Buffalari receives grant to assess, improve psychology course

NEW WILMINGTON, PA – Dr. Deanne Buffalari, assistant professor of psychology and chair of the neuroscience program, recently received a grant from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology to improve teaching research methods and skills in Introduction to Psychology courses.

Buffalari’s grant proposal focused on trying to integrate research skills and methodology into the earliest psychology course usually taught—Introduction to Psychology. The grant will provide funding for development and assessment of the changes being made in the course, as well as for travel to a conference where Buffalari will present her findings.

“Experts are placing an increased focus on the skills and methods that students learn in their courses,” Buffalari said. “But early introductory courses are often focused on content, not skills and methodology.”

The Society for Teaching Psychology, which is a division of the American Psychological Association, awards these grants annually to instructors who submit proposals aimed at researching the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Buffalari joined the Westminster faculty in 2014. She earned her undergraduate degree from Allegheny College and her Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh.

For more information about her work, contact Dr. Deanne Buffalari, assistant professor of psychology and chair of the neuroscience program, at 724-946-7358 or buffald@westminster.edu.

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