ABSTRACT
In large undergraduate courses, psychology students rarely have direct experience with the phenomena and populations they study. Students' ability to understand theory, research, and application may be hindered by this lack of personal involvement with the material (Junn, 1989; Linn & Jako, in press). Furthermore, when students confront material that is difficult to comprehend, they may become apathetic, denying or minimizing the issues. For example, we have frequently observed victim blaming and personal distancing when topics such as child abuse, adolescent pregnancy, and poverty are covered in class. Instructors of small classes can incorporate experiences such as in-class demonstrations, field trips, or fieldwork that provide direct access to children. The success of fieldwork in teaching general psychology and child psychology has been previously reported. Benefits include increased performance in final exams (Saxon & Holt, 1974; Sugar & Livosky, 1988), positive attitude changes (Fox. Lopuch, & Fisher, 1984), integration of theory and practice (Fernald et al., 1982), and high student satisfaction (Sherman, 1982). All of the reports of the efficacy of fieldwork, however, are based on a small number of participating students, from 3 (Sherman, 1982) to 44 (Saxon & Holt, 1974). In some reports, students were carefully screened before being allowed to participate (Fernald et al., 1982; Sherman. 1982). To incorporate hands-on experience into very large sections of students with varying backgrounds and abilities can be daunting for an instructor. This article describes how this can be accomplished in an efficient, feasible manner.
