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TEACHING PSYCHOLOGY
This thoroughly revised third edition of Teaching Psychology synthesizes the latest
pedagogical research on effective teaching and translates it into recommendations
for classroom application. It also takes into account the many changes in the teaching
landscape that have taken place in recent years.
Covering key topics such as planning a course, choosing teaching methods, assimilating
technology, and the integration of teaching into the rest of your academic life, this book
also includes an abundance of supportive, supplementary content to guide and inform
new teachers. This content will also benefit seasoned teachers who wish to reevaluate
their current teaching practices and explore new teaching ideas and techniques.
Presenting a comprehensive and cutting-edge teaching guide for psychology
teachers, this book is a vital resource for those who are training psychology instructors
or undertaking a teaching psychology course. It is also a useful text for more
experienced faculty looking to update their current teaching practices.
Douglas A. Bernstein is Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois and Courtesy

Professor of Psychology at the University of South Florida. He was chairman of the
National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology for 30 years. He has won several
teaching awards, including the APA Distinguished Teaching in Psychology Award.
Sue Frantz (Highline College), with 30 years of psychology teaching experience,

writes blogs on technology for academics (SueFrantz.com) and teaching psychology
(bit.ly/SueFrantzPsych). In 2016, Frantz received the highest honor in the teaching of
psychology—the APF Charles L. Brewer Distinguished Teaching of Psychology Award.
Stephen Chew is a professor of psychology at Samford University. He studies

the cognitive basis of effective teaching and learning. He is also the recipient of
multiple national teaching awards and serves as the chair of the National Institute
on the Teaching of Psychology.
TEACHING
PSYCHOLOGY
A Step-by-Step Guide
Third Edition
Douglas A. Bernstein, Sue Frantz,

and Stephen Chew
Third edition published 2020
by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2020 Taylor & Francis
The right of Douglas A. Bernstein, Sue Frantz, and Stephen Chew to be
identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance
with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
First edition published by Routledge 2004
Second edition published by Routledge 2014
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record has been requested for this book
ISBN: 9780367143930 (hbk)

ISBN: 9780367143947 (pbk)
ISBN: 9780429031823 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
CONTENTS
Preface viii
1 Introduction 1
Seven Principles of Effective Teaching 3
Some Characteristics of Effective Teachers 4
Your Role as a Teacher 8
What Is the Task? 8
Who Is the Audience? 11
Some Final Comments 14
2 Preparing Your Courses 15

Setting Goals 15
Choosing Course Materials 17
Creating a Syllabus 22
Setting Up Your Grading System 29
Communicating with Your Students 34
3 The First Few Days of Class 38

Before Classes Begin 39
Establishing Yourself as a Teacher 41
Establishing Class Structure 53
vi Contents
Ending the First Class 54

4 Developing Your Teaching Style 57

Preparing for Class 58
Effective Lecturing 59
Promoting Active Learning 67
Conducting Memorable Demonstrations 70
Answering and Asking Questions 72
Stimulating Class Discussions 76
Assigning Student Presentations 79
Working with Small Groups 80
Using Case Examples 82
Just-in-Time Teaching 84
Interteaching 85
Problem-Based Learning 86
Service-Learning 86
Teaching Style and Class Format 87
The Last Day of the Course 90
5 Evaluating Student Learning 93

Assessment versus Evaluation 93
Linking Teaching, Learning, and Grading 94
Some Guidelines for Assessing Student Learning 94
Grading and Your Relationship with Students 97
Tests and Quizzes 98
Writing Assignments 115
Applying the Psychology of Learning to Student
Evaluation 122
6 Faculty–Student Relationships 128

The Ethical Use of Teacher Power 129
Managing the Classroom Climate 134
Recognizing Student Demographics 140
Enhancing Students’ Motivation to Learn 143
Dealing with Students’ Excuses and Complaints 150
Classroom Incivilities 154
Contents vii
Addressing the Problems of Problem Students 159

Academic Dishonesty 164
Providing Academic Help 173
Writing Letters of Recommendation 179
7 Teaching with Technology 186

Guidelines for Using and Choosing Teaching Technology 187
The Tools of Technology 188
Web Addresses for Teaching Technology Tools 203
8 Assessing and Improving Your Teaching 206

Sources of Evaluative Feedback on Teaching 206
Student Evaluations 207
Peer Evaluation 225
Self-Evaluation 227
Faculty Development Activities 231
9 Integrating Teaching into Your Academic Life 236

Balancing Teaching, Research, and Service 237
Time-Saving Tips for More Efficient Teaching 239
Dealing with Teaching Anxiety 240
Strategies for Staying “Fresh” as a Teacher 245
References248
Index284
PREFACE
Our motivation for creating the third edition of this book is essentially the same
as it was when Sandy Goss Lucas and Doug Bernstein wrote the first two edi-
tions, namely, to share with you what we have learned about teaching psychology
and what others have learned through their research on effective teaching. With
Sandy now retired, Sue Frantz and Stephen Chew have joined the author team.
The team represents diverse backgrounds, but we all share a passion for effective
teaching and for seeking empirical evidence about how best to achieve it.
This book is based partly on that evidence but also on our combined 105 years
in the classroom, as well as on the experience of other psychology faculty whose
work we have read and whose advice we have taken. As before, this third edition
was designed with new psychology teachers in mind, but we know that seasoned
teachers too—including ourselves—can benefit from exposure to new teaching
ideas and techniques and from occasionally reevaluating their teaching and its
effectiveness.We know that our own teaching has improved as a result of working
on this book, and we hope that reading it will do the same for you, no matter how
much or how little teaching experience you may have.
You will notice that our presentation focuses on the practical far more than the
theoretical. There are already many good books about the educational and psy-
chological theories underlying effective teaching at the postsecondary level, and
much of the advice we offer is grounded in some of those theories. But our main
goal was to create a research-based “how to” book on the teaching of psychology
that can be read from beginning to end and can also serve as a quick reference and
a source of specific ideas for dealing with a wide range of teaching situations at a
moment’s notice. It is the kind of book that we could have used when we started
teaching; it would have made our first teaching experiences easier, less stressful,
and more effective.
Preface ix
The table of contents has not changed in this third edition, but the infor-
mation you will find in each chapter has been updated and expanded in order
to incorporate current research on effective teaching and the many changes
in the teaching landscape that have taken place over the last five years. The
chapter sequence was chosen to present information in the order in which a
new teacher might need it. So in Chapter 1 we describe some basic principles
of effective teaching, the characteristics of today’s students, and the expecta-
tions placed on today’s teachers. Chapter 2 deals with such topics as develop-
ing course goals and how to plan a course, write a syllabus, establish a grading
system, and choose a textbook. Chapter 3 presents a step-by-step guide to the
first few days of class, from finding and exploring the classroom, to present-
ing a syllabus, to ending a class session. Chapter 4 focuses on the develop-
ment of your teaching style and on the many options that psychology teachers
have to express that style in the context of giving lectures, conducting dem-
onstrations, asking and answering questions, leading discussions, and the like.
In chapter 5, we offer advice and suggestions for evaluating student learning
and performance via exams, quizzes, and a wide variety of writing assignments.
We also provide guidelines for developing and grading each type of evalua-
tion method, and we suggest ways of matching evaluation options—and your
evaluation criteria—to course goals and objectives. Chapter 6 takes up the vital
topic of faculty–student relations and how to manage them. Here you will find
advice on how to create a comfortable and inclusive classroom climate, provide
academic assistance, protect students’ privacy, improve their motivation to learn,
write letters of recommendation, and assist students with special needs or prob-
lems, as well as how to prevent and manage students’ classroom misbehavior
and deal with complaints, special requests, excuses, and academic dishonesty, all
within the context of the highest standards of teaching ethics. Chapter 7 deals
with the constantly changing world of educational technology. In addition to
offering a classification of teaching technologies, the chapter recommends the
thoughtful use of technology, including the factors to consider when deciding
whether to adopt a new technology.
In chapter 8, we take up the topic of how to evaluate the quality and effective-
ness of your teaching. We emphasize the importance of establishing a continuing
process of self-evaluation and of relying on colleagues as well as on students as
sources of evaluative information. Finally, in chapter 9, we discuss the need to
integrate teaching into the rest of your academic life, including how to deal with
the anxieties and stresses that may be associated with teaching.
In every chapter, we offer checklists and/or other material that we think will
be of use to new and experienced teachers alike, including forms for dealing with
students’ excuses and complaints about exam items. Each chapter also includes at
least one “SNAFU Alert!” section, in which we offer our suggestions for handling
or preventing some of the more common teaching problems that can crop up in
the lives of every psychology instructor.
x Preface
We hope that you enjoy reading this book as much as we have enjoyed writ-
ing and revising it. We look forward to hearing your comments on our efforts
and your suggestions for improvement. You may reach us at douglas.bernstein@
comcast.net, sfrantz@highline.edu, and slchew@samford.edu.
Douglas Bernstein
Sue Frantz
Stephen Chew
1
INTRODUCTION
Seven Principles of Effective Teaching

Some Characteristics of Effective Teachers
Your Role as a Teacher
What Is the Task?
Who Is the Audience?
Some Final Comments
Surveys show that upwards of 65 percent of psychology graduate students in the

United States have the opportunity to take courses on teaching, to get teaching
supervision/mentoring, or both, and that this training is a requirement for teach-
ing assistants in 84 percent of the departments surveyed ( Beers, Hill, & Thomp-
son, 2012; Buskist, 2013a; Silvestri, Cox, Buskist, & Keeley, 2012). However,
the majority of these training experiences involve only classroom seminars, and
some are no more than one-shot training days or teaching orientation programs
offered by psychology departments or campus faculty development centers. Only
a few departments offer one- or two-term courses that include both didactic and
practical training in all aspects of teaching (e.g., Boysen, 2011). No wonder that
graduate students report feeling unprepared or underprepared for their teaching
responsibilities ( Buskist, 2013a; Davis & Huss, 2002; Meyers & Prieto, 2000;
Wimer, Prieto, & Meyers, 2004).
With too few new psychology faculty—especially those from smaller gradu-
ate departments—having received extensive preparation for their role as teach-
ers (Boysen, 2011; Buskist, 2013a; Buskist, Sikorski, Buckley, & Saville, 2002;
Chew et al., 2018; Golde & Dore, 2001; Kennedy, 1997; Mervis, 2001; Prieto &
Meyers, 2001), each fall, many psychology faculty find themselves entering their
first classrooms full of content knowledge gained in graduate school but with
2 Introduction
little or no idea about how to teach it. What do they do? Aside from sweat-
ing a lot, they teach by default, doing the best they can, relying on their guts
and their wits and the (good and bad) examples set by their own teachers. The
results can be mixed, at best. As one observer bluntly put it, “Many faculty are
not effective in the classroom because they don’t know what they are doing or
why” (Weimer, 1988, p. 49). Adding to this problem of inadequate preparation
for teaching is the fact that new psychology faculty seldom receive the kind of
early feedback from peers or mentors that can help them identify their strengths
and weaknesses and improve their teaching (Boice, 2000). As James Lang (2008)
put it,
In jobs in other kinds of businesses, new employees will receive regular

performance reviews to get them on track; in academia, we prefer to let our
new employees flounder around on their own for as long as possible—the
ones that survive, we figure, have what it takes to be a teacher. (p. 266)
We don’t think that any psychology teacher, novice or veteran, should have
to flounder around, so we offer this book to help you (or those you may be
training as teachers) find your way as a teacher. We love teaching psychology,
and we want you to come to love it, too. It has its challenges, of course, but
it also offers countless rewards. One observer captured the experience well
when he described teaching as “the educational equivalent of white-water
rafting” (Brookfield, 1990, p. 2). He was referring to the emotional ups and
downs that teachers typically experience, and most veteran psychology faculty
know exactly what he meant. We have all had days when our classroom is
alive with the excitement of effective teaching and eager learning, as well as
days when planned demonstrations and activities don’t work, when students
are bored or mystified by even the most carefully crafted presentations, and
when the process of handing back exams turns ugly. (The “SNAFU Alert!”
sections in every chapter to follow describe some of these potential problems,
along with ideas for preventing or dealing with them.) For new teachers with
too little training, then, teaching can be the equivalent of white-water raft-
ing without the raft. This condition need not be permanent, however, nor are
even unprepared faculty doomed to swirl forever in the rapids. With enough
planning, practice, and effort, virtually anyone who wants to become an effec-
tive teacher, or a more effective teacher, can do so. Our colleague Bill Buskist
(2013b) put it this way:
No one ever achieves excellence in teaching by accident. Excellent teach-

ers are made, they are not born. Sure, it may be true that some of us have
natural propensities that lend themselves to good or even excellent teach-
ing, but it is no less true that excellence in teaching requires extraordinary
effort and hard work.
Introduction 3
In this chapter, we will describe seven basic principles of effective teaching,

then list some notable characteristics of effective teachers, and finally summarize
specific teaching methods and behaviors that seem to contribute to their effec-
tiveness—and that can contribute to yours, too.
Seven Principles of Effective Teaching

It has been more than 30 years since Arthur Chickering and Zelda Gamson
(1987, 1991) published their list of seven basic principles of effective teaching,
and despite the technological and other changes that have reshaped the teaching
landscape, we think those principles remain relevant and wise. We describe each
of them briefly here; we elaborate on them throughout this book.
1. Encourage Student–Faculty Contact. Frequent and fruitful contact between stu-

dents and faculty inside and outside the classroom is important for estab-
lishing and maintaining rapport and enhancing students’ motivation and
involvement in the learning process. When students know that their teacher
cares about their progress, they are more likely to persist at learning tasks,
even when the tasks are difficult. Further, the experience of getting to know
at least a few teachers as individuals can enhance students’ intellectual and
emotional commitment to learning and may increase the likelihood that they
will stay in school.
2. Encourage Cooperation among Students. Learning may be enhanced, or at least
made more engaging, when it occurs as part of a team effort. Collaborative
learning also offers the advantage of helping students develop social respon-
sibility while interacting with others whose ideas and thoughts expand their
own thinking and deepen their own understanding.
3. Encourage Active Learning. Chickering and Gamson (1991, p. 66) noted that
“learning is not a spectator sport.” They asserted that students learn, retain,
and understand more course material when they actively engage with it—
by talking about it, writing about it, questioning it, debating it, applying it,
and relating it to what they already know—rather than sitting passively as
information washes over them in lectures, videos, or other prepackaged for-
mats. This is not necessarily the case for all students in all courses (Bernstein,
2018), but if nothing else active learning methods are strongly associated
with higher levels of student satisfaction with courses and teachers, and they
contribute significantly to helping teachers find greater enjoyment in the
teaching enterprise.
4. Give Prompt Feedback. To learn best, students need feedback about what they
know and what they don’t know, what they are doing wrong and what
they are doing right. This feedback should be frequent enough and come
soon enough to guide students’ efforts. It can come through pretests on
course material as well as repeated graded and ungraded quizzes, high- and
4 Introduction
low-stakes course examinations, papers, projects, and other assignments that

help students reflect on how far they have come in accomplishing their
learning goals and how far they still have to go.
5. Emphasize Time on Task. Though we can learn some things without much
conscious effort or attention, in psychology courses there is no substitute
for paying attention and devoting time to the learning task. Teachers’ most
obvious role in promoting “time on task” lies in focusing most of every class
session on the material to be learned rather than on trivia. They can also
help students learn to use time wisely, both in terms of efficient and effective
study skills and in relation to time management in general (see, for example,
Stephen Chew’s series of study skills videos1). Whether this assistance comes
through personal advice or referral to campus counseling facilities, it can
offer a vital aid to learning for those who need it most.
6. Communicate High Expectations. Expect a lot from your students and you are
likely to get it. A teacher’s high expectations can maximize the performance
of all students—from those who are bright and motivated to those who are
less well prepared or initially less eager to exert themselves. When students
experience their teacher’s high expectations as challenging but attainable,
their expectations of themselves tend to rise accordingly.
7. Respect Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning. Like other people, students differ
in many ways, including what they know, what talents they have, and even
in their favorite ways to learn. A student who shines during class discussion
might be all thumbs during a lab session. Students who are used to dealing
on their own with practical matters in the workplace might be less adept at,
or patient with, assignments that focus on abstract theories or group prob-
lem solving. If possible, give students the opportunity to show their talents
and learn in ways that work for them, but don’t hesitate to challenge them
to learn in new ways that—while they may not come as easily—may nev-
ertheless be an important part of their academic skill set. Remember that
students who claim to have certain “learning styles” are describing what may
more accurately be called learning preferences (Pashler, McDaniel, Rohrer, &
Bjork, 2008).
Some Characteristics of Effective Teachers

Theoretically, teachers who follow the principles just listed should be able to
engage in effective teaching, which has been described as “instruction based on
empirically supported or otherwise demonstrably effective pedagogy that pro-
duces meaningful, significant, transferable, and enjoyable student learning expe-
riences” (Buskist, 2013b). Effective teachers are said to instill in their students a
desire to learn, help them to actually learn something about the course content,
show them that what they are learning is interesting, and demonstrate that learn-
ing is enjoyable in and of itself (Buskist et al., 2002).
Introduction 5
Sounds good, but how do effective teachers reach these goals? About 20 years
ago, a meta-analysis of research relating teaching methods and student learning
found three aspects of teacher behavior to be positively correlated with student
learning: enthusiasm, clarity, and good rapport with students (Murray, 1997). This
finding was consistent with the results of a number of other studies conducted at
around the same time (e.g., Feldman, 1998; Junn, 1994; Lowman, 1998; Marsh &
Roche, 1997; McKeachie, 2001;Teven & McCroskey, 1996). More recent research
has confirmed these attributes and identified numerous others, too, including
having public speaking skills; being well organized and prepared, expressive, and
interesting; having a well-articulated knowledge base; using instructional strate-
gies that motivate students to learn; promoting student engagement; cultivating
critical thinking skills; communicating learning goals and providing formative
feedback; communicating high expectations; giving students time to think about
questions before moving on; maintaining an appropriate pace; being fair and ethi-
cal; and being caring and responsive to students (Beers, Hill, & Thompson, 2014;
Buskist et al., 2002; Feldman, 1998; Hativa, 2013b; Keeley, Smith, & Buskist, 2006;
Keeley, Furr, & Buskist, 2010; Keeley, Ismail, & Buskist, 2016; Kusto, Afful, & Mat-
tingly, 2010; Marzano, 2010; Moore, Moore, & McDonald, 2008; Onwuegbuzie
et al., 2007; Orlando, 2013a; Pascarella, Salisbury, & Blaich, 2011; Pascarella & Ter-
enzini, 2005; Pepe & Wang, 2012; Seldin, 1999a;Trudeau & Barnes, 2011;Weimer,
2013a). Not surprisingly, teachers who display the opposite of these desirable
attributes are reliably identified as “bad teachers” (Busler, Kirk, Keeley, & Buskist,
2017).
The 28 behaviors that are most consistently seen in excellent teachers are listed
in Table 1.1 and formed the basis for an observation instrument called the Teacher
Behaviors Checklist (TBC; Buskist et al., 2002; Keeley et al., 2006).
Eight items in the TBC have been identified by both students and faculty
as the most important: being approachable and personable, being creative and
interesting, being encouraging and caring for students, being enthusiastic about
teaching and the course content, being flexible and open minded, being knowl-
edgeable about subject matter, having realistic expectations of students and testing
and grading fairly, and being respectful.
You can see video clips illustrating each of these categories of behavior at
https://bit.ly/2VIOivF (Landrum & Stowell, 2013). Watching these clips or
observing other effective teachers in action should make it clear that they don’t
all follow the same script. They have each found a pathway to effective teach-
ing that fits within the framework of their own personalities. This means that
you don’t have to conform to someone else’s ideal of a “good teacher” in order
to be an effective one. As you begin to develop your own teaching style, you
need not try to emulate a favorite teacher—unless that person’s style and your
own are truly alike. In the long run, it is best to simply be yourself. If you have
a humorous streak, don’t try to suppress it in the classroom. However, if you
don’t normally make wry comments and engage in witty repartee, don’t try to
TABLE 1.1 The Teacher Behaviors Checklist
1. Accessible (Posts office hours, gives out phone number and e-mail information)
2. Approachable/Personable (Smiles, greets students, initiates conversations, invites
questions, responds respectfully to student comments)
3. Authoritative (Establishes clear course rules; maintains classroom order; speaks in a
loud, strong voice)
4. Confident (Speaks clearly, makes eye contact, and answers questions correctly)
5. Creative and Interesting (Experiments with teaching methods; uses technological
devices to support and enhance lectures; uses interesting, relevant, and personal
examples; not monotone)
6. Effective Communicator (Speaks clearly/loudly; uses precise English; gives clear,
compelling examples)
7. Encourages and Cares for Students (Provides praise for good student work, helps
students who need it, offers bonus points and extra credit, and knows student names)
8. Enthusiastic About Teaching and About Topic (Smiles during class, prepares
interesting class activities, uses gestures and expressions of emotion to emphasize
important points, and arrives on time for class)
9. Establishes Daily and Academic Term Goals (Prepares/follows the syllabus and has
goals for each class)
10. Flexible/Open-Minded (Changes calendar of course events when necessary, will
meet at hours outside of office hours, pays attention to students when they state
their opinions, accepts criticism from others, and allows students to do make-up
work when appropriate)
11. Good Listener (Doesn’t interrupt students while they are talking, maintains eye
contact, and asks questions about points that students are making)
12. Happy/Positive Attitude/Humorous (Tells jokes and funny stories, laughs with
students)
13. Humble (Admits mistakes, never brags, and doesn’t take credit for others’ successes)
14. Knowledgeable About Subject Matter (Easily answers students’ questions, does not
read straight from the book or notes, and uses clear and understandable examples)
15. Prepared (Brings necessary materials to class, is never late for class, and provides
outlines of class discussion)
16. Presents Current Information (Relates topic to current, real-life situations; uses
recent videos, magazines, and newspapers to demonstrate points; talks about current
topics; and uses new or recent texts)
17. Professional (Dresses nicely [neat and clean shoes, slacks, blouses, dresses, shirts, ties]
and no profanity)
18. Promotes Class Discussion (Asks controversial or challenging questions during
class, gives points for class participation, and involves students in group activities
during class)
19. Promotes Critical Thinking/Intellectually Stimulating (Asks thoughtful questions
during class, uses essay questions on tests and quizzes, assigns homework, and holds
group discussions/activities)
20. Provides Constructive Feedback (Writes comments on returned work, answers
students’ questions, and gives advice on test-taking)
21. Punctuality/Manages Class Time (Arrives to class on time/early, dismisses class
on time, presents relevant materials in class, leaves time for questions, keeps
appointments, and returns work in a timely way)
Introduction 7
22. Rapport (Makes class laugh through jokes and funny stories, initiates and maintains
class discussions, knows student names, and interacts with students before and after
class)
23. Realistic Expectations of Students/Fair Testing and Grading (Covers material to be
tested during class, writes relevant test questions, does not overload students with
reading, teaches at an appropriate level for the majority of students in the course, and
curves grades when appropriate)
24. Respectful (Does not humiliate or embarrass students in class, is polite to students
[says thank you and please, etc.], does not interrupt students while they are talking,
and does not talk down to students)
25. Sensitive and Persistent (Makes sure students understand material before moving to
new material, holds extra study sessions, repeats information when necessary, and asks
questions to check student understanding)
26. Strives to Be a Better Teacher (Requests feedback on his/her teaching ability from
students, continues learning [attends workshops, etc. on teaching], and uses new
teaching methods)
27. Technologically Competent (Knows how to use a computer, knows how to use
e-mail with students, knows how to use overheads during class, and has a web page
for classes)
28. Understanding (Accepts legitimate excuses for missing class or coursework, is
available before/after class to answer questions, doesn’t lose temper at students, and
takes extra time to discuss difficult concepts)
Source: Keeley, J., Smith, D., & Buskist, W. (2006). The teacher behaviors checklist: Factor analysis of its
utility for evaluating teaching. Teaching of Psychology, 33, 84–91.
do so in class. The truth is that students tend to like and respect teachers who
display almost any interpersonal style as long as that style is authentic and as
long as it is clear that the teacher is knowledgeable and cares about them and
about teaching.
Indeed, factor analysis of the TBC has revealed two factors that appear most
closely associated with effective teaching: They are labeled (1) caring and sup-
portive and (2) professional competency and communication skills (Keeley et al.,
2006). In other words, whatever else you do, your chances of becoming an effec-
tive teacher are better if you care about your teaching and you care about your
students, you know something about your subject matter, and you clearly express
what you know.These two general factors probably describe the necessary condi-
tions for effective teaching, but the more specific components that underlie them
are important as well. If they weren’t, you could stop reading now and return this
book for a refund. The key to effective teaching is finding your own way to com-
municate to students your caring and content knowledge, your motivation and
good intentions. This means learning or honing a variety of more specific skills
that will help you to be an effective teacher (Junn, 1994; Lowman, 1998; McK-
eachie, 2001; Svinicki & McKeachie, 2014). In the chapters to follow, we offer our
advice on how to develop those skills.
8 Introduction
Your Role as a Teacher

If you are like many new teachers of psychology, it was your interest in psychol-
ogy itself, not the prospect of teaching it, that led you to pursue a graduate degree
and an academic career. In fact, the realization that teaching is a major part of
academic life might have dawned on you only slowly over your years of graduate
study and thus might have come into focus only as you contemplated a teaching
assistantship or were discussing teaching assignments with prospective employers.
Yet teaching has always been a part of professors’ jobs, and in North America prior
to about 1850, it was their only job. Around this time, the European university
model, with its emphasis on research and graduate education, began to influence
higher education in the United States. Especially at major universities, promo-
tion and tenure came to be based more on research productivity than on the
quality of undergraduate teaching or service to the community (Boyer, 1990).
During World War II, research became even more firmly embedded in professors’
job descriptions as the federal government funded research in many disciplines,
including psychology, to aid in the war effort. That funding has continued in
varying degrees ever since, as have the research activities of college and university
professors. Yet surveys of college and university faculty in the 1990s found that
more than 60 percent of all higher education faculty, including 21 percent of fac-
ulty at research universities, felt that teaching effectiveness should be the primary
criterion for promotion and tenure (Boyer, 1990). This view is reflected in the
tenure and promotion policies at some institutions, and teaching effectiveness is
included in almost every professor’s performance evaluations. More recent surveys
have found that about 97 percent of faculty feel that teaching is an essential or
a very important part of their responsibilities (Berrett, 2012; Eagan et al., 2014;
Grove, 2017). So even if your academic interests are focused on a research career,
there is good reason to spend the time and effort it takes to improve the effective-
ness of your teaching (Boysen, 2019). Besides, “teaching skillfully may be less time
consuming than teaching badly” (Svinicki & McKeachie, 2014, p. XVII).
What Is the Task?

The teaching task you face as a psychology professor depends mainly on the
level, type, traditions, and orientation of the department and institution you have
joined. If you are at a major research university, you might be asked to teach just
two courses per term, and perhaps only one of these will be at the undergraduate
level.You might at first be assigned only one course (perhaps a graduate seminar)
so that you can get your bearings and establish your lab and get your research or
other scholarly work off the ground. If you are at a community college, you were
probably hired primarily, or exclusively, as a teacher. If you are not expected to
engage in research, your teaching assignment might include two or more sections
of two or more courses, for a total of four to six classes per term. Obviously, the
Introduction 9
heavier your teaching assignment, the more separate courses you have to prepare,
the less experience you have in teaching them, and the less institutional support
you receive, the more daunting and stressful your teaching task is likely to be.
Graduate and Undergraduate Teaching

Most of the suggestions we offer in this book are focused on teaching under-
graduates, but virtually all of them, especially those about how to be prepared,
organized, enthusiastic, committed, and caring, also apply when teaching graduate
students. Nevertheless, you should be aware that the characteristics and needs of
undergraduate and graduate students in psychology differ enough that a slightly
different approach is required at each academic level. Most notably, undergradu-
ates, especially those in their first term at college, tend to need more support
and socialization into the culture of higher education than do graduate students
(Erickson, Peters, & Strommer, 2006; Erickson & Strommer, 1991).
Many undergraduates come to college from a high school culture where the
rules and expectations are considerably different from those of the one they are
about to enter. For example, they might have been accustomed to having small
classes taught by teachers who knew them personally and who took time to
remind them about upcoming assignments, quizzes, and exams and the need to
prepare for them. Further, as college-bound members of their graduating class,
they might have become used to being among the “smart” kids and performing
well above average without having to exert all the effort of which they are capa-
ble. Finally, they might have depended on their parents to get them out of bed
and off to class on time, not to mention assuring that they were fed and dressed
in clean clothes. Most of these familiar circumstances change in college. Students
who live at home might retain some of the perks of childhood, but their college
teachers are far less likely to track their progress or question irregular attendance
or poor performance. They may be faced for the first time with large lecture sec-
tions and find themselves too intimidated to ask questions, even after class or at
faculty office hours. They might have few friends on campus, and they might be
distressed by the loss of the well-established social support system and the rela-
tively high social status they enjoyed back home.With fewer hours in class to cre-
ate structure for their day, they may have difficulty managing their time, especially
when it comes to allocating time to complete term papers and other long-term
assignments and projects.They might even be getting lost on campus from time to
time. In many ways, then, they are starting over. If you will be teaching first-year
students, especially in the fall term, keep in mind that they are in the midst of a
stressful life transition. It will be up to you to decide how much to nurture these
students, but be aware that they might want and need more support and assistance
than those who are further along in their undergraduate careers.
In contrast, by the time they enter a graduate program in psychology, your
students should already have well-honed academic skills, and their academic
10 Introduction
socialization process is usually complete. If you teach at the graduate level, your
role will expand to include mentoring as well as instruction. In addition to teach-
ing course content, you will be helping students to conceive, develop, and design
research projects; analyze the results of those projects; and clearly communicate
those results in scholarly papers and conference presentations. In fact, a vital part
of your role as a teacher of psychology graduate students is to act as a role model
for the next generation of researchers, and because many of your graduate stu-
dents will become faculty members themselves, you will also be a role model for
the next generation of teachers.
In short, whether you are teaching at the undergraduate level, the graduate
level, or both, the development of effective teaching methods will be important
for your career, your sanity, and your academic legacy.
Online Teaching
In the 2000–2001 academic year, about 1.3 percent of college students were
enrolled in fully online programs; by 2009, this figure was 12.1 percent (Shachar &
Neumann, 2010). Today, prevalence of online education has exploded. About
31 percent of all higher education students, or nearly 6.5 million people, are
learning at least partly online and almost 15 percent, or just over 3 million stu-
dents, are taking all their courses online (Seaman, Allen, & Seaman, 2018). Fur-
ther, the annual growth rate of online enrollment is increasing every year and
at a much faster rate than for higher education in general (Seaman et al., 2018).
Online instruction was originally designed to allow off-campus students to take
college courses, but many students who live on or near campus are now enrolling
in online courses, too, primarily because of the schedule flexibility these courses
allow. Some institutions are even requiring students to enroll in a certain number
of online courses (Parry, 2010).
Table 1.2 lists the names and characteristics of the various versions of online
education (Allen & Seaman, 2013).
As you can see, online education has evolved from a “learn anywhere” to a
“learn anytime” to a “learn at any pace” method of delivering courses (Shachar &
Neumann, 2010). At the same time, it has become increasingly clear to teachers
that, compared to the face-to-face format, far more time and effort are required
to develop and teach an online course. This may be one reason why, even though
student learning outcomes appear about equivalent in online and traditional
courses (Seaman et al., 2018), faculty support for the value and legitimacy of
online education has decreased (Allen & Seaman, 2013; Liu, 2012; Seaman et al.,
2018). Some faculty and administrators point out that online education might
not be for everyone because it takes more self-discipline to succeed in an online
course than in a face-to-face course (Allen & Seaman, 2013). This skepticism
and the typically lower student retention rates seen in online courses have been
cited as among the greatest barriers to the further expansion of online education
(Allen & Seaman, 2013).
Introduction 11
TABLE 1.2 Versions of Online Education
Type of Course % of Content Typical Description

Delivered Online
Traditional 0 No online technology used—content is

delivered in writing or orally.
Web Facilitated 1–29 Uses web-based technology to facilitate what
is essentially a face-to-face course. May use
a course management system (CMS) or web
pages to post the syllabus and assignment.
Blended/Hybrid 30–79 Blends online and face-to-face delivery.
Substantial proportion of the content is delivered
online, typically uses online discussions, and
typically has a reduced number of face-to-face
meetings.
Online 80+ Most or all of the content is delivered online.
Typically no face-to-face meetings.
Source: Adapted from Allen, I., & Seaman, J. (2013). Changing course:Ten years of tracking online education in
the United States. Retrieved from www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/changingcourse.pdf.
Nevertheless, online education is not going away. We address it in some depth

in chapter 7, but throughout the book we highlight some of the things that you
might want to think about when applying a variety of teaching methods in online
courses.
Who Is the Audience?

In the 1960s, the typical college student in the United States was a white, middle-
class male who was enrolled for full-time study and whose expenses were paid
primarily by his parents. He did not hold a job during the academic year, and
he entered college with a B average. He expected to perform at an average level
and his main goals probably included developing a meaningful philosophy of life
(Astin, Parrott, Korn, & Sax, 1997). Data from the National Center for Education
Statistics (2016) show that this profile has changed dramatically.
For one thing, only 62 percent of today’s college students are taking courses
on a full-time basis, usually because financial need forces them to hold a full- or
part-time job. About 28 percent of them have children to support, so it is no sur-
prise that they also tend to be older than the typical students of the past. In 1970,
less than 28 percent of undergraduates were over the age of 25; now that figure is
38 percent. Over the same time period, the percentage of women on college cam-
puses rose from 41 percent to 56 percent, and the percentage of ethnic minority
college students has increased from 8.6 percent to 44 percent. These trends are
expected to continue, such that by 2025 the majority of U.S. college students will
be people of color.
12 Introduction
The diversity of college students goes far beyond age, gender, and ethnicity.
More students than ever before are entering college with less than adequate aca-
demic preparation and with special needs stemming from disabilities. Even the
disabilities are more diverse than ever. In the past, most disabilities involved blind-
ness, deafness, paralysis, or other physical problems that could be accommodated
by relatively minor changes in the way classes were conducted. Today, more and
more students are coming to campus with learning disabilities or other cogni-
tive difficulties, as well as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or psychiatric
disabilities that may be more difficult to accommodate. The National Center for
Education Statistics estimates that almost 22 percent of today’s college students
report having some form of disability (Eagan et al., 2017) and that about 70 per-
cent of those disabilities are of the cognitive or psychiatric variety (Hinz, Arbeit, &
Bentz, 2017).We discuss the impact of diversity in today’s students throughout this
book because you are likely to encounter it in every class you teach.
College students’ goals have been changing, too, and in some ways appear to
be coming full circle. In 1967, when the U.S. economy was booming, unem-
ployment was low, and many young people were preoccupied with matters of
peace and personal growth, nearly 83 percent of incoming students said their
main goal in coming to college was to develop a meaningful philosophy of life;
only 43.8 percent mentioned wanting to be very well-off financially. As wor-
ries about unemployment and inflation became more prominent in later decades,
only about 40 percent of incoming students listed the “philosophy of life” goal
(Astin et al., 1997), and by 2012, the goal of getting a job reached an all-time
high of 88 percent.With unemployment falling continuously since then, financial
goals have declined somewhat. True, in 2016, about 85 percent of new students
still mentioned making more money as an important goal, but nearly that same
percentage described “getting a general education,” “gaining an appreciation of
ideas,” and “learning about things that interest me” as very important goals (Eagan
et al., 2017).
However, many students appear to have unrealistic expectations about how
long their college education will take. Over 86 percent of students expect to
graduate in four years, while national statistics indicate that, on average, only a
little less than 40 percent will do so (Eagan et al., 2017). Further, students who
come to college after having experienced grade inflation in high school naturally
expect their high grades to continue. In fact, like the children in Garrison Keillor’s
fictional Lake Wobegon, about 72 percent of today’s incoming college students
rate themselves as “above average” on both academic and interpersonal criteria,
and more of them than ever expect to pursue advanced degrees (Campbell &
Twenge, 2013; Eagan et al., 2017; Pryor et al., 2013). These students tend to be
surprised and resentful when the level of effort that once led to As or Bs now
earns only Cs or Ds.
Students’ reactions to grades depend partly on their mindset or beliefs about
intelligence (Dweck, 1986, 2008, 2010; Gaultney & Cann, 2001; Grant & Dweck,
Introduction 13
2003; Rattan, Good, & Dweck, 2012; Rattan, Naidu, Savani, & Dweck, 2012;
Svinicki, 1998;Yeager & Dweck, 2012). Students with a learning orientation tend
to be interested mainly in developing skills and learning course content.They care
about good grades, of course, but these students focus mainly on increasing their
competence. They seek challenges that foster learning, they persist in the face of
difficulty, and they do not attribute errors or failure to a general lack of ability;
they believe that intelligence is fluid, not fixed, and that they can learn to do bet-
ter. Students with a performance orientation tend to be more interested in grades
and in appearing “smart” than in actually acquiring skills and mastering course
content. They tend to believe that they have a fixed amount of intelligence and
if they have to work harder than other students, or have difficulty learning, it is
mainly because they lack intelligence. Accordingly, they tend to be less persistent
than their learning-oriented peers in the face of challenges and difficulties. In fact,
although these students want to do well on evaluated tasks, their fear of failure and
negative evaluation is such that they tend to shy away from challenges.When they
perform well on a task, their pride stems mainly from having done better than
others rather than from having accomplished something for its own sake (Svin-
icki, 1998). When they do not perform well, they tend to attribute their failure to
their general lack of ability (Dweck, 2008, 2010; Rattan, Good et al., 2012; Rattan,
Naidu et al., 2012; Svinicki, 1998;Yeager & Dweck, 2012). As described in chap-
ter 6, these differing mindsets can have significant implications for your students’
responses to you, your course requirements, and your grading system, as well as to
your efforts to motivate diligent study habits (Altman, Prittie, & Forbach, 2019).
In the 1960s, grades ranked high among students’ main worries.Today, students
are worried about many other things, too, including—for some—supporting a
family and how to pay for the rising costs of a college education (Eagan et al.,
2017). Students face other stressors as well. Between 1985 and 2016, the percent-
age of students who report “being overwhelmed by everything I have to do” and
“frequently feel depressed” has risen steadily from less than 20 percent to just over
30 percent; for females the latter figure has reached just over 40 percent (Eagan
et al., 2017; Pryor et al., 2013). Almost 14 percent of incoming students say that
there is a “very good chance” that they will seek help from a counseling center
during their college years; in 1991, that figure was only 3.5 percent (Eagan et al.,
2017). It has been suggested that students’ stressors, including the economically
based need for part-time study, are significant factors in lengthening the time it
takes students today to complete their bachelor’s degrees (Pryor et al., 2013).
In summary, the undergraduate students you will encounter in your psychol-
ogy courses represent a wide range of ethnic backgrounds, abilities and disabilities,
interests, motivations, and expectations. Some will be diffident and frightened;
others will be overconfident, unrealistically optimistic, and demanding. Whether
they are studying full time or part time, many will be trying to fulfill academic
obligations while dealing with a job, financial pressures, family responsibilities,
relationship problems, and other stressors. Preparing to deal with the diversity of
14 Introduction
today’s students is just one aspect of the task you will face as a psychology teacher.
In later chapters we address many others, beginning in Chapter 2 with what may
be your first question: How do I start?
Some Final Comments

In this chapter, we have listed some of the most important principles of effec-
tive teaching, along with a description of some of the teacher characteristics that
translate those principles into an effective teaching style. If you are just starting
your teaching career, the prospect of trying to emulate these “master teachers”
might seem daunting, but remember that today’s master teachers were yesterday’s
novices, and no matter how well their personalities and content knowledge might
have prepared them for their teaching role, they all had doubts, fears, and uncer-
tainties, and they all certainly had a lot to learn. And they did. We hope that this
book will help you do the same and that your role as a teacher will bring to you
the same enjoyment and satisfaction that it has brought to us.
Note
1. See https://bit.ly/2kFntZD.
2
PREPARING YOUR COURSES
Setting Goals
Choosing Course Materials
Creating a Syllabus
Setting Up Your Grading System
Communicating with Your Students
Some Final Comments
We try to teach well, and we know that most of our colleagues do, too. Still,
we are constantly amazed at how many students tell us about courses they have
taken that were so disorganized as to leave them feeling that the only thing they
learned was never to take another class with that teacher.They describe courses in
which instructors provided no syllabus (leaving students in the dark about read-
ing assignments and even exam dates), took so long to grade and return exams
that feedback came too late to be of much help, went off on so many tangents
during class that relevant material was never covered, and even failed to explain
how course grades would be determined. This is a shame because most of the
course organization problems that students complain about, problems that could
well interfere with their learning, can be prevented simply by taking the time to
prepare a course properly. In fact, one of the main keys to effective teaching lies in
careful planning (Boysen, 2019; Keeley et al., 2006; Svinicki & McKeachie, 2014).
Setting Goals
The first step in the planning process is to establish your goals for teaching the
course, because—just as when starting on a long trip—once you know where you
want to go, it is easier to plan a route that will get you there. Your course goals
16 Preparing Your Courses
will reflect both what you want your students to get out of a particular course and
the purpose the course is designed to serve in your departmental and institutional
curriculum.
The main goal of many new teachers is simply to get through the course in
one piece. This is understandable, but even experienced teachers might not have
thought much about their teaching goals—mainly because it is so easy to ignore
them.You can teach year after year without ever explicitly establishing goals that
go beyond “doing a good job,” “teaching the material,” “being fair,” or the like.
These are fine goals in general, but there are many other, more specific teach-
ing goals that might guide the development of your course. One way to begin
considering them, and the role they play in your courses, is to complete the
Teaching Goals Inventory (TGI).1 Developed by Thomas Angelo and Patricia
Cross in 1993, it is still the most comprehensive such inventory available.The TGI
lists 53 student competencies and gives you the opportunity to rate the impor-
tance of each of them in each of your courses. Taking the TGI online generates
an instant report that summarizes the goals that you rated as “essential,” “very
important,” “important,” or “unimportant.” You can also compare your responses
with those of thousands of other faculty members.The TGI can be useful in itself,
but it might also stimulate you to think about additional goals that you consider
important in your courses.
Once you have used the TGI and your own reflections to clarify what you
want your students to get from each course, you will find it much easier to plan
your courses to align with your goals. For example, if you think it is important for
your students to develop critical thinking skills, you will probably plan a course
that gives them the opportunity to, say, critique and debate the validity of research
results. If you value collaborative learning skills, you might plan to have students
work in teams to summarize research articles, solve course-related problems, or
carry out other group projects. If you simply want to assure that students can
define the terms and identify the concepts presented in the course, you will prob-
ably create exams and class activities that test those skills.
Your course goals should also take into account the role each course plays
in your department and on your campus. Is it a prerequisite for other courses
and, if so, what are they? What courses, if any, are prerequisites for yours? Is your
course part of a specialized sequence? Knowing what your students are likely to
know when they arrive in your classroom will help you establish a starting point
and determine the appropriate level for your class presentations, activities, and
reading assignments. Knowing what your department or college expects students
to know when they finish your course will also help you decide what material
to cover (and what to skip) and what level of detail is appropriate. Are students
expected to leave your course with a detailed knowledge of, say, social cognition,
with a general appreciation of the major themes in psychology, with improved
skill at problem-solving, critical thinking, writing, studying, or what? Your class
presentations and other class activities would probably touch only on the basics of
Preparing Your Courses 17
psychology if you are teaching an introductory course but would focus on more
subtle nuances in a capstone seminar for seniors in a psychology honors program.
Answering these goal-related questions will help you to make these and numer-
ous other decisions as you organize your courses.
It is not always easy, especially at the beginning of your teaching career, to keep
personal, departmental, and institutional goals in mind as you plan your courses,
so don’t hesitate to ask for advice from more experienced colleagues who have
taught the same courses. They can help you understand how the course has been
taught in the past, what approaches have and haven’t worked, the reputation the
course has acquired, and the like. Correspond, too, with instructors who teach
the same or a similar course on other campuses. There are social media links and
e-mail groups dedicated to teaching psychology where discussion of appropriate
goals and materials for courses is often illuminating, even to an instructor who has
taught a particular course for many years. One of the best of these, Psychteacher, is
operated by the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (STP) and can be found
on their website.2 There is also an excellent STP page on Facebook.3
By the way, while some might disagree, we believe that pedagogical goals need
not change just because a course is delivered partly or entirely online. What does
change, obviously, is how you meet those goals. For example, if one of your goals
is student collaboration, in the face-to-face classroom you would probably assign
group projects and organize students into teams to work on them. In an online
course, you can still use group projects, but you will probably have to think about
those projects more carefully before assigning them. You will have to decide if it
is feasible to ask students to work synchronously via a chat venue (e.g., a Moodle
student lounge) or whether it would be better for the final product to be a wiki
that is created asynchronously by everyone in the group. Further, because the
emphasis in online course participation switches from the spoken word to the
written word, if you value—and wish to assess—students’ participation, you will
have to consider options such as monitoring students’ postings to a discussion
board or arranging for synchronous presentations via videoconferencing software.
Finally, remember that course goals are not set in stone. As you gain experience
with a particular course at a particular institution, your goals might change. One
mark of effective teachers is their ability to adapt to changing curricula, changing
campus demands, and other challenges while adhering to the goals and standards
they consider most important.
Choosing Course Materials

Once you have established the goals for your course, the next task is to decide
which learning materials you want your students to use. Typically, this involves
choosing a textbook and additional readings. If you are solely responsible for
deciding on course materials, we suggest you begin the selection process by
examining the materials used by colleagues who have taught the course recently.
You can also check out the materials being used by faculty at institutions similar
to yours by visiting their departments’ home pages and then following links to the
relevant online syllabi. Contact these instructors for evaluative comments on their
course materials, and perhaps send more general requests for recommendations
to a psychology teachers’ listserv or visit Project Syllabus at the STP’s Office of
Teaching Resources in Psychology (OTRP).4
Most instructors assign a textbook and, in our experience, most students prefer
this option. Once you have seen which books others have chosen for the course
you will be teaching, we suggest that you create a short list of textbook candi-
dates. Request examination copies of each, either by talking to the publisher’s
representatives who visit your department or by visiting the publishers’ websites.
And don’t forget to ask about the supplemental materials that are available with
each book. These supplements are typically housed on each textbook’s page on
the publisher’s website and typically include an instructor’s resource manual, a test
item bank, presentation slides, video clips, a student study guide, case examples,
supplementary readings, and the like. In most cases, you will be able to evaluate
these supplements after obtaining the relevant passwords to access the publisher’s
website.
Which is the right book for you and your students? “The first consideration in
choosing texts is whether students are likely to read them, work with them, and
learn from them” (Eble, 1988, p. 126). It is also important to choose a book that
supports students’ independent learning. This means that in addition to holding
students’ interest, the chosen book should be sufficiently clear, current, and accu-
rate that you can rely on it to provide further details and a broader context for
your class presentations. Such a book will also allow your students to rely on it as
a guide to further reading and to help them learn on their own about important
topics that you do not have time to cover in depth, or at all, during class.
The earliest textbook evaluation checklist we could find dates back more than
80 years (Jacobs, 1937). Many others have been offered since (e.g., Bartlett &
Morgan, 1991; Davis, 1993; National Research Council, 1997; Weimer, 2013b),
but they all boil down asking the questions listed in Table 2.1.
Today’s decisions about textbooks also include the question of whether to
assign an e-book. Some colleges have mandated a change to e-books (Young,
2010), but though this well-intentioned effort does save students’ money, most
students—including those who are highly technologically literate—prefer print
textbooks even though they agree that e-books are more convenient (e.g., Enis,
2018; Millar & Schrier, 2015;Woody, Daniel, & Baker, 2010). In fact, students pre-
fer “plus-print” packages that include a paper textbook that comes with electronic
supplements (Howard, 2013). In short, in deciding on a print textbook or e-book,
you will have to consider the policies at your institution, the characteristics and
preferences of your students, and the way your course is delivered.
If you want to use teaching materials in addition to, or perhaps instead of,
a main textbook, there are plenty of options, including sets of readings that
TABLE 2.1 Some Textbook Selection Criteria
Content
1. Does the content match my course objectives?
2. Is the content accurate, current, and well documented?
3. Are topics treated at the proper depth for the course in which it will be used?
4. Are there deficiencies in the text that will require me to inform students of errors?
5. Are the chapters well organized with a clear focus?
6. Are applications of psychological concepts and theories included where appropriate?
7. Are all Internet links still “live”?
8. Is the book worth its price?
Readability
1. Is the book written at a level my students will understand?
2. Do chapter topics have a logical relationship and flow?
3. Is the writing clear, concise, and coherent?
4. Is the writing engaging for students?
5. Does the font and paper stock make it easy to read the print version of the book?
6. Is the book’s design attractive? Is it overcrowded, “busy,” or confusing?
7. Are special features presented in boxes that students are likely to skip?
Instructional Design
1. Does the book fit with my teaching style, approach, and orientation?
2. Do the chapters provide adequate introductory materials (advance organizers)?
3. Are the chapter headings and subheadings logical and well sequenced?
4. Are key terms presented in boldface type and clearly defined?
5. Are there multiple good examples of unfamiliar concepts and phenomena?
6. Are there useful section and chapter summaries?
7. Are there opportunities for review and self-testing?
8. Does the book offer opportunities to practice critical thinking skills?
9. Does the book highlight relationships between and among chapter topics?
10. Are the book’s figures, tables, photographs, and cartoons enlightening or just
distracting?
11. Does the book describe resources for further explorations of each chapter’s topics?
Supplements
1. How useful and usable are the test bank, instructor’s manual, study guide,
instructional software, presentation slides, etc.?
2. Are test construction and/or grading systems and other publisher-provided services
functional and time-saving?
can be assembled in custom-designed course packets from companies such as

CoursePackets.com, cognella, and XanEdu or as complete textbooks through
sources such as APA Custom Course Books.5 You might also consider assigning
downloadable material for students to read; but before doing so, be sure that you
understand relevant copyright laws and restrictions that may apply to published
materials (Davis, 2009; Hilton, 2003).
As you select your course materials, keep track of the total number of pages
involved. We do not endorse expecting too little of your students or underesti-
mating their abilities, but it is important to make reading assignments that can be
accomplished—with comprehension—in the allotted time and in the context of
the students’ overall course load (Davis, 2009). Remember, your students will have
to do the reading for your course while also satisfying the reading required by
instructors in several other courses. Be selective and thoughtful in choosing what
materials you assign. A comprehensive reading list looks great, and even reason-
able, at the beginning of the term, but it will not serve your goal of promoting
learning if the students never have time to read what you have assigned, let alone
think deeply about it.
Finally, we suggest that you put at least one copy of all materials on reserve at
the library or on your learning management system (LMS), again keeping in mind
copyright laws. (We discuss LMSs in detail in chapter 7.) As textbook costs and
economic pressures have risen, many students find it difficult to purchase all the
assigned materials in all their classes, and for them, the library is a vital link to your
course. Even those who do buy all their assigned materials will find it useful to
have access to course readings between classes and at other times when they find
themselves with time to study but without print copies of their books.
Today, most academic resources can be found in an electronic format, includ-
ing textbooks that can be downloaded to computers, tablets, and a wide variety
of mobile devices. Indeed, as technology becomes more sophisticated, we expect
electronic resources to become the norm. Although the materials you choose for
your course can be the same whether you are teaching face-to-face or online, the
means that online students use to access the material may change. So if you are
going to assign a textbook, make sure that everyone has the option of buying or
renting it online (usually through the publisher’s website), and if you are assem-
bling your own packet of materials, make sure that off-campus students can access
it electronically or have a way to purchase a print copy.
SNAFU ALERT!
I have been assigned to teach a course that I know almost nothing about.
What can I do to avoid looking and feeling like a fool?
This is not an unusual situation. Teaching introductory psychology always
entails teaching many topics that are outside one’s area of specialization, but
it is also often the case that faculty are asked to teach an entire course that
lies well outside that area. For example, in small departments, there may be
a neuroscience course on the books even though none of the two or three
faculty specializes in this area. Someone has to teach it. It may also happen
that the instructor who usually teaches a specialty course suddenly falls ill,
meaning that someone else has to step in and cover it. If that someone hap-
pens to be you, there is no doubt that you have a challenge on your hands.
Here are some suggestions for meeting that challenge. First, do not tell
your class that you know nothing about the topic of the course. Why create
negative expectations? True, you may not know much about the topic, but
the chances are that you’ve learned something about it at some point in your
career. Furthermore, you are smart and you have been a successful student,
so you know how to learn things quickly. Your understanding of psychology
and research methods in general also positions you to pick up and understand
research in any area of the discipline. To make extra money when he was in
high school, one of us (DB) gave guitar lessons to children. He was not a very
good guitar player himself, but he was better at it than his students were, and
he practiced enough new techniques every week to be able to stay several
steps ahead of them. This made him an effective guitar teacher in that situ-
ation with those students. It would have been better had he been an expert
musician, but his students did learn to play, so we think that it is enough to
stay just ahead of your students when teaching an unfamiliar course.
Second, think about how the unfamiliar course’s content overlaps with
your own area of specialization and take advantage of that overlap. If you are
a neuroscientist who is about to teach a course on learning, you might want
to start by introducing students to the neural bases of learning processes
before plunging into less familiar areas of the course. If you are a clinical psy-
chologist and have to teach a course on neuroscience, use your knowledge
of the neurochemical processes associated with mental disorder to create a
link between the two subfields.
Of course, you are eventually going to have to tackle content that you
have never taught before, so third, make a plan to learn more about that
content. Refer to general introductions, especially textbooks in the area that
are designed for more advanced courses than the one you will be teaching.
These books will not only explain concepts but will also be sources of ideas
about how to organize the concepts and examples of the concepts and phe-
nomena you will be presenting in class. You should also take advantage of
the supplementary materials and instructor resources that come with the
textbook your students will be reading. And don’t forget to ask for the advice
available from expert teachers of the course. You can contact them through
the social media links and mail groups we mentioned earlier.
Finally, don’t expect yourself to be able to teach this course at the same
high level that you achieve in your other courses. The important thing is to
do all you can to make the course as good as you can, and that you show
the students you care about trying to do that. You will get through it, and
who knows, you may find that, having met the challenge, you might want
to try it again sometime.
Creating a Syllabus
Most colleges and universities require that students get a course syllabus and most
instructors provide one. A syllabus serves motivational, structural, and evidentiary
purposes (Boysen, 2019; Slattery & Carlson, 2005).
As a motivational document, it sets the tone of the course and conveys your
enthusiasm for the course material. Reading your syllabus affects your students’
perceptions of you as a person (Erickson, Peters, & Strommer, 2006; Richmond,
Slattery, Mitchell, Morgan, & Becknell, 2016; Saville, Zinn, Brown, & Marchuk,
2010), which is why some teachers include an “About Me” section to let students
know a little bit about their background and interests, in psychology and in gen-
eral (Thompson, 2007). A detailed syllabus also helps to demonstrate that you are
organized and have other attributes seen in effective teachers, including being
prepared, knowledgeable, open-minded, approachable, and enthusiastic (Saville
et al., 2010). A syllabus that sets a firm but friendly tone also shows you care about
your teaching and want students to do well (characteristics that are consistently
associated with good student evaluations). A good syllabus can also serve as a
model for professional thinking, planning, and writing (Parkes & Harris, 2002).
Distributing a syllabus that is well organized, clearly written, and free of gram-
matical and spelling errors will not only give students a good first impression of
you and your course but also helps to justify the sort of high-quality products you
will be expecting when you read their written assignments.
In short, a well-constructed syllabus can help students learn more from your
course (Parkes & Harris, 2002; Slattery & Carlson, 2005), partly by creating posi-
tive expectations. And when the syllabus provides a clear description of the course
and your grading system, students find it easier to prepare for tests and other eval-
uations in a timely manner (Saville, 2012). A good syllabus can also help students
make sense of a course by explaining why certain content is included and how
the various course topics fit together (Parkes & Harris, 2002). It can even help
students to decide whether they can (or want to) handle your course’s require-
ments in the context of their other courses and commitments.Those who are not
prepared, academically or otherwise, to deal with your course can drop it without
penalty, thus preventing problems for themselves and for you.
The structural purpose of a syllabus is to present the organization of the course
and help students understand how to succeed in it (Habanek, 2005). It serves as
a preview and road map of the course and as a guide to what your students can
expect from you and what you will be expecting of them. Creating a course syl-
labus is a vital step in course planning because the process requires you to think
carefully about many details—including class projects, exam and term paper dates
and deadlines, make-up exam policies, and the like—that might otherwise slip
through the cracks until students ask about them.
The third function of a syllabus is evidentiary, meaning that it can be used as
an example of your teaching style as well as of your competence in the eyes of
those charged with hiring, promotion, and tenure decisions. With this function
in mind, you will want to include all your syllabi in the teaching portfolio that
we describe in chapter 8 (Boysen, 2019; Parkes & Harris, 2002). Syllabi also serve
as evidence of departmental quality during accreditation reviews, of the content
of courses in relation to decisions about course transferability, and even as a legal
document. On most campuses, a syllabus is a legally binding contract between you
and your students. It provides the grounds for imposing penalties on students who
fail to meet their responsibilities, and for students to file complaints against profes-
sors who don’t follow announced grading procedures or who otherwise depart
substantially from what they promised to do (Parkes & Harris, 2002). Accordingly,
consider carefully what you want to say in your syllabus, say it clearly, and then
stick to it. If you must make changes in your course after it has begun, don’t just
announce them in class: distribute written notification to all students and make
an announcement on your LMS. By the way, as described in the next chapter, the
manner in which you present your syllabus in class can be just as important as the
document itself (Thompson, 2007).
If creating a syllabus sounds daunting, remember that you don’t have to start
from scratch. Start by taking a look at the syllabi written for courses like yours by
colleagues in your department, as well as those that can be found on psychology
course websites around the country and at the STP’s OTRP mentioned earlier.
At the OTRP site, you will find a link to a helpful set of “Pointers for Preparing
Exemplary Syllabi” as well as a link to the rubric that STP uses to evaluate syllabi
that are proposed for inclusion in Project Syllabus. So when your own syllabus
is in first draft form, you might want to evaluate it using that rubric and revise it
accordingly.
Your campus’s instructional development center can also provide general
information on writing a syllabus. The advice you will receive from all these
sources is likely to vary considerably, depending on whom you talk to and which
websites you visit. At one extreme are instructors like us who value a learning-
centered syllabus that provides as much detailed information as possible, often
including a statement of the instructor’s teaching philosophy (O’Brien, Millis, &
Cohen, 2008). These instructors argue that the more information students have
about course goals, their responsibilities, and grading criteria, the more success-
ful they will be (O’Brien et al., 2008). At the other extreme are teachers who
criticize detailed syllabi as “rule-infested, punitive, [and] controlling” (Singham,
2007, p. 52). That view is supported by a study showing that most of the boldface
text in course syllabi is negative, leading students to perceive that the teacher is
yelling at them before the course even begins (Thompson, 2007). Other critics
(e.g., Jones, 2011) complain of “syllabus bloat” and encourage teachers to present
shorter and more interesting and creative electronic or print syllabi that students
will actually read.6
Whatever form your syllabus takes, and whether you hand it out in class or
post it on your course web page or LMS, it will be one of the most important
documents in your course. Let’s consider in more detail some elements of a good
syllabus.
A Model Syllabus
The first step in the construction of a syllabus is to look at a calendar and mark (and
count) the number of class meetings you will have for the coming academic term.
Don’t forget to identify standard vacation days such as Thanksgiving or spring
break, as well as any class days that coincide with religious holidays (e.g., Kwanzaa,
Yom Kippur, Ramadan) that, even if not official vacation days, might not be the
best times to schedule a quiz or other graded event.7 Next, mark any calendar dates
on which your own commitments will require another instructor to stand in for
you. Marking the calendar in these ways provides an overview of your course and
makes it easier to see the optimal placement and spacing of quizzes and exams. It
will also help you see whether the submission deadlines for term papers or other
projects you want to assign will allow you to grade them in a timely manner.
As we already mentioned, it is up to you to decide how much information to
include in your syllabus, but here are the top ten items that long experience tells
us should be on every syllabus:
1. The Name, Number, and Title of Your Course (e.g., Psychology 100, Introduction
to Psychology).You should also include a paragraph or so that describes what
the course will cover and perhaps a rationale for the topics included.
2. The Days, Time, and Location of Class Meetings (e.g., MWF, 10 a.m., 101 Psy-
chology Building).
3. Your Name, Office Address, and How to Contact You (e.g., your e-mail address
and/or your office phone number). We include our home or cell phone
numbers because doing so demonstrates our concern for our students and
because, in the decades during which we have provided them, few students
have used them inappropriately. This policy also reflects the first principle of
effective teaching: encouraging student–faculty contact. If you, too, decide to
publish your personal phone number(s), remember that students often keep
late hours, so be sure to indicate the hours during which nonemergency calls
will and will not be welcome.
4. The Schedule of Your Office Hours. Later in this chapter, we offer some sugges-
tions for making office hours part of your overall faculty–student communi-
cation plan, but for now we just suggest this rule of thumb: schedule at least
two office hours per week per course, either face to face or online.
SNAFU ALERT!
“I scheduled my office hours but no one ever shows up to talk to me unless

it is right before an exam or a term paper deadline.”
To minimize this problem, take your own schedule into account, but try
to set your office hours so that they do not match the likely scheduling of
your students’ other classes. Office hours at 9 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday,

and Friday or at 11 a.m. on Tuesday and Thursday will make visits impossible
for students who have another class at those times. Setting office hours that
include, say, 9 a.m. on Monday and Tuesday might be a better plan.
Be aware, too, that office hours in the early morning or in the late after-
noon (especially on Friday) will probably not attract many visitors. When
teaching a face-to-face class, you might want to reserve the hour before
class for preparation, but the hour just after class is an ideal time to meet
with students. Discussions begun in class can continue as you walk with
students to your office. Avoid “to be arranged” (TBA) office hours. Students
are more likely to stop by your office if you have established fixed times dur-
ing which you will be available. In fact, many students perceive TBA office
hours to mean “don’t bother me.” Whatever your schedule of formal office
hours, be sure to let students know that you are available to meet with them
at other times, too. You can easily do this by listing your regular office hours
and adding the phrase “and by appointment.” Taking this simple step will
encourage students to contact you even if they cannot attend your standard
office hours.
5. The Name(s), Office Location(s), Phone Number(s) or E-Mail Addresses, of Anyone

Who Will Be Helping You Teach the Course, Along With a Brief Statement About
What These Assistants Can and Cannot Be Expected To Do. If teaching assistants
will be holding face to face or online office hours, be sure to include infor-
mation about those hours as well.
6. A Statement About Respect for Individuals, Including Matters of Diversity, Class
Conduct Expectations and Statements of Accommodations for Students with Dis-
abilities. Such statements may be available for copying on your institution’s
website.
7. A List of All Required or Recommended Books,Articles, and Other Readings. Be sure
to include information about where these materials can be found (e.g., on
reserve in the library or on the course LMS) or where they can be purchased.
8. A Description of Exactly How Students’ Performance in the Course Will Be Evalu-
ated. This description should begin with a statement about the number of
exams and quizzes, the number and length of papers or mini-assignments,
journal writing, laboratory work, and research or projects. Due dates for each
of these items should be included.
9. A Detailed Description of How Final Grades Will Be Determined. Whether you
choose one of the grading systems discussed later or some other one, be sure
to explain it carefully in your syllabus. The more clearly you do so, the less
trouble and confusion you will have to deal with at the end of the term. Tell
students how much each exam, quiz, or other assignment will count toward
their final grade, whether attendance and class participation will affect that
grade, whether and how missed exams or quizzes can be made up, and how
missed deadlines will be handled. In addition, make it clear if students are or
are not allowed to work together on various out-of-class assignments.
10. A List of Class Rules and Policies. If attendance is important to you, say so. If
you want students who come in late to sit in a particular area of the classroom
in order to minimize disruption, say that as well. Make your expectations for
the class as clear as possible from the outset to avoid confusion and conflict
later.
Beyond these top ten items, we think that it is also worthwhile to include the
following information:
1. An Outline of Your Goals for the Course. The outline can be as specific or gen-
eral as you wish, but it will have more impact if it includes action verbs such
as “evaluate,” “create,” and “analyze” (Slattery & Carson, 2005). Also, each
of your assignments should be associated with a course goal or goals. Some
instructors prefer to concentrate on five to seven goals for the semester and
state them as measurable outcomes. For example: By the end of the course you
should be able to differentiate various types of learning and apply them appropriately
in various situations. Others prefer to offer a more general overview of course
goals: This course is an introduction to the field of psychology. Throughout the course,
you will be encouraged to develop your ability to think critically about psychology and
about topics outside of psychology.Your assignments will prompt you to apply psycho-
logical concepts, phenomena, and theories to your own life.Your active participation in
the course will enable you to use psychological concepts in your everyday interactions.
2. A List of the Topics You Plan to Cover at Each Class Meeting. This list should be
accompanied by the chapter titles or page numbers of the readings that are
to be completed before each meeting. This is a good place, too, to show the
scheduling of all exams and quizzes and the due dates of any other evaluated
work, such as class projects, papers, and the like (see Table 2.2).
3. A list of any special out-of-class activities. These might include field trips, lab
visits, or departmental colloquia that are available or required.
The syllabus in online courses is especially critical because you probably will
not have the luxury of presenting and explaining it in a live format. Accordingly,
the online syllabus should be very detailed. To reinforce those details, consider
creating and posting a short video in which you present the syllabus to your stu-
dents and invite questions and comments via e-mail, text, or chat. A video, like
a live presentation, will allow your students to see who you are and to begin to
form their impression of you as a teacher. As for virtual office hours, they are a
must. There is Skype and Zoom, of course, as well as specialty software packages
such as BlackBoard’s Collaborate that allow students to see you as well as talk to
TABLE 2.2 Sample Topic and Assignment Schedule
Lecture topics, assigned readings, and examination dates
Date Class Lecture and Topic Assigned Readings
8/28/xx Introduction
8/30/xx Subfields and careers in psychology Chapter 1
9/4/xx NO CLASS (Labor Day Holiday)
9/6/xx Research methods in psychology Chapter 2
9/11/xx Research methods in psychology Chapter 2
9/13/xx Human development Chapter 12
9/18/xx Human development Chapter 12
9/20/xx EXAMINATION 1: Covers Chapters 1, 2, and 12.
Bring pencils and your student ID!
9/25/xx Return exams; Learning Chapter 6
9/27/xx Learning Chapter 6
10/2/xx Memory Chapter 7
10/4/xx Memory Chapter 7
10/9/xx Thinking, decision-making, and problem-solving Chapter 8
10/11/xx Thinking, decision-making, and problem-solving Chapter 8
10/16/xx Mental abilities and intelligence testing Chapter 10
10/18/xx EXAMINATION 2: Covers Chapters 6, 7, 8, and 10.
10/23/xx Return exams; Consciousness Chapter 9
10/25/xx Consciousness Chapter 9
10/27/xx [Last day to drop the course without penalty]
10/30/xx Health psychology Chapter 13
11/6/xx Health psychology Chapter 13
11/8/xx Personality Chapter 14
11/13/xx Personality Chapter 14
11/15/xx EXAMINATION 3:
Covers Chapters 9, 13, and 14.
11/20/xx Return exams; Psychological Disorders Chapter 15
11/22/xx Psychological Disorders Chapter 15
11/27/xx Treating Psychological Disorders Chapter 16
11/29/xx Treating Psychological Disorders Chapter 16
12/4/xx Social Cognition Chapter 17
12/6/xx Social Influence Chapter 18
12/13/xx FINAL EXAMINATION: Covers entire course
with an emphasis on Chapters 15, 16, 17, and 18.
The final exam will be from 1 to 3 p.m. in this
room.
you online. Be sure the syllabus includes clear instructions on how to access such
software, how to schedule and participate in a virtual office visit, and the like.The
layout of the online syllabus will differ from the one you use in a face-to-face
class. For example, the main topics of your syllabus might be presented as a menu,
allowing students to easily navigate to the appropriate information. Students in
your online course will be more likely to read and use the syllabus if for no other
reason than that they will not always be able to quickly or easily clarify informa-
tion face to face. So your online syllabus should not only be clear and organized
but visually appealing and structured so that even the least technologically savvy
student will be able to easily navigate it.
SNAFU ALERT!
“I came to class to give a lecture and completely forgot that I was supposed
to give a quiz.”
We know that students sometimes forget what the course syllabus says
about the dates of quizzes and exams, the deadlines for paper assignments,
and the like, but they are not the only ones. In the day-to-day chaos of aca-
demic life, it is all too easy for teachers, too, to lose track of the assignments
they made, the guest speaker they had planned to invite, or the quiz they
were supposed to have prepared. To minimize the chances that you will for-
get to complete important course-related tasks on time, we suggest that you
create for each course a master list of events and responsibilities, organized
by date, to act as a “tickler file.” We have used master lists for decades, and
it is amazing how helpful they can be as one gets older and busier—or just
older. A good master list can be a lifesaver because if you build enough lead
time into it for each task, you will never find yourself in a last-minute frenzy
to create presentation slides, write exams, or organize demonstrations. We
review our master lists at the beginning of each week of each term to be sure
that we are ready for the days ahead. A printed copy of your master list is
handy if you are in your office, but we advise creating an electronic copy that
will be accessible and revisable from wherever you are through a computer
and mobile devices. Putting the list into a cloud-based calendar program will
allow you to receive e-mailed or other kinds of alerts when each task on the
master list is coming up.
To increase the value of your master lists, be sure to edit each of them as
the term proceeds. That way, if you nearly had a panic attack because it took
you a week, not a day, to write the first 20-item quiz for your neuroscience
course, adjusting the schedule on your master list will help you to avoid that
problem the next time around.
Setting Up Your Grading System

Grading is often thought of simply as the process of placing letters ranging from
A+ through F next to each student’s name at the end of the term, but grad-
ing should be much more than that (Walvoord & Anderson, 1998). It should be
an integral part of your courses and should reflect your goals for each of them
(Zlokovich, 2001). For example, if you want to promote your students’ ability
to critically analyze research on the effects of psychotherapy, learn the names of
neurotransmitters and psychoactive drugs, or synthesize information about vari-
ous theories of motivation, your grading, as well as your teaching, should reflect
these goals. Evaluated tasks that demonstrate achievement of critical analysis abil-
ity, knowledge of vocabulary, or content integration should count most heavily
toward student grades.
Students prefer grading systems that allow them to earn points rather than lose
them, so we recommend that you set up your grading system so that, from the
students’ perspective, they compile points over time rather than start with a fixed
number of points that can be lost (e.g., Bies-Hernandez, 2012).
Remember, too, that although grades constitute summative feedback, the final
evaluation of a student’s performance on a particular assignment or in a particular
course, they are only the second of two kinds of feedback that students can receive
about their progress in meeting the goals you have set for them. The first is forma-
tive feedback, which is performance-related information intended to guide students
as they develop knowledge and skill in your course. Designed mainly to help
students improve their performance, formative feedback is better described as
assessment rather than evaluation. In contrast, final grades help establish students’
credentials for graduation and admission to further educational and occupational
opportunities. So students do want those final grades—especially good ones—
and, at all but a few institutions, teachers are required to give them. Assigning
grades in a satisfactory way takes some doing, and as with all aspects of teaching,
some planning (Davis, 2009; Ory & Ryan, 1993; Svinicki & McKeachie, 2014;
Walvoord & Anderson, 1998).
The Golden Rules of Grading

There is no “best” grading system, but in this section we describe what we think
of as some golden rules for assigning grades (Davis, 2009; Ory & Ryan, 1993).
First, your grading must be accurate, meaning that course grades must reflect
each student’s level of performance in a course. Accuracy is best achieved through
the development of thoughtful assignments tied to learning goals and relevant
grading criteria (Davis, 2009).
Second, your grading system must be fair, and just as important, your students
should perceive it as fair. Students tend to have that perception when the system
is clear and when they believe that their instructor works to help them perform
well (Gordon & Fay, 2010). So, in addition to being available to help students, set
up a system that assures them that those who turn in equivalent performances
will receive equivalent grades. The system should also make it clear that certain
ranges of total scores, or percentages of available points, will result in certain
grades. Assuring fairness in your grading system is an important aspect of pursuing
fairness in your teaching, a goal consistent with the basic principles of effective
teaching described in Chapter 1.
Third, grades must be dispensed consistently, meaning that the grading system
described at the beginning of the term should be the system that is used. It should
not be subject to unannounced, unpredictable, or repeated changes.Your syllabus
should list each and every way that points can be earned (e.g., through tests, quiz-
zes, papers, research projects, class participation, extra credit options) and how
many points can be earned in each category (Davis, 2009; Saville, 2012). Assign
points only on the basis of these categories, and don’t make special arrangements
with individual students, even when you wish you could. Don’t base grades on
how much you like particular students, on how hard they seem to be trying, or
other factors that cannot be quantified and announced in advance. Base final
grades on the totality of your students’ performance, not on the degree to which
they improved during the course. The latter option is unfair because an improve-
ment bonus is unavailable to those whose performance is moderate but consistent
or who do well all along. Avoid basing final grades on just two or three assign-
ments.The more graded components you can include—within the limits dictated
by time constraints—the more representative of student performance those grades
are likely to be (Davis, 2009; Ory & Ryan, 1993). Try to schedule graded assign-
ments so that they are distributed relatively evenly throughout the term, and be
sure that the first graded assignment is returned well before the deadline for drop-
ping the course without penalty (Davis, 2009).
Following these golden rules will make it easier to follow a final one, namely, that
grades must be defensible (Davis, 2009; Ory & Ryan, 1993). Your grading system
should allow you to explain and justify—to students or anyone else who has a right
to ask—how and why each student’s grade was determined. If you follow these
rules, you will reduce grade-related stress for your students and yourself. Not only
will your students know what to expect and thus be less likely to argue about grades,
but you will be far less vulnerable to charges of capricious grading. As you develop
and refine your grading system, use it consistently, and learn to rely on its fairness,
you will find that the grading process will become a relatively routine aspect of your
job, allowing you to concentrate on your main task, which is teaching.
Choosing Your Grading System

Whatever you do, be sure that you’re the one to choose your grading system; don’t
let it choose you.Trouble awaits the instructor who hopes that appropriate grades
will make themselves obvious at the end of the term through natural gaps or
break points in the final distribution of students’ total points. Even if the teaching
gods could be relied on to provide such gaps, using them to establish grades on
an ad hoc basis would be defined as capricious grading at most institutions. Ad hoc
grading is capricious—first, because you are not able to explain on the first day of
class how grades will be determined. It is capricious, too, because the gaps appear-
ing in a distribution are likely to be caused in large part by random factors and
measurement error, not by meaningful differences in achievement. For example,
if you were to administer an alternative form of your final exam, the gaps might
appear in different places (Ory & Ryan, 1993).
In thinking about your grading scheme, don’t try to reinvent the wheel. As
with other aspects of teaching, it is almost always a good idea to consult with
more experienced colleagues to learn about the grading systems they have used
successfully and about those that have caused problems. These consultations will
also help to familiarize you with the grading system rules or norms that might
apply in your department and on your campus.
Norm-Referenced versus Criterion-Referenced Grading

Norm-referenced grades can be assigned using a planned distribution, as when stu-
dents whose total scores fall in the top 10 percent of the class distribution get As,
those in the next 20 percent get Bs, those in the next 40 percent get Cs, those in
the next 20 percent get Ds, and those in the bottom 10 percent get Fs. Notice
that, in this system, all possible grades will be assigned, but the actual number of
points associated with each grade will vary from class to class, depending on how
well the best students do.
Criterion-referenced grades are assigned individually, regardless of the perfor-
mance of any other student or of the class as a whole. In the simplest form of
criterion-referenced grading, an A is assigned to anyone who earns, say, 90 percent
of the points available in the course or on a particular assignment. Those earn-
ing, say, 80–89 percent of the available points get Bs, and so on. The advantages
of criterion-referenced grading are that (a) students are evaluated on an absolute
scale determined by the instructor’s definition of what constitutes mastery of
course material, (b) final grades indicate the degree to which students achieved
that mastery, and (c) because students are not competing against each other, they
tend to be more cooperative (Ory & Ryan, 1993). Potential disadvantages of
criterion-referenced grading include the fact that it can be difficult to determine
what criteria are valid in a given course, especially when it is taught for the first
time. For example, is it reasonable to expect students to achieve at the 90 percent
level in a cognitive psychophysiology course, given the difficulty of the material?
If no one reaches that level, will you be comfortable assigning no As? Answering
these questions is easier after you have taught the same course more than once,
which is why criterion-referenced grading might not be the best system for new
teachers (Davis, 2009; Ory & Ryan, 1993).
Norm-referenced grading has the advantage of rewarding students whose aca-
demic performance is outstanding relative to the class (Ory & Ryan, 1993). It can
also prevent grade distortions when, for example, even the best students perform
poorly because a test or other assignment was flawed in some way. In such cases,
the best of the poor performances would still earn As; under a criterion-based
system, everyone might receive an F. Norm-referenced grading can lead to some
unfortunate consequences, however, especially when there is little variability in
the performance of a particular class. Under such a system, even if all your stu-
dents earned at least, say, 80 percent of the points available, some of them would
still receive Cs, Ds, and Fs. And even if none of your students scored above 50 per-
cent on any graded assignment, some of them would still get As, Bs, and Cs. In
these (thankfully rare) cases, anyone unfamiliar with the characteristics of the class
in question could easily be misled about the meaning of norm-referenced grades
(Ory & Ryan, 1993).
In general, educational researchers prefer using a criterion-referenced method
of assigning grades (Davis, 2009; Svinicki & McKeachie, 2014). Some have gone
so far as to suggest that grading on the curve is “educationally dysfunctional”
(Svinicki & McKeachie, 2014, p. 129). We recommend a hybrid grading system
that features the strengths of both criterion- and norm-referenced options while
avoiding many of the pitfalls of each.
Hybrid Grading Systems

Our favorite hybrid system was developed in the 1970s by Frank Costin for a
large, multi-section introductory psychology course at the University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign (see Davis, 2009). In this system, the instructor first com-
putes the mean of the scores earned by the top 10 percent of all students on any
graded assignment, whether it be a quiz, an exam, or total points at the end of the
term. (If there were 50 students, for example, you would calculate the mean score
of the top 5.) This mean becomes the benchmark for establishing letter grades.
For example, to earn an A, students would have to earn at least 95 percent of the
benchmark; earning a B would require 85 percent of the benchmark; a C would
require 75 percent of the benchmark, and so on. This hybrid system incorporates
many of the advantages of both norm-referenced and criterion-referenced grad-
ing. It allows all students to earn an A if they do well enough; it does not penalize
students for poorly designed evaluation instruments; and earning a high grade
typically requires a high absolute level of achievement, not just a high relative
standing within the class. Many students will be unfamiliar with this grading
system, but we have found that they come to like it better than either strictly
criterion-referenced or strictly norm-referenced systems.
A Mastery Approach
Some instructors use a mastery approach as an alternative to traditional grading
systems. Mastery learning systems gained popularity in the 1970s, stimulated by
B.F. Skinner’s work on programmed learning. He was horrified by the “lockstep”
teaching methods used in his daughter’s third-grade mathematics class and in tra-
ditional educational systems as a whole. He did not think it made sense to require
all students to learn the same material at the same pace and to be tested on it on
the teacher’s schedule and then graded based on the level of performance the
students had achieved at some predetermined time (Skinner, 1954). He proposed
instead a system whereby students could “teach themselves” at their own pace,
using a “teaching machine” that presented increasingly difficult written material
and tested their growing knowledge and mastery of the topic by asking them to
fill in the blanks in incomplete sentences (Skinner, 1968). Skinner’s work on pro-
grammed instruction was directly responsible for the development of Fred Kel-
ler’s Personalized System of Instruction (PSI; Keller, 1968; Keller & Sherman, 1974),
which is still in use today on campuses and in online courses in North America
(e.g., Beard & Hartley, 1984; Butler, Kohlert, McElrath,Wolfe, & Gross, 2015; Fox,
2004; Fuller, 2005; Grant & Spencer, 2003).
Using PSI, students engage with modules of course material one at a time, and
at their own pace, then take competency tests when they feel ready. If they can
display mastery of one module, they are allowed to proceed to the next one. If not,
they can study some more and take a new version of the mastery test.
This process is repeated as often as necessary with each module in the course
until a certain level of mastery has been demonstrated. In short, the PSI instruc-
tor establishes the level of knowledge or skill required to earn each letter grade,
and it is up to the students to meet the criterion for whatever grade they wish
to achieve. In some PSI systems, students must demonstrate mastery of a certain
segment of text material before being admitted to lectures related to that mate-
rial. This arrangement assures that all students attending a lecture have read and
understood the material relevant to it.
Needless to say, creating a mastery course takes a lot of work. It requires devel-
oping modules of course content and an organized and accessible system for test-
ing and retesting students’ knowledge of course material. Accordingly, the mastery
approach to teaching and grading is not the most popular one available. Still, it
does have its benefits (Jacobs & Chase, 1992; Kulik, Kulik, & Bangert-Drowns,
1990; Kulik, Kulik, & Cohen, 1979; Svinicki, Hagen, & Meyer, 1996), and with
today’s computerized learning platforms and online testing capabilities, mastery
learning systems are now more feasible than ever (Brooks, Nolan, & Gallagher,
2000).
The Role of Extra Credit in Your Grading System

Regardless of the grading system you choose, you might consider offering stu-
dents the option of earning extra credit for work that goes beyond standard course
requirements. Extra credit can be granted for tasks such as writing an additional
paper, participating in a research project, attending campus-wide lectures, engag-
ing in course-related community service, or even taking a “second-chance” exam
(Weimer, 2011). Some experienced instructors favor extra credit options as a way
of helping students compensate for poor performance on standard graded tasks

or as a way of helping superior students enjoy the fruits of their motivation and
ability. Others oppose the idea of extra credit, arguing that it is tantamount to
capricious grading, or that it offers an undeserved opportunity for lazy students to
save their grades at the last minute, thus rewarding both sloth and procrastination.
One professor put it this way:
I’ve seen too many students squeak by on extra credit, students who have
not learned the material or who have learned so little of the material that it
is virtually useless. I can’t help wondering, every time I read about a bridge
collapsing or a building falling, whether the chief engineer was once a stu-
dent who passed a structural course with extra credit (Slay, 2005).
As you might expect, students like to have opportunities for extra credit (Nor-
cross & Dooley, 1993; Weimer, 2011), but it is usually the most able and highly
motivated individuals, not the lazy ones, who take advantage of those opportuni-
ties (Hardy, 2001). Perhaps because they recognize this pattern, most psychology
faculty do not see much value in making extra credit options part of their grading
systems (Norcross & Dooley, 1993; Weimer, 2011).
Still, if you like the idea of extra credit, and want it to be more than a life raft
tossed out to slackers, consider including the extra credit opportunities through-
out the course, not just at the end. Further, be sure that your syllabus includes
detailed information about extra credit and how to earn it. Discuss the extra
credit options on the first day of class, and make sure students understand that
extra credit is available to anyone who wants to do extra work. Mentioning or
offering extra credit only to certain students on an ad hoc basis surely falls into
the category of making special deals, which is another way of defining capricious
grading.
We see no reason to adapt your grading system or grading scale for online
courses. The important thing is, just as in face-to-face courses, to construct your
system carefully so that it can be explained in an online syllabus and consistently
applied throughout the course. And, just as you would in face-to-face courses, be
sure to reevaluate your online grading system when the course is over so that you
can decide if it met your needs or requires modification. Make sure, too, that your
students have an easy way to ask questions about the grading system and receive
answers in a timely manner.
Communicating with Your Students

Clearly explaining your grading system is just one aspect of following the first
principle of effective teaching, namely, establishing good student–faculty contact.
Another communication channel is opened when you encourage students to ask
questions and discuss course-related problems and issues before, during, and after
Another random document with
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the western side, within the precincts of the castle, are ruins of many private habitations. At
both the western corners, runs a succession of dark, strongly built, low apartments, like
cells, vaulted, and with small narrow loop holes, as if for musquetry. On this side also, is a
well more than twenty feet square, walled in, with a vaulted roof at least twenty-five feet
high; the well was, even in this dry season, full of water: there are three others in the castle.
There are many apartments and recesses in the castle, which could only be exactly
described by a plan of the whole building. It seems to have been erected during the period
of the crusades, and must certainly have been a very strong hold to those who possessed
it. I could discover no traces of a road or paved way leading up the mountain to it. In winter
time, the shepherds of the Felahs of the Heish, who encamp upon the mountains, pass the
night in the castle with their cattle.
“Banias is situated at the foot of the Heish, in the plain, which in the immediate vicinity of
Banias is not called Ard Houle, but Ard Banias. It contains about one hundred and fifty
houses, inhabited mostly by Turks: there are also Greeks, Druses, and Enzairie. It belongs
to Hasbeya, whose Emir nominates the Sheikh. On the north-east side of the village, is the
source of the river of Banias, which empties itself into the Jordan at the distance of an hour
and a half, in the plain below. Over the source is a perpendicular rock, in which several
niches have been cut to receive statues. The largest niche is above a spacious cavern,
under which the river rises. This niche is six feet broad and as much in depth, and has a
smaller niche in the bottom of it. Immediately above it, in the perpendicular face of the rock,
is another niche, adorned with pilasters, supporting a shell ornament.
“Round the source of the river are a number of hewn stones. The stream flows on the
north side of the village, where is a well built bridge, and some remains of the ancient town,
the principal part of which seems, however, to have been on the opposite side of the river,
where the ruins extend for a quarter of an hour from the bridge. No walls remain, but great
quantities of stones and architectural fragments are scattered about.
“I went to see the ruins of the ancient city of Bostra, of which the people spoke much.
Bostra must not be confounded with Boszra, in the Haouran; both places are mentioned in
the Books of Moses. The way to the ruins lies for an hour and a half in the road by which I
came from Rasheyat-el-Fukhar, it then ascends for three quarters of an hour a steep
mountain to the right, on the top of which is the city; it is divided into two parts, the largest
being upon the very summit, the smaller at ten minutes walk lower down, and resembling a
suburb to the upper part. Traces are still visible of a paved way that had connected the two
divisions. There is scarcely any thing in the ruins worth notice; they consist of the
foundations of private habitations, built of moderate sized square stones. The lower city is
about twelve minutes walk in circumference; a part of the four walls of one building only
remains entire; in the midst of the ruins was a well, at this time dried up. The circuit of the
upper city may be about twenty minutes; in it are the remains of several buildings. In the
highest part is a heap of wrought stones, of larger dimensions than the rest, which seem to
indicate that some public building had once stood on the spot. There are several columns of
one foot, and of one foot and a half in diameter. In two different places, a short column was
standing in the centre of a round paved area of about ten feet in diameter. There is likewise
a deep well, walled in, but now dry.
“The country around these ruins is very capable of cultivation. Near the lower city are
groups of olive trees.
“I descended the mountain in the direction towards the source of the Jordan, and
passed, at the foot of it, the miserable village of Kerwaya. Behind the mountain of Bostra is
another, still higher, called Djebel Meroura Djoubba.” [Burckhardt’s Syria, pp. 37‒42.]
From Conder’s Modern Traveler I also draw a sketch of other travelers’ observations on
the place and the surrounding country.
“Burckhardt, in coming from Damascus, pursued the more direct route taken by the
caravans, which crosses the Jordan at Jacob’s Bridge. Captains Irby and Mangles left this
road at Khan Sasa, and passed to the westward for Panias, thus striking between the road
to Acre, and that by Raschia and Hasbeya. The first part of the road from Sasa, led through
a fine plain, watered by a pretty, winding rivulet, with numerous tributary streams, and many
old ruined mills. It then ascended over a very rugged and rocky soil, quite destitute of
vegetation, having in some places traces of an ancient paved way, ‘probably the Roman
road from Damascus to Caesarea Philippi.’ The higher part of Djebel Sheikh was seen on
the right. The road became less stony, and the shrubs increased in number, size and
beauty, as they descended into a rich little plain, at the immediate foot of the mountain.
‘From this plain,’ continues captain M., ‘we ascended, and, after passing a very small
village, saw on our left, close to us, a very picturesque lake, apparently perfectly circular, of
little more than a mile in circumference, surrounded on all sides by sloping hills, richly
wooded. On quitting Phiala, at but a short distance from it, we crossed a stream which
discharges into the larger one which we first saw: the latter we followed for a considerable
distance; and then, mounting a hill to the south-west, had in view the great Saracenic
castle, near Panias, the town of that name, and the plain of the Jordan, as far as the Lake
Houle, with the mountains on the other side of the plain, forming altogether a fine coup
d’œil. As we descended towards Panias, we found the country extremely beautiful. Great
quantities of wild flowers, and a variety of shrubs, just budding, together with the richness of
the verdure, grass, corn and beans, showed us, all at once, the beauties of spring,
(February 24,) and conducted us into a climate quite different from Damascus. In the
evening we entered Panias, crossing a causeway constructed over the rivulet, which flows
from the foot of Djebel Sheikh. The river here rushes over great rocks in a very picturesque
manner, its banks being covered with shrubs and the ruins of ancient walls.’
“Panias, afterwards called Caesarea Philippi, has resumed its ancient name. The
present town of Banias is small. Seetzen describes it as a little hamlet of about twenty
miserable huts, inhabited by Mahomedans. The ‘Castle of Banias’ is situated on the summit
of a lofty mountain: it was built, Seetzen says, without giving his authority, in the time of the
caliphs.” [Modern Traveler Vol. I. pp. 353‒6.]
The distance, in time, from Mount Tabor to Caesarea Philippi, may be conceived from
the account given by Ebn Haukal, an Arabian geographer and traveler of the tenth century.
He says “from Tibertheh (Tiberias, which is near Tabor) to Sur, (Tyre,) is one day’s journey;
and from that to Banias, (Paneas,) is two day’s easy journey.” [Sir W. Ouseley’s translation
of Ebn Haukal’s Geography, pp. 48, 49.]
This was an occasion on which Christ did not choose to display

his glories to the eyes of the ignorant and impertinent mobs that
usually thronged his path, drawn together as they were, by idle
curiosity, by selfish wishes for relief from various diseases, or by the
determination to profit by the mischief, which almost always results
from such a promiscuous assemblage. It may be fairly considered a
moral impossibility, for such disorderly and spontaneous assemblies
to meet, without more evils resulting, than can possibly be
counterbalanced by the good done to the assembly as a whole,
whatever it may be to individuals. So, at least, Jesus Christ seems
always to have thought, for he never encouraged such gatherings,
and took every desirable opportunity of getting rid of them, without
injury to themselves, or of withdrawing himself quietly from them, as
the easiest way of dispersing them; knowing how utterly hopeless
must be the attempt to do any great good among such a set of idlers,
compared with what he might do by private and special intercourse
with individuals. It is worthy of note, that Matthew and all whose calls
are described, were about their business. Thus, on an occasion
already mentioned, when Jesus was walking by the sea of Galilee,
with the simple object of doing most good, he did not seek among
the multitude that was following him, for the devoted laborers whom
he might call to the great work of drawing in men to the knowledge of
the truth as revealed in him. No: he turned from all the zealous
loungers who had left their business, if they had any, to drag about
after the wonderful man who had attracted general attention by his
great and good deeds. He dispatched them as fast as possible with
a few words of instruction and exhortation; for though he did not
seek these undesirable occasions, yet he would have been as much
wanting in benevolence as in wisdom, if, when all the evils of such a
throng had occurred by the meeting, he had not hastened to offer the
speediest antidote to the mischief, and the best compensation for the
loss of time to the company, by giving them such words of counsel,
reproof, correction or encouragement, as, even when cast like bread
upon the waters, or seed by the way side, might yet perchance, or by
grace, “be found after many days,” returning to the hands of the
giver, in gratitude, by springing up and bearing some fruit to the
praise and glory of God. Having thus sent off the throng, he
addressed himself to the honest men whom he had found quietly
following their daily employments, and immediately performed with
them there, and, as is evident, mainly for their benefit, a most
remarkable miracle; and when they had been thus impressed with
his power and wisdom, summoned them to his aid in converting the
world; sagely and truly judging, that those who had been faithful in
few things, would be the best rulers over many things,――that they
who had steadily and faithfully worked at their proper business, had
the best talent and disposition for laboring in a cause which needed
so much patient industry and steady application in its devotees.
These were the men whom he hoped to make by his instructions, the
successful founders of the Christian faith; and these were the very
men whom, out of thousands who longed for the honors of his
notice, he now chose as the objects of his special instruction and
commission, and called them apart to view the display of the most
wonderful mystery of his life.
Among these three favored ones, we see Peter included, and his
name, as usual, first of all. By this it appears, that, however great his
late unfortunate misapprehension of the character and office of
Christ, and however he may have deserved the harsh rebuff with
which his forward but well meant remonstrance was met; still he was
so far from having lost his Master’s favor on this account, that he yet
held the highest place in the favor of Jesus, who had been moved by
the exposure of his favorite’s ignorance, only to new efforts to give
him a just and clear view of the important truths in which he was
most deficient; for after all, there was nothing very surprising in
Peter’s mistake. In pursuance of this design, he took these three,
Peter, James and John, with him, up into the high mountain peaks of
Hermon, from which their eyes might glance far south over the land
of Israel――the land of their fathers for ages on ages, stretching
away before them for a vast distance, and fancy could easily extend
the view. In this land, so holy in the recollections of the past, so sad
to the contemplation of the present, were to begin their mighty
labors. Here, too, bright and early, one of the three was to end his;
while his brother and friend were to spread their common Master’s
dominion over thousands and millions who had never yet heard of
that land, or its ancient faith. Jesus Christ always sought the lonely
tops of mountains, with a peculiar zest, in his seasons of retirement,
as well as for the most impressive displays of his eloquence, or his
miraculous power. The obvious reasons were the advantages of
perfect solitude and security against sudden intrusion;――the free,
pure air of the near heaven, and the broad light of the immense
prospect, were powerful means of lifting the soul to a state of moral
sublimity, equal to the impressions of physical grandeur, made by the
objects around. Their most holy historical associations, moreover,
were connected with the tops of high mountains, removed from
which, the most awful scenes of ancient miracle would, to the fancy
of the dweller of mountainous Palestine, have seemed stripped of
their most imposing aids. Sinai, Horeb, Moriah, Zion, Ebal, Gerizim
and Tabor, were the classic ground of Hebrew history, and to the
fiery mind of the imaginative Israelite, their high tops seemed to
tower in a religious ♦ sublimity, as striking and as lasting as their
physical elevation. From these lofty peaks, so much nearer to the
dwelling place of God, his soul took a higher flight than did ever the
fancy of the Greek, from the classic tops of Parnassus, Pelion, Ida,
or the skyish head of blue Olympus; and the three humble gazers,
who now stood waiting there with their divine Master, felt, no doubt,
their devotion proportionally exalted with their situation, by such
associations. It was the same spirit, that, throughout the ancient
world, led the earliest religionists to avail themselves of these
physical advantages, as they did in their mountain worship, and with
a success just in proportion as the purity and sincerity of their
worship, and the high character of its object, corresponded with the
lofty grandeur of the place.
♦ “snblimity” replaced with “sublimity”

“Not vainly did the early Persian make
His altar the high places, and the peak
Of earth-o’er-gazing mountains, there to seek
The spirit, in whose honor shrines are weak,
Upreared of human hands. Come and compare
Columns and idol-dwellings, Goth or Greek,
With nature’s realms of worship, earth and air;
Nor fix on fond abodes to circumscribe thy prayer.”
In such a scene, and inspired by such sympathies, were the

chosen three, on this occasion. The bare details, as given in the
three gospels, make it evident that the scene took place in the night,
as will be shown in the course of the narrative; and this was in
accordance also with Christ’s usual custom of choosing the night, as
the season of solitary meditation and prayer. (Matthew xiv. 23.)
Having reached the top, he engaged himself and them in prayer.
How solemn――how awful the scene! The Savior of all, afar from
the abodes of men, from the sound and sight of human cares and
sins, alone with his chosen three, on the vast mountains, with the
world as far beneath their eyes as its thoughts were below their
minds;――in the silence of the night, with the lights of the city and
villages faintly gleaming in the distance on the lower hills and the
plain,――with no sound near them but the murmuring of the night
wind about the rocks,――with the dark canopy of gathering clouds
above them,――Jesus prayed. His voice went up from this high altar
of earth’s wide temple to the throne of his Father, to whom he
commended in words of supplication, those who were to labor for
him when his earthly work should cease. We may well suppose that
the substance of his prayer was, that their thoughts, before so
groveling, and now so devotedly clinging to visions of earthly
dominion and personal aggrandizement, might “leave all meaner
things, to low ambition and the pride of kings,” and might rise, as on
that high peak, from earth towards heaven, to the just sense of the
far higher efforts and honors to which they were destined. With their
thoughts and feelings thus kindled with the holy associations of the
hour, the place and the person, their souls must have risen with his
in that solemn and earnest supplication, and their prayers for new
devotion and exaltation of spirit must have been almost equally
ardent. Probably some hours were passed in this employment,
varied perhaps by the eloquent and pointed instructions given by
Jesus, to prepare these chiefs of the apostolic band, for the full
understanding of the nature of his mission and theirs. How vastly
important to their success in their labors, and to their everlasting
happiness, must these prayers and instructions have been! The
three hearers, we may presume, gave for a long time the most
devoted attention which a scene so impressive could awaken; but
yet they were men, and weary ones too, for they had come a
considerable distance up a very steep way, and it was now late at
night,――no doubt long past their bed-time. The exercise which their
journey to the spot had given them, was of a kind for which their
previous habits of life had quite unfitted them. They were all
fishermen, and had dwelt all their lives in the low flat country on the
shores of lake Tiberias and the valley of the Jordan, where they had
nothing to do with climbing hills. And though their constant habits of
hard labor must have made them stout men in their vocation, yet we
all know that the muscles called into action by the management of
the boat and net, are very different from those which support and
advance a man in ascending acclivities. Every one that has noticed
the sturdy arms and slender legs of most sailors, has had the
practical proof, that a man may work all his life at pulling the seine
and drag-net, hauling the ropes of a vessel, and tugging at the oar,
without being thereby, in the slightest degree, fitted for labors of a
different character. The work of toiling up a very high, steep
mountain, then, was such as all their previous habits of life had
wholly unfitted them for, and their over-stretched limbs and bodies
must have been both sore and weary, so that when they came to a
resting place, they very naturally were disposed to repose, and must
have felt drowsy. In short, they fell asleep; and that too, as it would
appear, in the midst of the prayers and counsels of their adorable
Lord. And yet who, that considers all the reasons above given, can
wonder? for it is very possible for a man to feel the highest interest in
a subject offered to his consideration,――an interest, too, which may
for a long time enable a zealous mind to triumph over bodily
incapacity,――yet there is a point beyond which the most intense
energy of mind cannot drag the sinking body, when fatigue has
drained its strength, which nothing but sleep can renew. Men, when
thus worn down, will sleep in the midst of a storm, or on the eve of
certain death. In such a state were the bodies of the companions of
Jesus, and thus wearied, they slept long, in spite of the storm which
is supposed by many to have arisen, and to have been the
immediate cause of some of the striking appearances which
followed. It is said by many standard commentators, that the fairest
account of such of the incidents as are connected with natural
objects, is, that a tremendous thunder-storm came down upon the
mountain while they were asleep, and that a loud peal bursting from
this, was the immediate cause of their awaking. All the details that
are given, certainly justify the supposition. They are described as
suddenly starting from their sleep, in such a manner as would
naturally follow only from a loud noise violently arousing the
slumbering senses. Awakened thus by a peal of thunder, the first
sight that struck their amazed eyes, was their Master, resplendent
through the darkness of night and storm, with a brilliant light, that so
shone upon him and covered him, as to change his whole aspect to
a degree of glory indescribable. To add to their amazement and
dread, they saw that he was not alone, but two mysterious and
spiritual personages, announced to them as Moses and Elijah, were
now his companions, having found means to join him, though high
on the mighty rock, alone and in darkness, so inaccessible to human
approach. These two ancient servants of God now appeared by his
beloved Son, whose labors, and doctrines and triumphs were so far
to transcend theirs, and in the hearing of the three apostles, uttered
solemn words of prophecy about his approaching death, and triumph
over death. The two sons of Zebedee were so startled as to be
speechless, but the boldness and the talkativeness of Peter, always
so pre-eminent, enabled him, even here, to speak his deep awe and
reverence. Yet confused with half-awakened sleep, and stunned by
the bursting thunder, he spoke as a man thus suddenly awaked
naturally speaks, scarcely separating the thoughts of his dream, from
the objects that met his opening eye. He said “Lord, it is good for us
to be here; and if thou wilt, let us make three tabernacles, (or resting
places;) one for thee, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” These
things he said before his confused thoughts could fully arrange
themselves into words proper to express his feelings of awe, and he,
half dreaming still, hardly knew what he said. But as he uttered these
words, the dark cloud above them suddenly descended upon the
mountain’s head, inwrapping and overshadowing them, and amid the
flash of lightnings and the roar of thunders, given out in the
concussion, they distinguished, in no human voice, these awful
words, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye
him.” Who can wonder that a phenomenon so tremendous, both
morally and physically, overwhelmed their senses, and, that alarmed
beyond measure, they fell again on their faces to the earth, so
astonished that they did not dare to rise or look up, until Jesus came
to them and reassured them with his friendly touch, saying “Arise
and be not afraid.” And lifting up their eyes, they saw no man any
more, save Jesus only with themselves. The whole object of their
retirement to this solitude being now accomplished, they prepared to
return to those whom they had left to wonder at their strange
absence. It was now probably about morning; the storm was
passed,――the clouds had vanished,――the thunder was hushed,
and the cheerful sun now shone on mountain and plain, illuminating
their downward path towards the city, and inspiring their hearts with
the joyous emotions suited to their enlarged views of their Lord’s
kingdom, and their own duties. As they went down, Jesus charged
them to tell no man what things they had seen, till he, the son of
man, rose from the dead. And they kept it close, and told no man in
those days any of those things which they had seen. But they
questioned much with one another what the rising from the dead
should mean. So that it appears, that after all the repeated
assurances Jesus had given them of the certainty of this event, they
had never put any clear and definite meaning upon his words, and
were still totally in the dark as to their essential import. This proof of
their continued ignorance serves to confirm the view already taken of
the way in which they understood, or rather misunderstood, the
previous warning of the same event, in connection with his charge
and rebuke of Peter. In connection also with what they had seen on
the mountain, and the injunction of secrecy, another question arose,
why they could not be allowed to speak freely on the subject. “For if
they had now distinctly seen the prophet Elijah returned from the
other world, as it appeared, why could they not properly announce
publicly, so important and desirable an event? Else, why did the
Jewish teachers say that Elijah must first come before the Messiah?
And why, then, should they not freely offer their testimony of his
presence with Jesus on this occasion, as the most satisfactory proof
of his Messiahship?” The answer of Jesus very clearly informed
them that they were not to consider this vision as having any direct
connection with the prophecy respecting Elijah’s re-appearance, to
precede and aid the true Messiah in the establishment of the ancient
Jewish dominion; but that all that was intended in that prophecy had
been fully brought to pass in the coming of John the Baptist, who, in
the spirit and power of Elijah, had already run his bright but brief
course as the Messiah’s precursor. With such interesting
conversation they continued their course in returning towards the
city. The way in which Luke here expresses the circumstances of the
time of their return, is the last and most satisfactory proof to be
offered of the fact, that their visit to the mountain had been in the
night. His words are, “And it came to pass that on the next day, when
they came down from the mountain, a large multitude met them,” &c.
This shows that they did not go and return the same day, between
sunrise and sunset; and the only reasonable supposition left to agree
with the other circumstances, is, that they went at evening, and
returned early in the morning of the next day. After their descent,
they found that the remaining disciples had been making an
unsuccessful attempt to relieve a lunatic person, who was relieved,
however, at a word, as soon as brought to Jesus himself. They
continued no very long time in this part of Galilee, after these events,
but journeyed slowly southwards, towards the part which Jesus had
formerly made his home. This journey was made by him with
particular care to avoid public notice, and it is particularly expressed
by Mark that he went on this homeward journey through by-ways or
less public roads than usual. For as he went, he renewed the sad
warning, that he was in constant danger of being given up into the
hands of the wicked men, who feeling reproved and annoyed by his
life and doctrine, earnestly desired his death; and that soon their
malice would be for a time successful, but that after they had done
their worst, he should at last triumph over them. Still this assurance,
obvious as its meaning may now seem to us, was not understood by
them, and though they puzzled themselves extremely about it, they
evidently considered their ignorance as of a somewhat justly
blamable nature, for they dared not ask for a new explanation. This
passage still farther shows, how far they must have been from rightly
appreciating his first declaration on this subject. Having followed the
less direct routes, for these reasons, he came, (doing much good on
the journey, no doubt, in a quiet and unnoticed way, as we know he
always did,) to Capernaum, which he still regarded as his home; and
here again, as formerly, went directly to the house of Simon Peter,
which he is represented as entering on his first arrival in the city, in
such a way as to show that there was his dwelling, and a welcome
entertainment. Indeed we know of no other friend whom he had in
Capernaum, with whom he was on such terms of intimacy, and we
cannot suppose that he kept house by himself,――for his relations
had never yet removed from Nazareth.
Of the scenes of the transfiguration, so great a variety of opinions have been

entertained, that it would be impossible for me to discuss the various views within my
narrow limits. The old speculations on the subject are very fully given in Poole’s Synopsis,
and the modern ones by Kuinoel, who mentions a vast number of German writers, of whom
few of us have ever seen even the names elsewhere.
The view which I have taken is not peculiar to me, but is supported by many high
authorities, and is in accordance with what seemed to me the simplest and fairest
construction which could be put upon the facts, after a very full and minute consideration of
the various circumstances, chronologically, topographically and grammatically. It should be
noticed that my arrangement of the facts in reference to the time of day, is this. Jesus and
the three disciples ascended the mountain in the evening, about sunset, remained there all
night during a thunder-storm, and returned the next morning.
the tribute money.
On the occasion of his return and entrance into Peter’s house, a

new instance occurred both of his wisdom and his special regard for
this apostle. Some of those who went about legally authorized to
collect the tax due from all conforming Jews, to defray the expenses
of the temple-worship at Jerusalem, appear to have been waiting for
Christ’s return from this journey, to call on him for his share, if he
were willing to pay it as a good Jew. They seem to have had some
doubts, however, as to the manner in which so eminent a teacher
would receive a call to pay those taxes, from which he might perhaps
deem himself exempted by his religious rank, more especially as he
had frequently denounced, in the most unmeasured terms, all those
concerned in the administration of the religious affairs of the Jewish
nation. As soon as he had returned, therefore, they took the
precaution to make the inquiry of Peter, as the well-known intimate of
Jesus, “Doth not your Master pay tribute?” Peter, knowing well the
steady, open reverence which Jesus always manifested for all the
established usages of his country, readily and unhesitatingly
answered “Yes.” And when he was come into the house, and was
upon the point of proposing the matter to him, Jesus anticipated him,
saying, “How thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the
earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of the children
of others?” Peter says, “From others’ children.” Jesus says again to
him, “Then are the children free.” That is: “If, when the kings and
rulers of the nations gather their taxes, for the support of their royal
state and authority, they pass over their own children untaxed, as a
thing of course, then I, the son of that God who is the eternal king of
Israel, am fairly exempt from the payment of the sum due from other
Jews, for the support of the ceremonials of my Father’s temple in
Jerusalem.” Still he did not choose to avail himself of this honorable
pretext, but went on to tell Simon, “Nevertheless, lest we should give
needless occasion for offense, we will pay what they exact; and for
this purpose, go thou to the sea, and take up the fish that comes up
first; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of
money; take that and give it them for me and thee.”
Anticipated him.――This word I substitute in the place of “prevented” which is the

expression used in our common English Bible, and which in the changes of modern usage
has entirely lost the signification which it had when the translators applied it to this passage.
The Greek word here is προεφθασεν, (proephthasen,) and literally means “forespake” or
“spake before” him. This was the idea which the English translators wished to express by
the word “prevented,” whose true original meaning is “anticipated,” or “was beforehand with
him,” being in Latin compounded of the words prae, “before,” and venio, “come.” Among the
numerous conveniences of Webster’s improved edition of the Bible, for popular use, is the
fact that in this and similar passages he has altered the obsolete expression, and changed it
for a modern one, which is just and faithful to the original idea. In this passage I find he has
very properly given the word above suggested, without my knowledge of the coincidence.
Of the children of others.――This expression too is a variation from the common English
translation, which here expresses itself so vaguely, that a common reader can get no just
idea whatever of the passage, and is utterly unable to find the point of the allusion. The
Greek word is αλλοτριων, (allotrion,) which is simply the genitive plural of an adjective, which
means “of, or belonging to others,” and is secondarily applied also to “strangers, foreigners,”
&c., as persons “belonging to other lands;” but the primary meaning is absolutely necessary
to be given here, in order to do justice to the sense, since the idea is not that they take
tribute money of foreigners rather than of their own subjects; but of their subjects rather
than of their own children, who are to enjoy the benefit of the taxation.
A piece of money.――The term thus vaguely rendered, is in Greek στατηρ, (stater,)

which was a coin of definite value, being worth among the Jews about four attic drachms,
and exactly equivalent to their shekel, a little more than half a dollar of federal money. The
tax here paid was the half-shekel tax, due from every Jew for the service of the temple, so
that the “piece of money,” being one shekel, was just sufficient to pay for both Jesus and
Peter. The word translated “the tribute money” (in verse 24) is equally definite in the
Greek,――διδραχμον, (didrachmon,) equivalent to the Jewish half-shekel, and being itself
worth half a stater. The stater, however, as a name for Attic and Byzantine gold coins, was
equivalent to twenty or thirty times the value of the shekel. (See Stephens’s Thesaurus,
Donnegan’s, Jones’s and Pickering’s Lexicons.) On this passage see Hammond’s
Annotations, which are here quite full on values. See too, Lightfoot’s Horae Hebraica on
Matthew xvii. 25. Macknight’s Paraphrase, Poole and Kuinoel, for a very full account of the
matter. Also my note on page 32.
There have been two different accounts of this little circumstance among commentators,
some considering the tribute money to have been a Roman tax, and others taking the
ground which I do, that it was the Jewish tax for the expenses of the temple-worship. The
reasons may be found at great length, in some of the authorities just quoted; and it may be
remarked that the point of the allusion in Jesus’s question to Peter, is all lost on the
supposition of a Roman tax; for how could Jesus claim exemption as a son of the Roman
emperor, as he justly could from the Jewish tax for the service of the heavenly king, his
Father? The correspondence of values too, with the half-shekel tax, is another reason for
adopting that view; nor is there any objection to it, except the circumstance, that the time at
which this tax is supposed to have been demanded, does not agree with that to which the
collection of the temple-tax was limited. (Exodus xxx. 13, and Lightfoot on Matthew xvii. 24.)
the question of superiority.
Soon after the last mentioned event, there arose a discussion

among the apostles, as to who should have the highest rank in the
administration of the government of the Messiah’s kingdom, when it
should be finally triumphantly established. The question shows how
pitiably deficient they still were, in a proper understanding of the
nature of the cause to which they were devoted; but the details of
this circumstance may be deferred to a more appropriate place,
under the lives of the persons, who, by their claims, afterwards
originated a similar discussion, in connection with which this may be
most properly mentioned. However, it cannot be amiss to remark
here, that the very fact of such a discussion having arisen, shows,
that no one supposed that, from the peculiar distinctions already
conferred on Peter, he was entitled to the assumption of anything
like power over the rest of the twelve, or that anything else than a
peculiar regard of Christ for him, and a confidence in his zeal and
ability to advance the great cause, was expressed in his late
honorable and affectionate declaration to him. The occurrence of this
discussion is also a high and satisfactory proof of Peter’s modest
and unassuming disposition; for had he maintained among the
apostles the authority and rank which his Master’s decided
preference might seem to warrant, these high pretensions of the
sons of Zebedee would not have been thus put forward against one
so secure in Christ’s favor by high talents, and long habits of close
intimacy.
the rule of brotherly forbearance.
The next occasion on which the name of Peter is mentioned in the

gospels, is his asking Jesus, “how many times he should forgive an
offending brother? If the brother should repeat the offense seven
times, should he each time accord him the forgiveness asked?” This
question was suggested to Peter’s mind, by the rules which Christ
had just been giving his disciples, for the preservation of harmony,
and for the redress of mutual grievances among them. His charge to
them on this subject, injoined the repeated exercise of forbearance
towards a brother who had trespassed, and urged the surrender of
every imagined right of private redress, to the authority and sanction
of the common assembly of the apostles. The absolute necessity of
some such rule, for the very existence of the apostles’ union, was
plain enough. They were men, with all the passions and frailties of
common, uneducated men, and with all the peculiar, fervid energy,
which characterizes the physiology of the races of south-western
Asia. From the constant attrition of such materials, no doubt
individually discordant in temperament and constitution, how could it
be hoped, that in the common course of things, there would not arise
frequent bursts of human passion, to mar or hinder the divine work
which brought them together? With a most wise providence for these
liabilities to disagreement, Jesus had just arranged a principle of
reference and quiet decision, in all cases of dispute in which the
bond of Christian fellowship would be strained or broken. His charge
to them, all and each, was this: “If thy brother shall trespass against
thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone. If he shall
hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother; but if he will not hear thee,
take with thee on thy second call, one or two more, that, according to
the standard forms of the Mosaic law, by the mouth of two or three
witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall refuse to
hear them, tell it at last to the common assembly of the apostles; and
after they have given their decision in favor of the justice of the
complaint and demand, if he still maintain his enmity and wrong
against thee, thou art no longer held by the apostolic pledge to treat
him with brotherly regard; but having slighted all friendly advice, and
the common sentiment of the brethren, he has lost the privilege of
their fellowship, and must be to thee as one of the low world around
him――a heathen and an outcast Jew.” On this occasion, also, he
renewed to them all, the commission to bind and loose, which he
had before particularly delivered only to Peter. As he had, in
speaking of the treatment, made abundant requisitions for the
exercise of forbearance, without mentioning the proper limit to these
acts of forgiveness, Peter now put his question: “If my brother sin
against me seven times, and as often make the reparation which I
may honestly ask, shall I continue to forgive him?” That is, “Shall I
not seem, by these repeated acts of forbearance, at last to be
offering him inducements to offend against one so placable? And if
these transgressions are thus enormously multiplied, will it not be
right that I should withhold the kind consideration which is made of
so little account?” The answer of Jesus is, “I say to thee, not merely
till seven times, but till seventy times seven.” That is, “To your
forbearance towards an erring and returning Christian brother, there
should be no limit but his own obstinate adhesion to his error. In
coming out from the world to follow me, you have given up your
natural rights to avenge, either legally or personally, those injuries
which pass the bounds of common forbearance. The preservation of
perfect harmony in the new community to which you have joined
yourself, is of so much importance to the triumphant advancement of
our cause, as to require justly all these sacrifices of personal ill-will.”
With his usual readiness in securing an abiding remembrance of his
great leading rules of action, Jesus, on this occasion, concluded the
subject with illustrating the principle, by a beautiful parable or story; a
mode of instruction, far more impressive to the glowing imagination
of the oriental, than of the more calculating genius of colder races.
This inquiry may have been suggested to Peter by a remark made by Christ, which is
not given by Matthew as by Luke, (xvii. 4.) “If he sin against thee seven times in a day, and
seven times turn again, &c. thou shalt forgive him.” So Maldorat suggests, but it is certainly
very hard to bring these two accounts to a minute harmony, and I should much prefer to
consider Luke as having given a general statement of Christ’s doctrine, without referring to
the occasion or circumstances, while Matthew has given a more distinct account of the
whole matter. The discrepancy between the two accounts has seemed so great, that the
French harmonists, Newcome, LeClerc, Macknight, Thirlwall, and Bloomfield, consider them
as referring to totally different occasions,――that in Matthew occurring in Capernaum, but
that in Luke, after his journey to Jerusalem to the feast of the tabernacles. But the utter
absence of all chronological order in the greater part of Luke’s gospel, is enough to make us
suspect, that the event he alludes to may coincide with that of Matthew’s story, since the
amount of the precept, and the general form of expression, is the same in both cases. This
is the view taken by Rosenmueller, Kuinoel, Vater, Clarke, Paulus, and which seems to be
further justified by the consideration, that the repetition of the precept must have been
entirely unnecessary, after having been so clearly laid down, and so fully re-examined in
answer to Peter’s inquiry, as given by Matthew.
Seven times.――This number was a general expression among the Hebrews for a
frequent repetition, and was perfectly vague and indefinite as to the number of repetitions,
as is shown in many instances in the Bible where it occurs. Seventy times seven, was
another expression of the recurrences carried to a superlative number, and is also a
standard Hebraism, (as in Genesis iv. 24.) See Poole, Lightfoot, Clarke, Scott, and other
commentators, for Rabbinical illustrations of these phrases.
A heathen and an outcast.――This latter expression I have chosen, as giving best the
full force of the name publican, which designated a class of men among the Jews, who
were considered by all around them as having renounced national pride, honor and religion,
for the base purpose of worldly gain; serving under the Roman government as tax-
gatherers, that is, hiring the taxes of a district, which they took by paying the government a
definite sum, calculating to make a rich profit on the bargain by systematic extortion and
oppression. The name, therefore, was nearly synonymous with the modern word
renegade,――one who, for base motives, has renounced the creed and customs of his
fathers.
the journey to jerusalem.
The occurrence which occasioned this discussion, took place at

Capernaum, where Jesus seems to have resided with his apostles
for some time after his northern tour to Caesarea Philippi, giving
them, as opportunity suggested, a great number and variety of
practical instructions. At length he started with them, on his last
journey to Jerusalem, the only one which is recorded by the first
three evangelists, although John gives us accounts of three previous
visits to the Jewish capital. On this journey, while he was passing on
to Jerusalem, by a somewhat circuitous course, through that portion
of Judea which lies east of the Jordan, he had taken occasion to
remark, (in connection with the disappointment of the rich young
man, who could not give up his wealth for the sake of the gospel,)
how hard it was for those that had riches, and put their trust in them,
to join heartily in the promotion of the cause of Christ, or share in the
honors of its success. Peter, then, speaking for himself and the
faithful few who had followed Jesus thus far through many trials, to
the risk and loss of much worldly profit, reminded Jesus of what they
had given up for his sake. “Behold, we have forsaken all, and
followed thee. What shall we have therefore?” The solemn and
generous assurance of Jesus, in reply, was, that those who had
followed him thus, should, in the final establishment of his kingdom,
when he should receive the glories of his triumph, share in the
highest gifts which he, conqueror of all, could bestow. Then, those
who had forsaken kindred and lands for his sake, should find all
these sacrifices made up to them, in the enjoyment of rewards
incalculably beyond those earthly comforts in value.
This conversation took place, just about as they were passing the
Jordan, into the western section of Judea, near the spot where
Joshua and the Israelitish host of old passed over to the conquest of
Canaan. A little before they reached Jericho, Jesus took a private
opportunity to renew to the twelve his oft repeated warning of the
awful events, now soon to happen after his entry into Jerusalem.
“Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man shall be
betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes, and they shall
condemn him to death. And they shall deliver him to the heathen, to
mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him; and the third day, he shall
rise again.” Yet, distinct as was this declaration, and full as the
prediction was in these shocking particulars, Luke assures us, that
“they understood none of these things; and this saying was hid from
them; neither knew they the things which were spoken.” Now, we
cannot easily suppose that they believed that he, to whom they had
so heartily and confidently devoted their lives and fortunes, was
trying their feelings by an unnecessary fiction, so painful in its
details. The only just supposition which we can make, then, is that
they explained all these predictions to themselves, in a way best
accordant with their own notions of the kingdom which the Messiah
was to found, and on the hope of whose success they had staked all.
The account of his betrayal, ill-treatment, and disgraceful death, they
could not literally interpret, as the real doom which awaited their
glorious and mighty Lord; it could only mean, to them, that for a brief
space, the foes of the Son of God were to gain a seeming triumph
over the hosts that were to march against Jerusalem, to seat him on
the throne of David. The traitorous heads of the Jewish faith, the
members of the great Sanhedrim, the hypocritical Pharisees, and the
lying, avaricious lawyers, would, through cowardice, selfishness,
envy, jealousy, or some other meanness, basely conspire to support
their compound tyranny, by attempting to crush the head of the new
faith, with the help of their Roman masters, whom they would
summon to the aid of their falling power. This unpatriotic and
treacherous effort would for a time seem to be perfectly successful,
but only long enough for the traitors to fill up the measure of their
iniquities. Then, vain would be the combined efforts of priest and
soldier,――of Jewish and of Roman power. Rising upon them, like
life from the dead, the Son of God should burst forth in the might of
his Father,――he should be revealed from heaven with ten thousand
angels, and recalling his scattered friends, who might have been for
a moment borne down before the iron hosts of Rome, he should
sweep every foreign master, and every domestic religious tyrant,
from Israel’s heritage, setting up a throne, whose sway should
spread to the uttermost parts of the earth, displacing even the deep-
rooted hold of Roman power. What then, would be the fate of the
faithful Galileans, who, though few and feeble, had stood by him
through evil and good report, risking all on his success? When the
grinding tyranny of the old Sanhedrim had been overthrown, and
chief priests, scribes, Pharisees, lawyers, and all, displaced from the
administration, the chosen ones of his own early adoption, his
countrymen, and intimate companions for years, would be rewarded,
sitting on twelve thrones, judging the ransomed and victorious twelve
tribes of Israel. Could they doubt their Lord’s ability for this glorious,
this miraculous ♦achievement? Had they not seen him maintain his
claim for authority over the elements, over diseases, over the dark
agencies of the demoniac powers, and over the mighty bonds of
death itself? And could not the same power achieve the still less
wonderful victory over the opposition of these unworthy foes? It was
natural, then, that, with the long cherished hopes of these dazzling
triumphs in their minds, the twelve apostles, though so often and so
fully warned of approaching evils, should thus unsuspectingly persist
in their mistake, giving every terrible word of Jesus such a turn as
would best confirm their baseless hopes. Even Peter, already sternly
rebuked for his forward effort to exalt the ambition of Jesus, above
even the temporary disgrace which he seemed to foreordain for
himself,――and so favored with the private instructions and
counsels of his master, thus erred,――even James and John, also
sharers in the high confidence and favor of Jesus, though thus
favored and taught, were immediately after brought under his
deserved censure for their presumptuous claims for the ascendency,
which so moved the wrath of the jealous apostles, who were all alike
involved in this monstrous and palpable misconception. Nor yet can
we justly wonder at the infatuation to which they were thus blindly
given up, knowing as we do, that, in countless instances, similar
error has been committed on similar subjects, by men similarly
influenced. What Biblical commentary, interpretation, introduction,
harmony, or criticism, from the earliest Christian or Rabbinic fathers,
to the theological schemer of the latest octavo, does not bear sad
witness on its pages, to the wonderful infatuation which can force
upon the plainest and clearest declaration, a version elaborately
figurative or painfully literal, just as may most comfortably cherish
and confirm a doctrine, or notion, or prejudice, which the writer would
fain “add to the things which are written in the book?” Can it be
reasonably hoped, then, that this untaught effort to draw out the
historical truth of the gospel, will be an exception to this harshly true
judgment on the good, the learned, and the critical of past ages?
♦ “achievment” replaced with “achievement”
the entry into the city.
With these fruitless admonitions to his followers, Jesus passed on

through Jericho to Bethphage, on the verge of the holy city. Here, the
enthusiastic and triumphant rejoicings, which the presence of their
Master called forth, from the multitudes who were then swarming to
Jerusalem from all parts of Palestine, must have lifted up the hearts
of the apostles, with high assurance of the nearness of the honors
for which they had so long looked and waited. Their irrepressible joy
and exultation burst out in songs of triumph, as Jesus, after the
manner of the ancient judges of Israel, rode into the royal seat of his
fathers. And as he went down the descent of the Mount of Olives, to
go into the city, the whole train of the disciples began to rejoice and

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Teaching Psychology A Step By Step

Guide 3rd Edition Douglas A. Bernstein

Art Therapy and Psychology A Step by Step Guide for

Law Dissertations: A Step-by-Step Guide Laura

Pro Tableau: A Step-by-Step Guide 1st Edition Seema

Roblox Lua Scripting Essentials: A Step-by-Step Guide

Checkers for the Novice A Logical Step by Step Guide

The Handbook of Teaching Qualitative and Mixed Research

Java A Step by Step Guide for Absolute Beginners 1st

Research Methodology: A Step-by-Step Guide for

Douglas A. Bernstein is Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois and Courtesy

Sue Frantz (Highline College), with 30 years of psychology teaching experience,

Stephen Chew is a professor of psychology at Samford University. He studies

Douglas A. Bernstein, Sue Frantz,

ISBN: 9780367143930 (hbk)

2 Preparing Your Courses 15

3 The First Few Days of Class 38

Ending the First Class 54

4 Developing Your Teaching Style 57

5 Evaluating Student Learning 93

6 Faculty–Student Relationships 128

Addressing the Problems of Problem Students 159

7 Teaching with Technology 186

8 Assessing and Improving Your Teaching 206

9 Integrating Teaching into Your Academic Life 236

Seven Principles of Effective Teaching

Surveys show that upwards of 65 percent of psychology graduate students in the

In jobs in other kinds of businesses, new employees will receive regular

No one ever achieves excellence in teaching by accident. Excellent teach-

In this chapter, we will describe seven basic principles of effective teaching,

Seven Principles of Effective Teaching

1. Encourage Student–Faculty Contact. Frequent and fruitful contact between stu-

low-stakes course examinations, papers, projects, and other assignments that

Some Characteristics of Effective Teachers

Your Role as a Teacher

What Is the Task?

Graduate and Undergraduate Teaching

TABLE 1.2 Versions of Online Education

Type of Course % of Content Typical Description

Traditional 0 No online technology used—content is

Nevertheless, online education is not going away. We address it in some depth

Who Is the Audience?

Some Final Comments

Choosing Course Materials

TABLE 2.1 Some Textbook Selection Criteria

can be assembled in custom-designed course packets from companies such as

“I scheduled my office hours but no one ever shows up to talk to me unless

your students’ other classes. Office hours at 9 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday,

5. The Name(s), Office Location(s), Phone Number(s) or E-Mail Addresses, of Anyone

Lecture topics, assigned readings, and examination dates

Date Class Lecture and Topic Assigned Readings

Setting Up Your Grading System

The Golden Rules of Grading

Choosing Your Grading System

Norm-Referenced versus Criterion-Referenced Grading

Hybrid Grading Systems

The Role of Extra Credit in Your Grading System

of helping students compensate for poor performance on standard graded tasks

Communicating with Your Students

This was an occasion on which Christ did not choose to display

♦ “snblimity” replaced with “sublimity”

His altar the high places, and the peak

Of earth-o’er-gazing mountains, there to seek

2 Preparing Your Courses 15

3 The First Few Days of Class 38

4 Developing Your Teaching Style 57

5 Evaluating Student Learning 93

6 Faculty–Student Relationships 128

7 Teaching with Technology 186

8 Assessing and Improving Your Teaching 206

9 Integrating Teaching into Your Academic Life 236