Society for the Teaching of Psychology


The Society for the Teaching of Psychology is Division 2 of the American Psychological Association. It is an academic society that promotes effective pedagogy while providing supports for teachers of psychology at all levels. Although it is one of the divisions of the American Psychological Association, it does not require its members to join the APA. The STP provides access to peer-reviewed teaching resources, such as course syllabi and e-books, free of charge to the general public through its website. Some sections of the website require STP membership to gain access.

History

The STP was founded as Division 2 of APA in 1945. Past presidents include notable key figures in the field of psychology, such as Wilbert J. McKeachie, John Dashiell, Charles Brewer, Ludy T. Benjamin, and Diane Halpern. In its early years, the STP struggled to increase membership and clarify its professional identity and purpose. In 1947, Division 2 had only 184 registered members, lagging behind other divisions. In 1950, the STP created the Teaching of Psychology Newsletter. In 1951, the STP's 6th president Claude E. Buxton surveyed the membership to find out more about the current composition and possible future direction of the STP. Buxton found that the STP membership mainly consisted of educators interested in undergraduate liberal arts education, and lacked graduate-level instructors. Finding that most survey respondents saw a need to continue and improve the STP, Buxton worked on increasing membership, and a proposal requiring membership in another APA division before joining Division 2 was not adopted, as it seemed to subordinate the STP to other APA divisions. By the end of the 1950s, Division 2 had gained greater prestige, and included members of various disciplines in psychology from both small and large institutions of higher education. In the early 1960s, Wilbert J. McKeachie gave the Teaching of Psychology newsletter a more polished image. Between 1960 and 1974, the STP saw a marked increase in membership, and the organization increased services to help teachers of psychology, and formulated more rigorous standards in the scholarship of teaching psychology.
In the early 1960s, STP president Robert S. Daniel was instrumental in making sure that teaching tips and sample psychology course syllabi were available to instructors. The STP also took a leading role in developing educational television during this period. During his leadership the STP also provided supports and equipment to aid departments operating on a limited budget. Daniel also lobbied the American Psychological Foundation to establish an . In 1974, Daniel was also responsible for turning the Teaching of Psychology Newsletter into what is now the journal . By 1965, membership in Division 2 was higher than that of all other APA division, except divisions 8, 12, and 15. The establishment of the Teaching of Psychology journal by a group of editors around Robert S. Daniel in 1974 was a major step forward for STP. This journal became widely respected within the discipline by 1981. During the 1950s, efforts to begin a journal had been defeated by those arguing that a journal giving teachers an identity apart from other areas of specialization would actually diminish the prestige of Division 2.
Between 1975 and 1987, leaders of the STP worked to recruit new members, in order to offset declining enrollment in Division 2 and across many APA divisions. During this period, STP leadership developed awards that recognized exceptional teachers. In the early 1990s, the STP aimed at increasing its outreach to academics at the regional level through the Council of Teachers of Undergraduate Psychology. During this period, former STP president Patricia Keith-Spiegel developed the to achieve these outreach-related aims and to provide academics and teachers of Psychology with centralized and accessible resources. The STP Members approved a bylaws revision in 2018 to shorten the title of this office to Director of Teaching Resources. The STP also worked on developing exchange systems for course syllabi and activities. During the mid 1990s, under the presidency of Margaret A. Lloyd, the STP developed the Long-Range Planning Committee to help Division 2 enter the 21st century with increased visibility and influence. The STP adapted to rapid changes in technology by making all resources computerized, and focused on maintaining the high quality and integrity of the Teaching of Psychology journal.

Resources

The Society for the Teaching of Psychology offers many resources to help teachers of psychology. The page contains a wealth of materials, ranging from classroom assignments and class demonstrations to books about teaching psychology, to mentorship programs for teachers of psychology or scholars of teaching and learning.

Resources for Teachers of Psychology

STP provides , These include peer-reviewed assignments, demonstrations, and strategies for teaching at all levels. are divided into about 25 categories that reflect different sub-disciplinary areas and covers the responsibilities of teachers beyond the classroom, such as advising and writing letters of recommendation.

Project Syllabus

STP hosts through which experienced teachers review syllabi submitted by teachers of psychology from across the nation. Project Syllabus has posted over 100 syllabi that can be used as inspiration for novice teachers or first-time teachers of a specific course.

Teaching of Psychology Idea Exchange (TOPIX)

The curates ideas psychology teachers have posted about teaching strategies, assignments, ideas, and discussion topics that are innovative, creative, and open for use.

Teaching Competencies

The STP has selected a set of tools that teachers of psychology can use to evaluate their own performance and use as self-assessments. These resources can be used by experienced teachers to improve their practice, by novice teachers to structure a set of goals to meet, or by first-time teachers who are seeking a model to which they can aspire as teachers-in-training and job applicants.

Departmental Consulting

STP offers as a service to psychology departments. Departments are increasingly being required to assess the success of their programs to earn accreditation, and the STP offers the Departmental Consulting service to facilitate contact between departments that are in need of external assessment support and qualified consultants. The department can arrange a campus visit or targeted evaluation by selecting a consultant of their choice and directly contacting the consultant.

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Consulting Service & Workshop

The society offers a as part of a broader initiative to encourage graduate students and faculty to contribute to the growing field known as the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning or SoTL. This service supports graduate students and faculty who want to learn how to conduct rigorous research on teaching and learning by providing consultants to provide guidance on each step of the process.
A related resource is the annual . Workshop participants are placed with experienced mentors with whom they can work remotely. During the workshop, mentees gather together for a few days of intense support with their mentors and other mentees with similar interests, as well as experts in various aspects of SoTL research such as statisticians and the editors of SoTL journals. Mentees may begin the process at any stage of a research project with which they feel the need for help, from research design to analysis to completing a manuscript.

Professional Development

The STP is a mentorship program which aims to support early career professionals in psychology. Both advanced graduate students and new appointed faculty members are encouraged to participate as mentees. The program seeks to place mentees with more experienced faculty members who have similar interests. Mentees are placed with mentors with the idea that their interactions should be mutually beneficial.

Pedagogical Innovations Task Force Reports

STP page hosts the that cover topics such as online course management, online quizzing, ways to integrate various media effectively in the classroom, and use of software tools in teaching.

Conferences

The Society is active in conference programming at the regional, national, and international level.

Annual Conference on Teaching (ACT)

STP runs its own flagship conference, the in October of each year. ACT serves to disseminate effective teaching practices and share research on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. The ACT conference attracts hundreds of attendees, including graduate students and new instructors as well as seasoned professors of psychology. Attendees are able to engage in professional development through participation in a SoTL workshop that pairs instructors with mentors to develop research strategies to evaluate the effectiveness of different approaches and method of teaching.
ACT began in 2003 as the STP Best Practices Conference that was an outgrowth of the deliberations of the Assessment Group at the Psychology Partnership Program that was sponsored by APA and hosted by James Madison University in 1999. The first BP Conference was in Atlanta and dealt with assessment. The conference was such a success that the Society made it an annual event. Each of the BPs were themed conferences offering best practice presentations on limited topics until 2014 when the event was renamed The Annual Conference on Teaching and the program was opened to accept posters and symposia on all areas dealing with the teaching of psychology. Since 2003, the conference has been held in or around Atlanta. With the change in focus of the conference and the decision to conduct the STP Annual Business Meeting and Awards Ceremonies at ACT, the Society decided to begin moving ACT around the country. The first move took the conference to San Antonio, TX, in October 2017, followed by Phoenix, AZ and Denver, CO.

American Psychological Association (APA)

As a part of the annual APA Convention, STP sponsors, in conjunction with the APA, three major invited addresses that deal with the teaching of psychology, the . The Hall lectures are designed to advance the teaching of introductory psychology, whereas the Wolfe lectures cover a broader range of topics in relation to teaching.

Association for Psychological Science Teaching Institute (APS/STP)

The Society collaborates with the Association for Psychological Science in sponsoring the APS/STP Teaching Institute that precedes the APS Annual Convention. The Director of STP Programming at APS plans and manages the Institute and arranges a selection of additional sessions on teaching that are scheduled during the Convention. The Director accepts submissions for symposia and posters and heads a committee to determine acceptance.

Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP)

The STP conducts a on teaching held at the annual convention of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology .

National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology (NITOP)

STP annually sponsors a pre-conference workshop for educators in psychology at the .

Regional Conferences

Through its Director of Regional Conference Programming, the Society advertises and facilitates programs dealing with teaching at the seven APA-affiliated regionals conventions. In addition to supporting travel to three of these conferences by a Hall/Wolfe lecturer, the Society also provides funds to the remaining four regionals to support the expenses of a speaker on the teaching of psychology chosen by those regionals.
STP programming promotes effective teaching and learning at regional meetings of the , the , the , the , the , the , and the .

International Conferences

STP’s Director of International Programming collaborates with organizations that conduct international psychology conferences to encourage and facilitate teaching programming at these events. The Society co-sponsors at least one of these conferences each year and facilitates Society presence and several international events.

Leadership

STP governance consists of an executive committee, comprising the president, past-president, and president-elect, and vice presidents for resources, programming, membership, recognitions and awards, and diversity and international relations. The following table includes the current members of the executive committee for the STP.
PositionNameAffiliation
PresidentAmy FineburgThe College Board
Past-PresidentRichard MillerTexas A&M University - Kingsville
President-ElectSusan NolanSeton Hall University
Vice President for ResourcesBill AltmanSUNY Broome Community College
Vice President for ProgrammingAngela LeggPace University
Vice President for MembershipMeera KomarrajuSouthern Illinois University, Carbondale
Vice President for Recognition and AwardsKeli BraitmanWilliam Jewell College
Vice President for Diversity and International RelationsKelley Haynes-MendezThe Chicago School of Professional Psychology
SecretaryStephanie AffulLindenwood University
TreasurerJeffrey HolmesIthaca College
Executive DirectorThomas PusateriKennesaw State University

The STP has made efforts to honor past leadership. During the ACT conference in San Antonio, TX a fund was announced in recognition of Ted Bosack, former STP Executive Director serving ten year in the role, for his commitment to the STP and the teaching of psychology.

Publications

The STP has published the journal quarterly since 1974. ToP serves as a resource for educators that includes empirical teaching tools, methods, and innovative approaches, more generally, for coursework in psychology. Guidelines for authors are provided at the journal website , with topic coverage including: