Mind Matters Series 2008-2009

The Teaching and Academic Support Center and the Chellgren Center for Excellence in Undergraduate Education collaborated to present the series "Mind Matters." In this series UK faculty, who have conducted research in cognition, discuss their research and its implications for college teaching and learning. Four presentations were given in the 2008-2009 series:

October 29, 2008, Dr. Phil Kraemer presented "Developing an Evolutionary Psychology Perspective on Beliefs and Believing with Highly Speculative Implications for Teaching Along the Way"
Dr. Kraemer described his personal odyssey of becoming interested in evolutionary psychology generally and the psychology of beliefs specifically. He also discussed some implications for teaching that emerge from the evolutionary psychology approach to mind. [download references in MS Word]

November 19, 2008, Dr. Ronald Bruzina presented “Main philosophical differences, in the theoretical and investigational realms and how it affects pedagogical practice”
Dr. Bruzina discussed elements for the understanding of “consciousness” by a brief comparison of two different perspectives: that of certain dominant directions in cognitive science, and that of certain dominant directions in philosophical inquiry. Implications of each for teaching in different disciplines in the arts and sciences were then drawn.

February 11, 2009 (originally planned for January 28th), Dr. Ellen Usher presented "Tracing the Origins of Students' Confidence in School: Important Implications for Teachers, and Yes, Even Professors"
Dr. Usher examined self-efficacy (i.e., confidence) as a critical determinant of students' academic success and well-being, and shared theoretical and empirical insights about how self-efficacy beliefs develop and change throughout students' academic career. [view presentation in new window]

February 25, 2009, Drs. Lorch and Calderhead presented “How Can Hands-on Instruction Be Incorporated into University Teaching?”
Based on two studies done by Drs. Lorch and Calderhead of fourth graders participating in a randomized controlled trial, these presenters described the efficacy of teaching the logic of the scientific method with a combination of interactive lecture and hands-on manipulation rather than just using the interactive lecture alone. [view presentation in new window]