New computer-based technologies have been developed that enable psychology students to conduct experiments, potentially enhancing their critical thinking skills as well their understanding of key psychological concepts. However, resources for classroom experimentation with children are scare, largely because of logistical and ethical difficulties. Building on a proof-of-concept study, this project is developing 15 modules for developmental psychology that allow students to conduct experiments in virtual laboratories. Each module includes videos showing unedited experimental or observational data; transcripts of the events, time-coded to match the videos; published empirical articles relating to the lesson topic; links to relevant documents on the Internet; commentaries time-coded to the video; and interactive tasks for guided student learning. The modules are being tested and refined by faculty from a wide variety of community colleges, large public universities, and private liberal arts colleges. In some cases, the modules are integrated into lecture-based courses; in others, they stand alone as an activity-based laboratory course. Student learning is being evaluated by comparisons between courses with and without the laboratory modules, and by within-class comparisons of video-based and other interactive activities.
