Integrating Research Across the Psychology Curriculum

1
Integrating Research Across the Psychology
Curriculum Lonnie Yandell, Ph.D., Department of
Psychological Science Belmont University,
Nashville, TN
Co-Curricular Support
Courses with Research
Summary
Presentation Opportunities

• Departmental Research Practice activities BURP
  and SURP
• Faculty involvement
• DRC and IRB
• Research Participation Pool
• Increased Lab space equipment

• Introduction to Psychological Science
• Lab
• Data collection activities
• Statistics course
• Research Methods with a lab
• 2 courses from this group
• Health Psychology
• Personality PsychologySocial PsychologyPsycholo
  gical Testing 
•  
• 2 courses from this group
• Learning and Conditioning Physiological
  PsychologySensation PerceptionCognitive
  Psychology
•   The above 8 courses have labs for group
  research projects
• Senior Capstone
• Senior Capstone Seminar in Psychology
• Individual research
• Literature Review option

In the Fall of 2010, Belmont Universitys
Department of Psychological Science implemented a
curriculum organization that integrates research
experiences throughout the curriculum. The
guiding principle was to give students the
opportunity to experience various types of
psychological research in a collaborative
environment with the conviction that only by
participating in the scientific process can
students adequately understand psychology.
Students begin in the introductory course working
in small lab groups to develop data collection
activities. After completing a statistics course
and research methods course (with a lab),
students choose four out of eight upper level
courses that have labs. Each of these labs
involves group research projects with the goal of
publicly presenting their research. Students
complete the major with a senior capstone course
where they have the option to complete a research
study for public presentation. Along with
providing both on- and off-campus presentation
opportunities, the department provides support
for presentation practice, recruitment of
research participants, travel to professional
meetings to present, and assuring ethical data
collection. Although there are some challenges
with this model, there are many advantages for
students.

• Belmont Undergraduate Research Symposium (BURS)
  and Science Undergraduate Research Symposium
  (SURS)
• Regional and National meetings
• Student /Faculty Publications

Challenges and Advantages

• Faculty and student time
• Scholarship
• Departmental cohesion
• Student motivation and commitment
• Student Research Awareness and Skills

Belmont Information

• Fall 2012 Enrollment 6,647Total undergraduates
  5298
• 2012-2013 Undergrad Tuition 12,450 per semester
• Student to Teacher ratio 131
• Department of Psychological Science
• 110 majors, 5 full time faculty, 2 adjuncts
• Dr. William Bailey
• Dr. Peter Giordano
• Dr. Linda Jones
• Dr. Seraphine Shen-Miller
• Dr. Lonnie Yandell

Guiding Principles
Year Semester Meeting Oral Papers Posters Students Faculty Sponsors Students with More than 1 paper
2010 Fall SURS 17 5 53 3 12
2011 Spring BURS 13 0 33 2 5
2011 Spring RMPA 0 4 6 2 1
2011 Fall SURS 16 0 34 3 13
2012 Spring BURS 14 0 42 3 9
2012 Spring EPA 0 8 25 3 1

• Scientific literacy Must understand methodology
  to understand content
• Collaboration
• Experiential Learning
• Student generated ideas Key to motivation
• Oral and written communication skill development