A  HIP  Approach  to  Teaching  Introductory  Psychology:  Integrating  and  Assessing  High  Impact  
Practices  and  Co-­‐Curricular  Events  For  Introductory  Psychology  Courses  
A  Symposium  
 
 

 
 
 
Presented  by  Dr.  Belinda  Ramos,  Psychology  Faculty  and  Dr.  Yvonne  Reineke,  English  Faculty  
To  the  Society  for  the  Teaching  of  Psychology’s  17th  Annual  Conference  on  Teaching,  
Phoenix,  Arizona    
October  19,  2018  
 

 
  
Each  summer,  CGCC’s  Learning  Community  Program  offers  a  two  and  half  day  summer  institute  
giving  LC  faculty  specific  training  and  planning  time  to  design  LCs  and  develop  integrative  HIP  
assignments  based  on  shared  course  competencies  and  college  learning  outcomes.  
Poster  by  M ke  M cFavilen  and  Gregg  Fields  
Integrating  Chemistry  130  and  English  102  
2018  CGCC  LC  Summer  Institute  Final  Session  
 

 
As  a  result  of  attending  the  CGCC  Learning  Communities  Summer  Institutes,  Ramos  and  Reineke  
have  progressively  developed,  integrated  and  assessed  the  following  types  of  assignments:  
1)  Self-­‐observation  –  Students  use  "I,"  for  this  assignment,  integrating  readings  and  
observations  based  on  self-­‐research  journal  notes.  Our  Psychology  Department’s  acquisition  of  
the  Biopac  Lab  provides  students  with  opportunities  to  also  capture  quantitative  measurements.  
2)  Psychology  literature  review  –    In  close  coordination  with  library  faculty,  students  conduct  
critical  library  research  on  the  benefits  of  expressive  writing  and  produce  a  third  person  essay  
for  a  targeted  audience.  
3)  Case  study  –  Students  integrate  original  research  and  additional  critical  library  research  into  
a  case  study  based  on  selected  psychological  theories.    
4)  Personal  Letter  –  Students  pen  an  “advice”  letter  to  incoming  PSY101/ENG101  LC  students  on  
the  importance  of  note-­‐taking  and  critical  observation  for  research.  
 

 
  

 
SELF-­‐OBSERVATION  RESEARCH  
 
One  assignment  developed  by  Ramos  and  Reineke’s  for  PSY101/ENG101  students  is  to  review  
some  of  the  health  psychology  literature,  identity  what  stresses  them,  and  then  determine  if  
“nature”  can  lower  their  stress  levels  and  potentially  provide  positive  health  outcomes.    
 
Early  on  in  the  semester,  we  ask  our  students  to  write  a  few  minutes  about  their  stress.    
 
As  a  class,  we  then  take  a  walk  to  CGCC’s  Environmental  Tech  Center  garden  area,  asking  them  
to  put  away  cell  phones  and  to  focus  on  the  walk  and  on  the  garden.    
 
Upon  return,  we  ask  for  a  post-­‐reflection  on  stress,  so  they  observe  themselves  as  the  subject  
of  their  research.    
 
We  then  ask  them  to  keep  research  notes  and  do  two  more  walks  on  their  own—they  read  a  
popular  magazine  article  that  reports  on  the  latest  psychological  research  on  walking  and  time  
in  nature  to  alleviate  stress,  information  which  they  have  to  synthesize  with  their  own  
observations  in  their  essay.    
 
This  year  we  are  planning  a  field  trip  to  the  Gilbert  Riparian  Reserve  as  a  way  to  deepen  this  
walk  in  nature  assignment  and  build  community.    
 

 
  
CASE  STUDY  
The  last  research-­‐based  assignment  is  a  case  study.  It  involves  students  as  observer-­‐

participants.    During  the  Spring,  2016  iteration  of  the  

assignment,  our  students’  task  was  to  observe  developmental  stages  based  on  Piaget,  Erikson,  
or  Kohlberg  by  working  with  Humphrey  Elementary  third-­‐graders  and  to  find  something  they  
wanted  to  photograph  in  the  Chandler  Gilbert  Community  College  Environmental  Tech  Center.    
The  third-­‐graders  then  visited  us  again  and  our  students  worked  closely  with  them  to  transfer  
their  photos  to  wood  as  gifts  for  Mother’s  Day  or  whomever  they  wished.  During  this  activity  
CGCC  students  were  to  make  additional  observations.  
Finally,  our  LC  class  made  a  visit  to  Humphrey  (an  elementary  school  within  walking  distance  of  
CGCC)  and  delivered  the  wood  transfer  photos.  
Students  wrote  a  case  study  synthesizing  their  case  study  research  with  the  a  relevant  stage  
theory.    
CASE  STUDY  (continued)  
For  the  past  two  years  we  used  CGCC’s    Co-­‐Curricular  Human  Library  event    as  the  basis  for  
students’  case  study.  Students  chose  at  least  three  human  
“books”  who  told  their  story  (e.g.,  recovering  from  
addiction,  rape  survivor,  PTSD  sufferer  etc.).    Students  
then  chose  the  “book”  case  study    about  which  they  
wished  to  write.  They  did  critical  library  research  on  the  
background  context    of  the  book’s  story  and  then  had  to  
apply  the    psychological    theory  that  best  matched  their  
case  study;  they  were  encouraged  to  think  about  how  
their  case  study  might  challenge/revise  the  theory.  

 
  
For  instance  students  who  read/spoke  with  Larceny  in  My  Blood  were  instructed:      

•   You  may  want  to  use  prompts  from  the  Chapters  2  and  4  category:  Recall  what  you  
learned  about  the  brain,  altered  states  of  consciousness  and  drug  use  and  abuse.  
Based  upon  your  research  and  what  you  learned  from  your  book...examine  substance  
abuse.  Be  sure  to:  define  psychoactive  drugs,  the  categories  of  psychoactive  drugs  
your  case  study  discussed  and  their  effects.  Also,  include  some  of  the  psychological,  
physiological  and  social  consequences  of  drug  use/abuse;  physiological  ones.  Provide  
examples.  (cf.  Chapters  2  and  4)  
  
If  the  “book”  spoke  from  a  developmental  perspective  (e.g.,  aging/caregiving)  students    could  
refer  to  assignment  prompts  that  read:  

•   Think  about  adulthood,  aging  and  dying  and  death.  Recall  the  physical  and  mental  
changes  generally  associated  with  middle  age  and  later  adulthood.  What  evidence  of  
ability  changes  related  to  later  adulthood  was  provided  by  the  “book  your  read”?  IF  
Alzheimer's  disease  was  discussed  what  additional  insights  (beyond  the  textbook  
definition)  did  you  gain  from  your  “book”.  How  do  the  5  stages  from  the  research  of  
Kubler  Ross  on  terminally  ill  patients’  experiences  relate  to  the  primary  source  
information  your  book  provided?  (cf.  Chapter  8)  


 
A  student  writes  of  her  book:    
Pastor  Stewart  used  a  problem-­‐focused-­‐coping  mechanism  when  he  handled  the  incident  at  his  high  school  homecoming;  
there  was  a  school  rule  against  a  b lack  football  captain  walking  a  white  homecoming  queen  to  the  stage  to  receive  h er  
crown,  which  led  him  to  talk  to  the  p rincipal  of  the  school  to  request  that  there  be  a  black  homecoming  queen  a long  with  a  
white  homecoming  queen,  which  the  school  agreed  to  enforce  the  following  school  year.    

Through  Pastor  Stewart’s  primary  appraisal,  h e  did  not  see  the  situation  as  a  threat  to  himself,  but  g rasped  it  a s  a  challenge  
to  improve  the  school  as  a  whole,  and  h e  u sed  his  secondary  appraisal  to  evaluate  his  resources,  which  h e  showed  to  h ave  
the  self-­‐esteem  to  approach  the  principal.  Those  who  can  use  p rimary  appraisal  and  see  it  a s  an  opportunity  for  growth  
usually  have  an  eagerness  and  hope  about  the  situation,  rather  than  feeling  threatened  o r  fear  of  harm  and  loss…  

He  relates  hope  as  a  n ecessity  to  African-­‐Americans  and  this  could  be  translated  a s  a  form  o f  hardiness,  which  does  not  
assume  d efeat  in  face  of  p roblematic  situations  

 
 

 
  
 Personal  Letter:  Making  connections  within  their  Learning  Community  and  beyond?    

 
 

 
   

 
  

 More  reasons  we  are  very  encouraged  by  our  work  with  LCs.    
DATA  TRENDS  APPEAR  TO  SHOW:  
LEARNING  COMMUNITES  MAY  HELP  CERTAIN  STUDENT  GROUPS  ACHIEVE  GREATER  SUCCESS!  

 
 
Additionally,  data  show  of  the  16  CGCC  courses  paired  in  LCs  from  Fall  2013  and  Spring  2014,  11  
of  them  show  higher  retention  rates  for  students  who  passed  with  a  “C  or  better”  (93.8%  of  LCs  
have  the  same  or  higher  retention  rates  than  their  stand-­‐alone  course  equivalents  for  students  
who  “passed.”  
 
Moreover,  in  regards  to  retaining  the  total  percentage  of  students,  (including  those  who  did  
*not*  pass  with  a  “C  or  better”),  68.8%  of  courses  offered  in  LCs  have  higher  retention  rates  
than  their  stand-­‐alone  course  equivalents  (even  among  our  students  who  were  not  
“successful.”)  
 

 
  
References  
 
CGCC  Learning  Communities.  (2016,  June  23).  Retrieved  from  https://youtu.be/tEWYkvO0d_w  

 
FULL:  Our  one-­on-­one  interview  with  Phoenix  Police  Chief  Jeri  Williams  -­  Steve  Irvin.  (2016,  
July  14).  Retrieved  from  https://youtu.be/eSj1KOmoNyE

Schnick,  C.  (2017,  March  13).  CGCC  Human  Library  2017.  Retrieved  
from  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaTlgfDjKQs  
 
Tovar-­Blank,  Z.  (2018,  April  24).  PSY  298AC  Research  Open  House  on  5/2/18  [Email].  
MacKenzie  London,  Tiesa  Camacho,  and  Sofia  Larson  sharing  their  research  with  Dr.  Julie  
Morrison  from  Glendale  Community  College.  (Photo:  Alma  Krueger/EMCC)  
 
What-­if  urban  forests  disappeared???  (2018,  April  15).  Retrieved  
from  https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=GiaW8fnUIW4  
NATURE-­SCIENCER  {WHAT-­IF}  

Williams,  F.,  &  Foglia,  L.  (2017,  July  25).  This  Is  Your  Brain  on  Nature.  Retrieved  
from  https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2016/01/call-­to-­wild/