How to further simultaneously psychology students’ understanding of the interrelations of subjects and methods in psychological research, of the integration of psychological disciplines, and of their knowledge of the English language

Internationally and nationally, there is a wide discussion of how to design the teaching for psychology students at the university level to further the quality of students’ achievements and competencies. For that purpose, the department of developmental psychology of our psychology faculty recently started to offer seminars for psychology students at the undergraduate level aiming at the following three teaching goals: 1. to help for a better understanding of the interrelations of subjects and methods in psychological research; 2. to show how the usually separated psychological disciplines may be integrated; 3. to train students’ knowledge of the English language.

To illustrate the conception of this kind of seminar, the design of a seminar on the topic of gender and first experiences with giving that seminar are presented and discussed. The seminar was based upon a book titled The developmental social psychology of gender (Eckes & Trautner, 2000) that integrates developmental and social psychological approaches in gender research. All texts read, as well as presentations and discussions were in English. As it turned out that German psychology students need an extra motivation to take a seminar in English, a certificate describing in detail the specific individual achievements was given to each student. The outcomes of the seminar conception seem promising. Further applications of the teaching approach to psychology education at the university level are discussed.

Eckes, T. & Trautner, H.M. (Eds.). (2000). The developmental social psychology of gender. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.