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and students. We hope you will also find them a valuable
377
addition to your course.
If possible, a 90-minute class period should be allotted for each discussion section. In our quarter-long
course, these six sections are supplemented by one period in which the teacher describes his or her current
or recent research interests. In addition, the class chooses the final topic or activity from a set of options
provided by the teacher. The options may be other research projects covering different methodologies, such
as field observations of seating patterns at a campus event, interpersonal distance in public areas,
nonverbal communication, and so on. Alternatively, they may consist of visiting research laboratories in the
department or community. Sometimes the class may go to a movie or play that has a psychological theme
and discuss it afterward. The point is to expose the class to a meaningful psychological activity or exercise
likely to simulate further interest in psychology.
In a semester-length course, the projects here will have to be extended in ways consistent with your course
objectives. That may include either adding other research projects or alternating class sessions between
research demonstrations and discussions or extensions of text and lecture material.
It is advisable that these sections be coordinated with the basic lecture course, yet maintain an identity of
their own. If TAs are conducting the sections, the lecturer should meet with them regularly to plan the
research projects, get feedback on how well they worked, encourage trying out variations on the topics
chosen, and reinforce effective teaching performance. Sitting in on some sections also offers a first-hand look
at how they are functioning.
A good way to get teaching assistants when there is not a sufficient budget for them is to offer a credit
course entitled Practicum in Teaching. Thus, advanced students get credit for learning how to teach, and
they typically learn the course materials more thoroughly than they did as “students.” This experience
makes an excellent addition to their vita. For those who do a good job, the incentive of a letter of
recommendation is often potent. We may offer first-time undergraduate TAs the option of team-teaching two
sections in order to share the anxiety, preparation load, and classroom activities.
Typically, undergraduates at Stanford have taken sections for one credit beyond
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