients.

As I became more proficient in providing therapy, I quickly realized an analogous process existed for teaching. In other words, my personality, values, strengths, and weaknesses are all integral to how I teach. Knowing myself allows me to teach in a way that is more honest and authentic. There are corollaries to this notion. First, a technique that works well for a colleague may not work as well for me. Thus, a teaching role model can provide inspiration, but the goal should not be duplication. Second, I have found that my teaching style evolves as I change as a person. I find the synergy between personal and professional development to be an extremely rewarding part of college teaching.

The maxim, "people matter" applies equally to students. More specifically, I believe that students want to feel that they are knowledgeable, worthy, and important. However, it is easy to lose sight of this point when I focus more on transmitting information than on the room full of people, each of whom has unique aspirations and motivations, fears and concerns, and lives outside of the classroom.

I often remind myself that I am entrusted with the education of each student. Appreciating students' individuality is rewarding, and it insulates me against possible boredom or burnout that can stem from merely repeating the presentation of content, semester after semester. This mindset also suggests that I can contribute to my students' growth by focusing on and cultivating the inherent potential in each person.

Relationships Matter

Over the past several years, I have paid increasing attention to the interpersonal relationships that exist in my classes. I think many college faculty members are cognizant of the social and emotional tone of their classes, especially when they experience conflict with their students. Conversely, instructors become aware of these dynamics when they create meaningful connections with students. Personally, I find that these relationships matter and are a powerful determinant of students' learning.

Clinicians emphasize the importance of this point when they discuss the role of the working alliance in psychotherapy. More specifically, a working alliance is established when a connection is formed between therapist and client and they develop a common agenda; it is furthered by therapists' communication of empathy, genuineness, and warmth (Rogers, 1951). This concept can provide a helpful lens for faculty as well. I try to establish productive working alliances when teaching. This process involves learning students' names, maintaining availability outside of class, expressing enthusiasm when teaching, listening sensitively to students' concerns, praising and encouraging students, and using teaching strategies that engage and challenge students.

Students Must Participate in the Process

Faculty also promote working alliances when they share responsibility with students for creating a successful learning experience (Billson & Tiberius, 1991; Tiberius & Billson, 1991). In order to promote true investment and enduring change, I believe that students cannot be merely interested observers in the classroom. Rather, students learn best when they manipulate information and actively relate knowledge to themselves and to the issues they find interesting and important.

This realization guides my preference for active and collaborative learning strategies. I frequently use case studies, role plays, service learning, writing exercises, think-pair-share activities, discussions, and problem-based learning. Ultimately, my students spend a significant amount of time working with each other. For instance, they check in with a peer every 20 minutes to ensure their mutual understanding, and work on lengthy activities in stable small groups. In my undergraduate courses, I increase student participation and engagement through service learning. Students connect learning to life while they volunteer in homeless shelters for families, special education classrooms, and mentorship programs with at-risk youth.

Structure and Rigor Matter

If you were to ask my students to describe my teaching style, and if they were to respond kindly, many would share the observation that my classes are generally well structured and demanding. I believe that learning occurs best when the class experience is well organized. I approach my subject matter by selecting the skills and abilities that I hope my students will develop as the course progresses. In each session, I begin by explaining the set of instructional goals so that students know our agenda and purpose. Finally, I try to organize the material in a structured way so that students can build on their current framework of knowledge.

Moreover, I have high expectations of students: regular attendance, active participation in discussions and activities, weekly written assignments, and completing lengthy readings. I am committed to my students' potential and proud of their accomplishments. I am inspired much more often than I am disappointed. With high expectations, students have more than the opportunity to learn lots of information-they ideally learn what they are capable of doing and who they are capable of being.

Advice for New Teachers

I conclude this chapter with some advice for new college instructors and more seasoned faculty members who are looking for some inspiration. First, you have a long time to get it right, so be patient and kind to yourself along the way. Teaching well requires practice and persistence. Some great teachers are born, but many are made. I fear that some faculty give up prematurely or hastily devalue teaching because they have not reached a point at which teaching becomes enjoyable for them. Faculty spend most of their time teaching, even at research universities (Astin, Korn, & Day, 1991).

Second, content is where it starts, not where it ends. "Getting through the material" is a siren of college teaching. Notably, what students learn is more important than what faculty teach. I recommend approaching the task of teaching by carefully reflecting on the skills and abilities that you want to develop in your students. Choose teaching and evaluation strategies that align with these goals. Attend to the broader environment in your classroom, including your relationships with students, to maximize their interest and learning.

Third, spend time reading and talking about teaching. Most faculty members devote a considerable amount of time to reading books and journals in their area of research expertise. In a similar vein, I encourage others to read about effective college teaching. There are many peer-reviewed journals (e.g., Teaching of Psychology, College Teaching); general texts on instruction (Davis, 1993; McKeachie, 2002); readings tailored to the teaching of psychology (Lucas & Bernstein, 2005); and books that focus on a specific pedagogical issue, such as formulating goals (Mager, 1997), assessing students' learning (Ory & Ryan, 1993), or the ethics of teaching (Keith-Spiegel, Whitley, Balogh, Perkins, & Wittig, 2002). Instructors can also find many helpful resources on the internet, including those distributed by STP.

I find it ironic that teaching, which is an inherently public activity, becomes such a private endeavor for so many instructors. Although faculty members regularly discuss research with colleagues, there are fewer conversations about teaching. I encourage those committed to effective teaching to form "teaching circles" in which interested faculty meet regularly to discuss their experiences and innovations. A similar idea for receiving support and guidance is to arrange for peer coaching, in which instructors ask a colleague to visit their class to collect data and provide nonjudgmental feedback on a topic of interest (e.g., extent to which students are engaged, degree to which the instructor promotes critical thinking).

Personally, I try to improve my teaching through these methods. I have modest, perpetual self-improvement plans in most areas of my life, including teaching. For instance, I develop new courses on a regular basis and experiment with different teaching strategies (e.g., service learning, problem-based learning, online teaching) to create variety and new challenges. I also read teaching-related literature to inform my practices, keep me apprised of recent developments for the graduate seminar I teach in this area, and provide a basis for my writing about the scholarship of teaching and learning. Finally, I am fortunate to have colleagues who enjoy discussing teaching; I benefit from them greatly.

Final Thoughts

I agree with Charles Brewer's (2002) sentiment that "the real reason for teaching is to make a difference" (p. 507). By the end of my courses, I hope that my students are not only more knowledgeable, but also more curious, confident, self-aware, and sensitive to the plight of others. Teaching also makes a difference in my own life. It gives me the regularly scheduled opportunity to be enthusiastic, helpful, and hopeful.

References

Astin, A., Korn, W. S., & Day, E. L. (1991). The American college teacher: National norms for the 1989-1990 HERI faculty survey. Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute, Graduate School of Education, UCLA.

Billson, J. M., & Tiberius, R. G. (1991). Effective social arrangements for teaching and learning. In R. J. Menges & M. D. Svinicki (Eds.), College teaching: From theory to practice (pp. 87-109). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

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. 499-507). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Davis, B. G. (1993). Tools for teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Lucas, S. G., & Bernstein, D. A. (2005). Teaching psychology: A step by step guide. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Keith-Spiegel, P., Whitley, B. E., Jr., Balogh, D. W., Perkins, D. V., & Wittig, A. F. (2002). The ethics of teaching: A casebook (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Mager, R. F. (1997). Preparing instructional objectives (3rd ed.). Atlanta, GA: Center for Effective Performance.

McKeachie, W. J. (2002). McKeachie's teaching tips: Strategies, research, and theory for college and university teachers (11th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Meyers, S. A. (1997). Increasing student participation and productivity in small group activities for psychology classes. Teaching of Psychology, 24, 105-115.

Meyers, S. A. (2003). Strategies to prevent and reduce conflict in college classrooms. College Teaching, 51, 94-98.

Meyers, S. A., & Battistoni, J. (2003). Proximal and distal correlates of adolescent mothers' parenting attitudes. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 24, 33-49.

Meyers, S. A., & Miller, C. (2004). Direct, mediated, moderated, and cumulative relations between neighborhood characteristics and adolescent outcomes. Adolescence, 39, 121-144.

Meyers, S. A., & Prieto, L. R. (2000). Training in the teaching of psychology: What is done and examining the differences. Teaching of Psychology, 27, 258-261.

Ory, J. C., & Ryan, K. E. (1993). Tips for improving grading and testing. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Prieto, L. R., & Meyers, S. A. (Eds.). (2001). The teaching assistant training handbook: How to prepare TAs for their responsibilities. Stillwater, OK: New Forums Press.

Rogers, C. (1951). Client-centered therapy. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Tiberius, R. G., & Billson, J. M. (1991). The social context of teaching and learning. In R. J. Menges & M. D. Svinicki (Eds.), College teaching: From theory to practice (pp. 67-86). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

This page was first posted online on November 10, 2005 and was last updated on November 10, 2005

Copyright 2005 APA Division 2, Society for the Teaching of Psychology. All rights reserved. Copyright Policy. Copyright in this web site is owned by APA Division 2, Society for the Teaching of Psychology. Copyright in individual articles and similar items are generally owned by the author(s), except as otherwise noted. You may review the materials in this site for information purposes and may download and print ONE copy of the materials for your own personal use, including use in your classes and/or sharing with indiviual colleagues. No other permission is granted to you to print, copy, reproduce, or distribute additional copies of these materials. Anyone who wishes to print, copy, reproduce or distribute additional copies must obtain the permission of the copyright owner.