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.