Thiel College Psychology Professor wins conference award for innovative teaching strategy

GREENVILLE, Pa.-- Thiel College Associate Professor of Psychology Kristel M. Gallagher, Ph.D. earned national recognition recently for her innovative teaching strategy involving Netflix.

• Read more about Gallagher’s research.

Gallagher’s research—one of over 100 presentations made at the 46th Annual National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology—was awarded the Doug Bernstein Award for the presentation judged by the Institute faculty as the most humorous, creative, or original, or as making the strongest contribution to the teaching of introductory psychology. Gallagher presented her work at the four-day event in Bonita Springs, Fla. from Jan. 3-6. The Institute is the premier national venue to present work on the scholarship of teaching and learning in psychology.

Gallagher’s presentation, “If You Can't Beat ’em, Join ’em - From Netflix and Chill to Netflix and Skill,” described the creation, implementation, and assessment of the “Netflix and Skill” assignments she has used in her social psychology course since the fall of 2020. These popular assignments incorporate select Netflix content coordinated with course material into a semester-long series of 12 engaging tasks. Students also get the opportunity to create their own “Netflix and Skill” assignment at the end of the semester with Netflix content of their choosing.

For many students, these assignments were noted as their favorite and/or most memorable component of the course. Among other findings, students also reported learning to apply course concepts in a new way, thinking in a more sophisticated way about course concepts, and that the assignments were enjoyable, valuable, engaging, and meaningful to them.

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