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Date of Graduation
Spring 2015
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Department of Graduate Psychology
Advisor(s)
Michael Stoloff
Abstract
The skills psychology students possess that employers look for in job applicants include: reliability, integrity, work ethic, communication, technology, critical thinking, teamwork, and professionalism (Rodgers, 2012). I conducted a study to determine whether participating in a brief classroom activity would improve students’ ability to effectively describe their skills. Students were asked to write a cover letter before and after the activity. The activity included a discussion of four skills and student reflection on their experiences that demonstrated these skills. I hypothesized that overall letter-writing would improve, that students’ self-reported levels of preparedness to find a job would improve, that students with previous experience of applying for a job and writing cover letters would perform better on the pre-test compared to students with no such experience, and that ratings for skills each group discussed during the activity would improve more than skills that were not discussed. The final sample size included 30 students. Multivariate ANOVAs and dependent-samples t-tests were used to determine if the activity systematically impacted student performance.
Recommended Citation
Gordienko, Alena S., "Enhancing psychology majors’ meta-cognitive understanding of desirable workplace skills using a short discussion-based in-class activity" (2015). Masters Theses, 2010-2019. 24.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/master201019/24
Included in
Industrial and Organizational Psychology Commons, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons
