The Value of Outside Perspectives When Teaching Cognitive Psychology and Social Sciences
By Jens Koed Madsen, Andreia Cury Fernandes, and Nicole Lauren George
We are keen on thinking creatively about the coherence and relevance of the undergraduate degree in psychological and behavioural science (PBS) at London School of Economics. This includes building coherence across modules to connect the curriculum and using different types of assessments aside from traditional essays and exams to prepare students for jobs outside of academia (e.g., students have to: produce podcasts, write policy briefs and op-eds, and record presentations). In line with this, we wanted to try different didactic tools to engage students with cognitive psychology, as this is a part of psychology that can seem a bit abstract and formal with its focus on models and computational theory.
To get students to reflect critically on the application of what they read and learn, an external speaker was invited to present real-world scenarios to the students from the world of medicine. Specifically, scenarios where human error led to undesirable outcomes. The purpose of the class is twofold. First, it empowers the students to see that their insights and understanding of human behaviour is relevant to a host of actual problem. Many students have told us how the class opened their eyes to the application potential of their degree, which made them feel valued and useful. This benefit is in line with one of the departmental mottos at PBS: From the lab to the world and back to the lab again.
Second, it shows the students how practical limitations can be barriers to their ideas. For example, one student proposed that the medical team should routinely engage in open deliberation to counter problems of perception (e.g., how much blood a patient had lost during surgery). However, the medical professional (the external speaker) had to remind the class that, in these circumstances, decisions often must be made within a few seconds and that team discussion would not be practically possible for that specific problem. This made students reflect creatively on how to apply their insights within the practical limitations (e.g., funds, available time, or resources, and so forth).
When used constructively, I can see the educational benefit in using didactic classes for psychology—and for social sciences more generally. We want to encourage our students to connect their learning to real-world problems and to be able to reflect on how to overcome practical barriers and think creatively. This is certainly something we want to explore more in future classes—a sentiment shared by many students who told us that they would like to see more of these types of classes.
Read the TLI article here.
