Speed Dating Names to Know

Overall, this was very well received. Each student had six “dates” and the details of what we did are fully outlined below (we spent about 25-30 min for the whole thing). Student feedback suggested they learned a lot more than they previously, knew. They were able to combine a depth of knowledge (of their own person) with a wider exposure, and had fun doing something very different. I was concerned they’d get bored with their own characters, but at least for the six, that was fine. Character roles were great, with Watson “coming onto” his dates more than others (Rosalie won't mind...), and Piaget boldly stating, “I’m one of the top 20 most influential psychologists.”

Give each student a name (they randomly selected out of a hat), its okay to have a two of each if needed. If they are “dating” themselves, they just make sure their information is “spot on” and discuss others they’ve met. In the selection process, we did a reminder of random assignment and that we are sampling the entire population. Have them bring:

1. A note card (or note card size paper) with the essential information on it (thanks for this suggestion, Michael Britt). The psychologist’s name, details of their research and/or importance, what school of thought (cognitive, behaviorist, psychoanalytic) if appropriate, etc. Basically, it’s a cheat-sheet to ensure students cover all relevant info and correctly representing themselves.

2. A prop of some kind with you to represent your research. For example, Phil Zimbardo -- the prison study (among many others) could bring a guy behind bars (made out of clay, a picture, a drawing) for Pavlov a stuffed dog with a jingle bell, etc.... Be creative. They were great with this… Barbara Ainsworth had a shoebox labeled “strange situation “ with a mini mom, doll, stranger and some toys inside, Harry Harlow had a stuffed monkey, Freud had a great pipe, etc.

3. Paper and pen to make notes during/after the interview

On the day of the event explain the plan: Half of students are assigned to the outer circle, and half to the inner. Each pair gets 3-4 minutes together; conversations need to be realistic and natural, not contrived. On “command” the inner circle moves on person in the clockwise directions.

We went outside in the courtyard as it was a nice day, and the noise level can get a bit high. Started just saying “switch” loudly at the end of time. On the next trial, I clapped loudly 3 times before saying “switch.” Did this for 3 trials, then just clapped without saying switch (associative learning—intro to the next unit).

After they were done, they wrote their names (actual and psychologist) and the people they dated on a note card. Next class, they will fill in some information about each of these people to serve as a quiz. Then they voted via Google docs forms on several questions. Their explanations of reasoning were for the most part funny, thoughtful, and with good understanding of their own and others’ research.