Ithaca College

Assistant Professor of Psychology Jeffrey Holmes presented at the Best Practices in the Teaching of Psychology Conference in Atlanta, Georgia on October 17.  His presentation was entitled Using Controversial Issues to Teach Critical and Scientific Thinking in Psychology.

The 2009 conference focused broadly on teaching controversial topics in psychology. The sessions provided up-to-date information on issues surrounding a controversial topic and innovative ways to open students’ minds while still respecting the individual.

Among the specific topics at the conference the teaching of evolutionary psychology and the Christian case for gay marriage in religiously conservative institutions, the ethics of animal research, teaching social issues like diversity and oppression, and human sexuality and gender issues.

This Best Practices conference was the eighth annual meeting sponsored by the Society for the Teaching of Psychology. Co-sponsors included the Psychology Department of Georgia Southern University and the National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology.