Posted by Mary Wimberley on 2010-02-17

Recent Samford University graduate Adrienne G. Hampton’s senior directed research project in  psychology was chosen for a top award at a meeting of the National Institute for the Teaching of  Psychology.

Her research project, which compared the effectiveness of different methods of sequencing teaching examples on student learning, was the judges’ unanimous choice to receive the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award. More than 100 projects were considered for the honor and accompanying $250 cash prize.

Hampton, who received a bachelor of arts degree at Samford in May, works as a case manager for Seraaj Family Homes therapeutic foster care agency in Birmingham.

In her research, Hampton found that a new technique called “structural sequencing” led to better learning and holds promise to improve teaching methods.

Her research supervisor, Samford psychology department chair Dr. Stephen Chew, presented the findings at the national meeting in January.

The judges’ selection criteria included the importance of the research question, the soundness of the research methodology and the use of appropriate qualitative and/or statistical analysis, and the clarity of the implications of the research findings.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.