This Type 2 project is expanding the use of the POGIL (Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning) approach in psychology to eight sites within the Touro College system, a diverse multi-campus institution. Instructional materials for experimental psychology labs based on the POGIL approach (developed with support from a CCLI Phase 1 grant) are also being expanded. The pedagogical approach now includes a version of a student preceptor model developed in a CCLI Phase 1 grant to St. Olaf College. Early results indicate that combining POGIL with student preceptors boosts student learning. In order to disseminate this work, workshops are being conducted on Touro College campuses and are planned for nearby colleges in order to reach faculty from other institutions in the tri-state (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut) area - especially those with underserved populations. The workshops provide hands-on experience with the POGIL materials. Feedback from faculty and students at other institutions is serving to further refine and revise the new curricular materials.
Intellectual Merit: In addition to testing and refining the extant POGIL instructional materials and widening the community of users to additional campuses, the current project is also developing a performance assessment instrument in order to test the impact of the new instructional materials on students' abilities to apply principles in experimental psychology laboratories.
Broader Impact: The standardized set of POGIL instructional materials are being disseminated for use at other institutions, first locally within the Touro College system, then in the New York tri-state area, and eventually nationally. They have the potential to be used by many students at other colleges. The POGIL approach has proven to be particularly effective for students from underrepresented groups.
