Abstract
A Learning Center in which 60 students studied psychology is described. The style combines in a complementary way behavioral, nondirective psychodynamic and organizational principles. Natural influences over learning, taken from Ss current activity, goals and value systems rather than arbitrary and coercive control are emphasized. The work of the faculty where the student works for reasons natural to his life is to facilitate and support learning rather than to goad it. The most prominent evidence of S’s work is a journal—distinguished from a term paper because it is an unedited product written as the student learns.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
DEWEY, J. 1939. Experience and education. New York: Macmillan.
ESTRIN, H. A., & GOODE, D. M. 1964. College and university teaching. Dubuque, Iowa: W. C. Brown.
FERSTER, C. B. 1968. Individualized instruction in a large introductory psychology course. The Psychological Record, 18, 521–532.
FERSTER, C. B. 1967. Arbitrary and natural reinforcement. The Psychological Record, 17, 341–347.
FERSTER, C. B., CULBERTSON, S., & BOREN, M. C. P. 1974. Behavior principles (2nd ed.) New York: Prentice Hall. (In press.)
FERSTER, C. B. 1972. Clinical reinforcement. Seminars in Psychiatry, 4, 101–111.
GINOTT, H. 1972. Between parent and teacher. New York: Macmillan.
HOLT, J. D. 1972. Freedom and beyond. New York: Sutton.
HUTCHINS, R. M. 1953. The university of utopia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
KELLER, F. S. 1967. Neglected rewards in the educational system. Proceedings of the 23rd Annual Meeting of the American Conference of Academic Deans, Los Angeles, January. Pp. 9–22.
KELLER, F. S. 1968. Goodbye, teacher … Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1, 79–89.
LEE, C. T. 1967. Improving college teaching. Washington, D. C: American Council on Education.
MARITAIN, J. 1952. Education at the crossroads. New Haven: Yale University Press.
MONTAIGNE, M. E. 1959. Selected essays: Of the institution and education of children. New York: Pocket Books.
ORTEGA Y GASSET, J. 1963. Mission of the university. London: Routledge & K. Paul.
PLATO. The republic, (Trans, by B. Jannett) In Bennis (Ed.), Interpersonal dynamics: Essays and readings of human interaction. Homewood, Ill.: Dorsey. Pp. 687–703.
RICE, A. K. 1965. Learning for leadership. London: Tavistock.
SILBERMAN, C. 1970. Crisis in the classroom: The remaking of American education. New York: Random House.
SKINNER, B. F. 1953. Science and human behavior. New York: Macmillan.
SKINNER, B. F. 1968. The technology of teaching. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This project is being carried out through grant 5T02MH 12060-03 from the Center for Crime and Delinquency of the NIMH. The faculty of the Psychology Learning Center for the academic year 1972–1973 consisted of Dr. Rodger Bufford, Dr. Dan Dinsmoor, Dr. Margaret Rioch, Dr. Philip Silverman, Dr. Stuart Culbertson (Associate Director) and Dr. Charles Ferster (Director). We acknowledge their substantial contribution to the content of this paper. We are grateful to W. Donald Bowles, Vice-President for Academic Affairs at The American University, and Robert Hoart for their unflagging support to bring these concepts to a practical exercice and for their extensive and thoughtful comments on earlier versions of the manuscript.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ferster, C.B., Culbertson, S. A Psychology Learning Center. Psychol Rec 24, 33–46 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03394212
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03394212