Course Description Introductory Psychology is a general course that offers an introduction to the field of psychology. The course is a general degree requirement for the social sciences, so the students who take the course include both majors and non majors. The lesson was conducted during a 50 minute class which included about 40 students in a small multimedia classroom.

Executive Summary This lesson was designed to introduce students to the basic procedures and processes of classical conditioning within the context of a single-semester course in Introduction to Psychology. We usually allocate one-week for the unit on Learning, which approximates a single 50-minute class on classical conditioning (the remaining two classes are devoted to operant conditioning and observational learning, respectively). Thus, the lesson incorporates both lecture and activity and was designed with a multi-media compatible classroom in mind. After the introduction to the elements and procedure of classical conditioning, students complete a worksheet (see attached) designed to provide students with practice using the terminology of classical conditioning, understanding the ordering of elements in the procedure of classical conditioning, and applying their knowledge to a variety of different examples including a novel one that students create. The worksheet provides an opportunity to assess students’ knowledge of classical conditioning from basic definitions of the elements of classical conditioning to the learning of a conditioned response through a variety of real-world examples. Four assessments (peer observation of the lesson, grading of the activity worksheet, grading of relevant exam questions, and a student survey) indicated the lesson generally worked well. Both students and observers reported that the lesson was engaging and helped introduce an admittedly difficult topic. The lesson shows promise with several suggestions for improvement included.

Printer Friendly Version of Complete Report Below are links to the complete lesson final report. Final Report This final report includes all documents relevant to the lesson study -- including the activity worksheet and the documents necessary to study the lesson.

The Lesson Below are links to the actual lesson. Lesson Documents This document includes all aspects of the report that describe how to teach the lesson.

The Study Below are links to the study of the lesson. The Study This document includes all pages necessary to study the lesson -- the instructions, the protocol, and the summative evalution.