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Psychology
Articles
Getting Inside a Criminal's Mind
Putting Thought into Cognition
Rats and Students on the Brain
Science
in the Future
Bailey Ki-Ho Ho
INDIVIDUALS have the right to their own thoughts, and therefore numerous explanations are bound to be produced to answer even a simple question. In order to gain a greater insight into the importance of teaching and understand the significance of teaching style, we conducted an interview with a highly educated psychologist, Chris Shanahan.
Chris completed his Bachelor of Psychology at Macquarie University and is a current PhD student at the University of New South Wales. Upon finishing his Bachelor’s degree, Chris developed an interest in forensic psychology, leading him to complete a Masters in this field at The Charles Sturt University. Soon after graduating, the knowledge gained during his university years was employed in real life scenarios by working in NSW prisons.
The growing interest in forensic psychology, and the increasing demand for forensic psychologists, prompted Chris to carry out further studies. He is currently back at university as an academic in the second year of his PhD studies. The aim of his PhD is primarily to investigate the manner in which judges and jurors decide liability and damages in personal injury cases. There is a popular belief that the decision-making of judges and jurors is highly influenced by extra-legal factors such as prejudice or compassion. However, this perception has not yet been tested empirically.
Apart from his post-graduate studies, Chris is also involved in other educational activities. He is currently the placement coordinator for the Forensic Masters program. He also tutors second and third year psychology classes, which is in fact essential when training to become an academic, and is recommended to all PhD students.
Chris enjoys teaching and interacting with different students. According to him, the most rewarding part of work as a tutor is to gain everybody’s interest and getting the students involved in the course. He believes that the teachers play an important role in capturing the student’s attention as it is mainly through the teachers that the students learn. Being a tutor is not just about marking papers or giving tests. In Chris’s case, mastery in literature and practice in the area of study are two crucial aspects. Experience as a psychologist is always an advantage, though not a necessity, and on a personal level, being patient and flexible are considered to be helpful qualities.
Chris repeatedly emphasises the fact that everyone must have experienced many different teaching styles from earlier studies to university level. The chief differences noted are usually the style of teaching, and the responsibility of students toward learning. At university, a more self-based form of teaching or learning is used, whereas at earlier levels the teachers supply the material and the topic. One common example is that at primary through to high school, there is a set timetable, curriculum and a limitation in choices. As a student at university, you are encouraged to question and challenge what is being taught in science and in various other areas. At lower levels, students are merely taught basic information regarding science without having to consider whether the conclusions are significant or even related to the results.
Although some of the differences are strikingly clear, there are a few similarities. For instance, the key purpose of all the science subjects, despite the level of education, is to involve the student; what is casually referred as “to get their hands dirty”. In high school, experiments are designed in an engaging way to demonstrate specific findings, which directly contribute to the development of knowledge. In university, students explore the roles of a scientist or a researcher and how they have an impact on the society.
The sequence
of gradual learning has demonstrated that the teachers and tutors pose
the greatest influence on our interest in science. Without them exposing
the mysteries and excitements of science, the curiosity in studying further
or research work in scientific areas would vanish. Teaching is essential
so that students learn the concepts with ease, and also to create a gradual
increase in interest, which later builds into inquisitiveness in different
areas and opens doors to further investigation and innovation. Hence,
it would be valid to conclude that teachers and their approach to teaching
are what ensure a future for science.
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