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Film is a form of engaging narrative being employed with greater frequency in undergraduate and graduate education. To optimize their pedagogical impact, it is important to carefully select films that address core course objectives. Additionally, viewing should be structured with written guidelines to direct the audience to consider the relevant dimensions associated with the instructional goals of the film. A course, “Medical Ethics and Film” is described to illustrate cinemeducation. In order to assess the impact of this recently developed course, students kept ongoing diaries in which they regularly wrote about their reactions to each film. Analysis of the diaries revealed that students routinely addressed the moral dilemmas portrayed and often applied specific ethical theories. While ethical theory is typically presented as a series of cognitive frameworks, students often expressed strong emotional reactions and frequently linked the dilemmas portrayed to their own life.

Many undergraduate programs require students to complete an independent research project in their major field prior to graduation. These projects are typically described as opportunities for integration of coursework and a direct application of the methods of inquiry specific to a particular discipline. Evaluations of curricular projects have usually found that they positively impact students’ knowledge and skills in that discipline. However, little attention has been devoted to the impact that these projects have on broader aspects of psychosocial development. The current study describes the results of a focus group conducted with students who had recently completed their senior research project in psychology. Results of the focus group interview were transcribed and coded according to grounded theory principles. Five developmentally-specific categories emerged from the analysis. These included a greater sense of competence attributed to completing a large-scale project, an experience of being in a professional role relative to research participants as well as to the audience presented with their study results, and a sense of ownership and pride in completing their project. Universities that either require or are contemplating requiring senior projects should consider these broader benefits to young adult development

Many undergraduate programs require students to complete an independent research project in their major field prior to graduation. These projects are typically described as opportunities for integration of coursework and a direct application of the methods of inquiry specific to a particular discipline. Evaluations of curricular projects have usually found that they positively impact students’ knowledge and skills in that discipline. However, little attention has been devoted to the impact that these projects have on broader aspects of psychosocial development. The current study describes the results of a focus group conducted with students who had recently completed their senior research project in psychology. Results of the focus group interview were transcribed and coded according to grounded theory principles. Five developmentally-specific categories emerged from the analysis. These included a greater sense of competence attributed to completing a large-scale project, an experience of being in a professional role relative to research participants as well as to the audience presented with their study results, and a sense of ownership and pride in completing their project. Universities that either require or are contemplating requiring senior projects should consider these broader benefits to young adult development.

Many undergraduate programs require students to complete an independent research project in their major field prior to graduation. These projects are typically described as opportunities for integration of coursework and a direct application of the methods of inquiry specific to a particular discipline. Evaluations of curricular projects have usually found that they positively impact students’ knowledge and skills in that discipline. However, little attention has been devoted to the impact that these projects have on broader aspects of psychosocial development. The current study describes the results of a focus group conducted with students who had recently completed their senior research project in psychology. Results of the focus group interview were transcribed and coded according to grounded theory principles. Five developmentally-specific categories emerged from the analysis. These included a greater sense of competence attributed to completing a large-scale project, an experience of being in a professional role relative to research participants as well as to the audience presented with their study results, and a sense of ownership and pride in completing their project. Universities that either require or are contemplating requiring senior projects should consider these broader benefits to young adult development.

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a small-group pedagogical technique widely used in fields such as business, medicine, engineering, and architecture. In PBL, pre-written cases are used to teach core course content. PBL advocates state that course material is more likely to be retained and applied when presented as cases reflecting "real life" applications of class material. However, rather than traditional lecture-discussion, PBL encourages student autonomy in analyzing cases, with the instructor serving initially as a structuring facilitator before gradually becoming less active as students take more responsibility for their learning. As students proceed through each case, they address four dimensions: What they know, what they want to know, possible causal hypotheses, and questions that can be answered through library research. The PBL cases referred to herein were developed and employed for an undergraduate psychology course, "Psychology of the Exceptional Child." Students completing this course included psychology, special education, and human service majors and have positively evaluated this technique as a teaching tool.

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a small-group pedagogical technique widely used in fields such as business, medicine, engineering, and architecture. In PBL, pre-written cases are used to teach core course content. PBL advocates state that course material is more likely to be retained and applied when presented as cases reflecting "real life" applications of class material. However, rather than traditional lecture-discussion, PBL encourages student autonomy in analyzing cases, with the instructor serving initially as a structuring facilitator before gradually becoming less active as students take more responsibility for their learning. As students proceed through each case, they address four dimensions: What they know, what they want to know, possible causal hypotheses, and questions that can be answered through library research. The PBL cases referred to herein were developed and employed for an undergraduate psychology course, "Psychology of the Exceptional Child." Students completing this course included psychology, special education, and human service majors and have positively evaluated this technique as a teaching tool.

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a small-group pedagogical technique widely used in fields such as business, medicine, engineering, and architecture. In PBL, pre-written cases are used to teach core course content. PBL advocates state that course material is more likely to be retained and applied when presented as cases reflecting “real life” applications of class material. However, rather than traditional lecture-discussion, PBL encourages student autonomy in analyzing cases, with the instructor serving initially as a structuring facilitator before gradually becoming less active as students take more responsibility for their learning. As students proceed through each case, they address four dimensions: What they know, what they want to know, possible causal hypotheses, and questions that can be answered through library research. The PBL cases referred to herein were developed and employed for an undergraduate psychology course, “Psychology of the Exceptional Child.” Students completing this course included psychology, special education, and human service majors and have positively evaluated this technique as a teaching tool.

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a small-group pedagogical technique widely used in fields such as business, medicine, engineering, and architecture. In PBL, pre-written cases are used to teach core course content. PBL advocates state that course material is more likely to be retained and applied when presented as cases reflecting "real life" applications of class material. However, rather than traditional lecture-discussion, PBL encourages student autonomy in analyzing cases, with the instructor serving initially as a structuring facilitator before gradually becoming less active as students take more responsibility for their learning. As students proceed through each case, they address four dimensions: What they know, what they want to know, possible causal hypotheses, and questions that can be answered through library research. The PBL cases referred to herein were developed and employed for an undergraduate psychology course, "Psychology of the Exceptional Child." Students completing this course included psychology, special education, and human service majors and have positively evaluated this technique as a teaching tool.