Running head: SYLLABI REFLECTION

Case Study 1:
General Psychology Syllabi Reflection
Candice Germany
Loyola University Chicago

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In college, I struggled to find the course of study, in which, I wanted to complete a

degree. I finally, after a lot of contemplation and changing of majors, settled on studying
psychology. Though I immensely loved the content I was learning, I struggled with stringing all
the concepts together to give myself a full picture of the discipline that is psychology. I received
no interaction with anyone in the field of psychology, other than my professors, and the use of
technology in the class was nonexistent. I am not the only student who struggled in these areas.
Students in todays colleges are struggling with similar issues that I have experienced.
According to Fink (2013), this is not an uncommon struggle that many students face during their
courses of study, whatever they may be. Through the review of five syllabi of general
psychology courses by Collins (2015) from Winthrop University, Jann (2013) from University of
Florida, Kilianski (2016) from Rutgers University, Sullivan (2012) from Napa Valley College,
and Arpin (2010) from Coffeyville Community College, I have been able find several issues with
general psychology courses. The courses are all lecture based courses that focus on breaking up
ideas. The syllabi also include little technology involvement. These syllabi are all examples of
how higher education is struggling to create a learning environment that focuses on the twenty
first century student.
The most important thing that all the syllabi have in common is that there the main form
of teaching in each class is lecture style. According to Fink (2013), the most common form of
instruction is lecture. The problems of lecture style teaching that Fink (2013) identified in his
book span not only loss of retention of information, but also the ability to transfer knowledge to
real world situations, the inability to achieve the expected outcomes and the inability to develop
critical thinking skills. All of these skills are necessary to developing an individual who can think
critically in everyday situations. Lecture style classes do not allow for interactions and viable

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discussions for students. The most memorable classes that I had as an undergraduate student
were discussion style classes. The students were allowed to interact and leave the classroom with
new ideas. Though we did not always agree with each other, at least we could learn from each
other. Lecture style classes do not allow for expression like this.
Another issue that I found that was consistent in all of the reviewed syllabi was that each
class was focused on one reading from a psychology text book and a lecture focused on that
particular reading or an overview of that reading. This design of teaching the readings separate
ideas rather than one large concept. For example, Collins syllabus (2015) has each chapter of a
text book scheduled to be the center of study for each class. There are three exams through the
whole semester and they are multiple choice exams. There are no papers about integrating
concepts or planned discussion on any topics. The problem with these types of courses is that
students do not make connections.
If students do not make connection with the course, students leave courses constructed
like these feeling like the material is absolute, disconnected facts with technical terms (Nilson,
2010). The students have to make a connection with the text to have a clear understanding of the
concepts. If students are being lectured about the overview of a chapter rather than pulling
content that could be useful for students in future careers. The problem with courses like these is
they are not preparing the student for future work, which in reality, is the main goal of higher
education. Students do not know how to take the knowledge that they learned and apply it to
every day affairs. As a student, I struggled with the same issues. I gained serious critical thinking
skills only from classes were designed around a concept and had several different readings from
different points of view.

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The most important part of education is an educators connection with technology in the
classroom. A central part of millennials lives is their connection to the internet (Arnett, 2015).
The connection to technology in a classroom of a millennial has to be just as strong. Students do
get a lot of their information off of the internet. Kilianski (2016) and Jann (2013) did put their
syllabi on the website Sakai that was utilized by both of their institutions. This allows for quick
access to information on the syllabus as well as online readings. This connection that websites
allow for students is important but it does not expand on all the ways technology can be used to
reach the twenty first century students.
Students need an expansion of different types of technology. There is currently new
technology that is interactive and allows for students to talk to each other as well as real mentors
in their fields (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000). These kind of connections through
technology are so important for development of a student. Not only can students use these
technologies to make connections to the text, but they can also use them to make connections to
people in the fields of work students want to go into. With these connections, they can find jobs
and internships to enhance their learning.
Higher education only changes when people start to shout loud enough (Fink, 2013).
Producing students who can think critically is such an important role of a college. All of the
examples of syllabi that I reviewed were really just a variation of the same exact content. There
might have been a text book changed or a discussion thrown into the lesson plan every couple of
weeks, but I did not see anything that would make students think critically. The problem with all
of the issues, which were addressed above, is that students who enter introductory courses are
not taught critical thinking skills from the moment that they enter a college classroom. When
they do enter into higher level courses, where it is expected that they have these critical thinking

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skills, students will already be behind. My question is how loud does everyone need to be before
students are taught the tools that they need to excel in not only their careers, but their lives from
the first the first course to the last of their college career.

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6
References

Arnett, J.J. (2015). The winding road from the late teens through the twenties: Emerging
adulthood. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Arpin, M. (2010). Course syllabus for general psychology [Syllabus]. Behavioral Sciences,
Coffeyville Community College, Coffeyville, KA.
Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L., & Cocking, R. R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind,
experience, and school. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
Collins, T. (2015). Psychology 101: General psychology [Syllabus]. Department of Psychology,
Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC.
Fink, L. D. (2013). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to
designing college courses. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Kilianski, S. (2016). General psychology [Syllabus]. Department of Psychology, Rutgers
University, New Brunswick, NJ.
Jann, K. (2013). Psy 2012 general psychology syllabus [Syllabus]. Department of Psychology,
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
Nilson, L. B. (2010). Teaching at its best: A research-based resource for college instructors. San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Sullivan, E. (2012). General psychology course syllabus [Syllabus]. Social and Behavioral
Sciences, Napa Valley College, Napa Valley, CA.