The Psychologically Literate Citizen

The concepts of psychological literacy and the psychologically literate citizen promise to invigorate a new global approach to psychology education. They pose a basic question: What attributes and capabilities should undergraduate psychology majors acquire? Many psychological organizations have defined psychological literacy by guidelines and lists of student learning outcomes, but although psychology educators across the globe have been working towards helping students to acquire these attributes over the past 50 years, educators have only recently explicitly delineated attributes and learning outcomes, and sought to develop appropriate learning, teaching, and assessment strategies, including whole program approaches. The contributors to this volume argue that psychological literacy is the most important outcome of an undergraduate psychology education and that psychologically literate citizens use their knowledge of psychology to problem-solve in ethical and socially responsible ways that directly benefit their communities. In this book, a rich variety of international perspectives contribute to the development of the two key concepts of psychological literacy and the psychologically literate citizen. Authors provide practical guidance for classroom psychology educators, as well as curriculum developers and reviewers. Ultimately, they make the case for a paradigm shift in psychology education.

The concepts of psychological literacy and the psychologically literate citizen promise to invigorate a new global approach to psychology education. They pose a basic question: What attributes and capabilities should undergraduate psychology majors acquire? Many psychological organizations have defined psychological literacy by guidelines and lists of student learning outcomes, but although psychology educators across the globe have been working towards helping students to acquire these attributes over the past 50 years, educators have only recently explicitly delineated attributes and learnin.

Examines what our students need to know to be psychologically literate citizens of the contemporary world, caring family members, and productive workers who can meet challenges. This work creates a fresh model for educating psychologically literate citizens.

The International Handbook of Psychology Learning and Teaching is a reference work for psychology learning and teaching worldwide that takes a multi-faceted approach and includes national, international, and intercultural perspectives. Whether readers are interested in the basics of how and what to teach, in training psychology teachers, in taking steps to improve their own teaching, or in planning or implementing research on psychology learning and teaching, this handbook will provide an excellent place to start. Chapters address ideas, issues, and innovations in the teaching of all psychology courses, whether offered in psychology programs or as part of curricula in other disciplines. The book also presents reviews of relevant literature and best practices related to everything from the basics of course organization to the use of teaching technology. Three major sections consisting of several chapters each address “Teaching Psychology in Tertiary (Higher) Education”, “Psychology Learning and Teaching for All Audiences”, and “General Educational and Instructional Approaches to Psychology Learning and Teaching”.

Service learning is a powerful educational tool that allows undergraduate psychology students -- both majors and nonmajors -- to improve their scholarly, personal, and professional outcomes through civic engagement. Students hone knowledge and skills from the classroom by applying them to volunteer work in collaboration with community organizations and residents. Activities might include tutoring children, developing informational brochures, or conducting research in support of social change initiatives. This book reviews the theory, research, and practice behind service learning, establishing it as an effective pedagogy that can help psychology departments meet each of the five key learning goals -- as well as many learning indicators -- outlined in APA's Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major: Knowledge Base in Psychology Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking Ethical and Social Responsibility in a Diverse World Communication Professional Development Chapters provide clear guidelines for designing service learning courses and integrating them into the undergraduate psychology curriculum. Specific implementation strategies -- including sample project designs and classroom assignments -- are applied to introductory, major, and capstone courses in a wide variety of popular subjects. The authors also examine departmental issues such as faculty development, assessment, and scholarship, providing useful blueprints for department-wide civic engagement.

News Literacy and Democracy invites readers to go beyond surface-level fact checking and to examine the structures, institutions, practices, and routines that comprise news media systems. This introductory text underscores the importance of news literacy to democratic life and advances an argument that critical contexts regarding news media structures and institutions should be central to news literacy education. Under the larger umbrella of media literacy, a critical approach to news literacy seeks to examine the mediated construction of the social world and the processes and influences that allow some news messages to spread while others get left out. Drawing on research from a range of disciplines, including media studies, political economy, and social psychology, this book aims to inform and empower the citizens who rely on news media so they may more fully participate in democratic and civic life. The book is an essential read for undergraduate students of journalism and news literacy and will be of interest to scholars teaching and studying media literacy, political economy, media sociology, and political psychology.

Digital Citizenship in Schools, Second Edition is an essential introduction to digital citizenship. Starting with a basic definition of the concept and an explanation of its relevance and importance, author Mike Ribble goes on to explore the nine elements of digital citizenship. He provides a useful audit and professional development activities to help educators determine how to go about integrating digital citizenship concepts into the classroom. Activity ideas and lesson plans round out this timely book.