The Class Interview: Student Engagement in Courses Covering Sensitive Topics

Abstract

Given the range of sensitive topics covered in many psychology courses, building community among students may encourage participation and impact student learning. This study investigated student responses to an interview activity used within several diversity courses in psychology. During the class interview, the instructor gathered information about students' backgrounds, concerns, and fears associated with the course, and their needs for successful learning. The second phase of the interview gave students the opportunity to interview the instructor. In a post-activity survey, students ( N = 131) reported their approval of the exercise with recommendations that faculty use it in more courses. Participants also indicated that the interview process encouraged student participation in class discussions, created a more comfortable classroom environment, and clarified course expectations. Several students specifically credited the interview exercise with promoting ‘collaboration with peers’ and creating a ‘sense of community’. They also indicated they appreciated the chance to ‘get to know other students’ as well as the ‘professor's concern for student opinions’.

Engaging ICT Engineering Undergraduates in a Management Subject through First Day of Class Activities: An Empirical Study

“…The very first day of class can be seen as an exceptional opportunity to implement activities that may help develop students' expectations [12,52,53], attitudes [13,54], engagement [12,[55][56][57][58], or motivation [13,14], while also determining the learning environment and class atmosphere for the remaining sessions of the subject [59,60]. Although such actions are obviously designed to improve class dynamics, some may have negative effects on students' perceptions.…”

“…According to the academic literature, several objectives may be achieved by means of a reciprocal interview activity, as shown in different research works: building an awareness of students' and the instructor's goals and expectations [12,58,73]; gathering information about peers, the instructor, etc. [55,58]; encouraging class discussions and generating more comfortable interactions students-instructor [12,55,58,73]; creating a lasting effect on students' attitudes [52]; influencing students' motivation by increasing their perception of the interest and usefulness of the subject and also by transmitting attention to them [14] and; establishing a positive climate at class [28].…”

Reframing Psychological Research Methods Courses as Tools for Social Justice Education

“…In addition, future research would benefit from exploring the pedagogical supports faculty need to facilitate social justice approaches to curriculum design, topical scope, and student discussion. The emotional labor demands of social justice education are significant (Case, 2011; 2015; Etengoff, 2020), and we need to provide faculty with equitable support to engage difficult topics and create meaningful, DEI curriculum changes (i.e., smaller class sizes).…”