A Connected Approach to the Teaching of Developmental Psychology

Abstract

In this article, I describe ways in which a model of instruction called connected teaching can be applied to undergraduatre courses in developmental psychology. The model contains features that women in interviews say they appreciated or wished had been present in their academic lives. The model emphasizes thinking over expertise; elkitation and exploration of students' narratives of personal experiences; respectful ccmsioeration of commonsense views of development derived from these experiences, especially among students whose backgrounds are poorly represented in the literature; and attention to the social context of the classroom, including facilitation of collaborative as well as adversarial forms of discourse. The overall goal is to convince students that they can actively construct, rather than just passively receive, knowledge about developmental psychology.