May 2011 Student Comments

Even though we learn a tremendous amount from the text -- facts and theories -- my Intro to Psychology classes are never the same. Students add so much with questions, opinions and examples to share. And it seems that those who stick with the class come away with very positive perspectives. Here are a few comments from the personal evaluations I ask students to complete (anonymously) as I don't see official ones for many months. Yes, I am tooting my own horn here, but thought these comments might inspire and encourage new students.

What I liked about this class:
"I honestly liked everything about this class, from the humorous involved lectures to the great overall teaching and examples. I also liked how open to questions you were."

"Going into this class, I thought it would just be a clas that I did work and received a grade. After the second week of class, I was very excited about the class. I loved learning about everything that goes on within myself and others. During this class I was able to learn a lot about myself."

"I liked this class because it expanded my thinking. It made me a more open minded person and more tolerant to other people."

"The interaction with other people when we did in-class projects together. That helped explain things more in depth than the lecture."

"I like the way Dr. Marrin teaches. I like the way she is accepting of everyone's opinion. She is very considerate and understanding."

"I like the group activities. I also like that the teacher encouraged class discussions and allowed you to ask questions whether they be silly or intellectual."

"I liked that it allowed you to think in different perspectives. It let you see yourself and things around you different."

"Text -- outstanding!!! Makes it possible to learn enormous amount of material -- great graphics, real people, concept reviews, summary tests -- great!
"Your caring approach to each student, your honesty about knowing/not knowing particulars -- psych is a huge topic."

"I've always been interested in the basics of psychology and I feel you have done a superb job educating myself and the class. You're passionate about the subject, you exude a lot of energy, and that makes for a fun and memorable learning experience."

What I learned from this class that is not testable
"I've learned to be more patient with myself, to be more understanding with myself, and to listen to myself. I have a lot of work ahead of me. The feelings I have about depression and death will get better if I just be honest with myself and keep working on the present."

"My actual self-image is more negative than what I expected, or what I would hope for. And, ways to remedy that issue."

"I learned that you can't change everything at one time in your life. Life is a process and steps have to be taken slowly in order to change in your life."

"I learned not to mismanage my time so much."

"To be more self-forgiving and less judgmental on myself and sometimes with others."

"I've learned how to avoid judgemental negative peope. I also learned how to become better at blocking out the same negative energy. Before, I did not know how to do this."

"I learned how to look at people for who they are. I also learned how to deal with people with disorders, or on drugs, even how to interpret dreams. I learned what happens during my fiance's short term memory loss. I learned why my kids act and think."

"From this class I learned that person can actually change themselves from learning what is going on within one's self."

". . . Self-awareness. I am more aware of my thoughts, emotions and decisions I make. Overall it's a positive life experience."

"I became more aware of my feelings and actions. I became more of a listener from this class. I try to relax more and meditate. "

"Everyone has hard times. We are the same in so many ways. Never give up."

"Behaving myself, how to treat my child, and how to be more confident about myself."

"That it's great to express yourself. It can actually help you get through the rest of your day."

"One thing that has helped in many ways is how to forgive myself."

"How to properly meditate."

"Exercise and positive thoughts can really lower depression -- I proved this to myself. "

A Student Learns to Love Herself

Ha! Here is another end-of-the-semester entry!

I am always blown away by my students and their personal learning and growth. My Intro to Psychology classes cover a lot of facts and theories, but I offer multiple opportunities to apply the material to students' own lives.

This semester, I'm especially captured by one young lady who saw herself as painfully shy and having extremely low self-esteem and self-confidence. For her life-changing experiment, she chose to tackle these large issues. At my suggestion, she went for some powerful positive self-talk statements (affirmations) which she repeated three times a day. She also looked in her own eyes in the mirror daily, telling herself, "I love you." My suggestion was that she aim for 33-35 days in a row of the mirror strategy, and if she missed a day to start over. She also simply kept track of how many times she spoke to strangers each day, and she wrote short journal entries about her experiences in the evening.

Her paper, analyzing her experiment, was brimming with enthusiasm over her skyrocketing self-esteem and confidence. Instead of choosing one or two positive statements from the "brainstorming" list I provided, she memorized the list of a dozen or so short statements and used them all. As I recall, her list ended with, "My life is a creative adventure of self-discovery."

Since she is an artist, this dovetailed with her personal goals.

She said, "I learned to love myself! I love myself!" From self-ratings of zero on esteem and confidence in her pre-treatment week, she soared to eights, nines and tens by the post-treatment week. She discovered she could give herself the love and nurturing that she had been longing for, and when she did, the esteem and confidence naturally lifted. She plans to continue these strategies to maintain her exciting progress as she prepares for the shift to a four year college in the fall.

I don't keep student papers, so can't quote her exactly, but I was smiling all over and had tear-filled eyes as I completed marking her paper.