Plenary Session:
Teaching Difficult Topics: Practical Suggestions for Teaching Undergraduates (2110)

Friday, Aug. 7, 10:00–10:50 a.m., Room 717B

Resistance can come from undergraduate students in many different ways. Students may resist courses because they are fearful of the topics covered or because they have a mental block against the material. This symposium will address difficult topics and give participants practical suggestions for overcoming student resistance. Dr. Janie Wilson will focus on statistics. Statistics often frighten students who are math phobic. She will discuss how to manage the topics that need to be covered in a single term and address issues relevant to the so-called millennial learner. Dr. W. Jeffrey Wilson will address neuropsychology: how psychology’s roots can be traced in part to physiology and how to help students embrace this history, thus gaining a deeper understanding of the brain and nervous system. Dr. Santiago-Rivera will discuss multicultural psychology. Quite often, the mere discussion of multicultural issues leads students—particularly white students—to put up barriers because they feel they are implicitly being accused of racism. She will present the pros and cons of white versus persons-of-color instructors for these courses and address gender issues: Do students feel freer to challenge female instructors than male instructors?

Chair: Jeffery S. Mio, PhD, California State Polytechnic University–Pomona

Participants: Janie H. Wilson, PhD, Georgia Southern University; W. Jeffrey Wilson, PhD, Albion College; and Azara L. Santiago-Rivera, PhD, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee

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