 |
|
Dr. Robert W. Grossman
|
|
|
Education:
BA, Michigan State University - Sociology and Anthropology
MA, Michigan State University - College Student Personnel Work and Counseling
PhD, Michigan State University - Experimental Psychology
My present scholarly interests are centered on teaching for transfer. I want to know how to best teach for transfer of training. Early in my teaching career I realized students often weren't applying much of what they learned in traditional courses to their life . For example, I had students tutoring in a local elementary school and they weren't able to see how they were using operant conditioning principles in getting students to study more effectively. Since that time I have been reading about and trying out various methods to enhance the learning experiences for my students. Most of my work has centered on using the case study method to help students learn to apply course concepts to life like problems. I use this method in all my courses. Currently I'm interested in researching the effects of the use of different kinds of cases and examples on retention and transfer. In the past my main focus was on Cognitive Psychotherapy. Here also I was interested in what it was that I could do in therapy that the clients would find most helpful or useful in their everyday lives.
Representative Publications:
Grossman, R.W., & Pettigrew, A. (2002). Are You Blue? What Do You Do? A Case Study on Treatment Options for Depression. The National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science Case Collection, State University of New York at Buffalo.
Grossman, R.W., Ford, T. E., & Jordan, E. A. (1997). Teaching about unintentional racism in introductory psychology. Teaching of Psychology, 24, 186-187.
Grossman, R.W. (1994). Encouraging critical thinking using the case study method and cooperative learning techniques. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 5, 7-20.
Grossman, R.W., & Freet, B. (1987). A cognitive approach to group therapy with hospitalized adolescents. In A. Freeman and V. Greenwood (Eds.), Cognitive therapy: Applications in Psychiatric and Medical Setting (pp. 132-151). New York: Human Sciences Press.
Teaching Interests:
I currently teach many of the departmental offerings in clinical psychology. Abnormal Psychology is my mainstay course. I teach it every quarter. Clinical Methods is a course in which I teach about the uses and misuses of psychological tests. It also serves as an advanced course in psychopathology. Personality Theories gives me a chance to teach about the classic ways psychologists have thought about the workings of the mind. I focus on the theories that were developed to understand the processes occurring in psychotherapy. My Sports Psychology course gives me a chance to put together my life long interest in sports with my career in psychology. Each individual in this course has to show how they are applying the techniques and theories of the course to improve their sports performance. Dancers, figure skaters, and marathon runners have benefited from the class as well as members of a number of varsity athletes.
Personal Interests:
As mentioned above I have had a life long interest in sports and exercise. I can remember as a very little boy, watching with my father, the first televised Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Day game. I continued to follow the Lions and been actively involved in sports and exercise almost everyday since that time. Almost as fascinating to me as sports are detective stories. I read a lot of different authors though my favorite is the French writer Simenon and his detective Miagret. I find these pastimes to be a good way to get away from the stress and pressure of doing psychotherapy with depressed clients and teaching high quality students at the College.