College of the Pacific
Matthew Normand
Teaching Approach
In general, I believe that teachers have a responsibility to both stimulate interest in the subject matter of the course and to encourage and inspire further study outside of the classroom. That is, students should be taught to teach themselves, first and foremost. The subject matter of any given course is, in some ways, a means to that end. The behavior of any one student in a classroom is a small part of the overall academic behavior of that student. It is the study that takes place outside of the classroom that has the most impact.
I structure my classes in such a way as to allow for continuous monitoring of both the performance of the students and my own performance. I expose students to material in small, manageable units with corresponding exams administered on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Doing so allows students to continuously assess their mastery of the material and remediate any deficits before they become unmanageable. Students also are able to correct for poor performance on one or more exams without necessitating extra credit assignments, thereby making for clearer grading criteria and putting the control in the hands of the student. In addition, the frequent exams provide me a useful tool with which to evaluate the effectiveness of my teaching as the semester progresses.
Courses
Psychology of Learning (Psyc 107/207)
History and Systems of Psychology (Psyc 125)
Behavioral Medicine (Psyc 156/256)
Behavioral Assessment (Psyc 158/258)
Special Interests
My primary interests, broadly defined, are the application of basic behavioral principles to problems of social significance (including obesity other behavioral health issues). I also am interested in issues pertaining to the philosophy of science, in general. I serve on the editorial boards of The Behavior Analyst, The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, and Behavior Analysis in Practice. Some of my recent publications include:
- Normand, M. P. (in press). Much ado about nothing? Some comments on B.F. Skinner’s definition of verbal behavior. The Behavior Analyst.
- Donaldson, J. M., & Normand, M. P. (2009). Increasing calorie expenditure through task-clarification, self-monitoring, goal-setting, and feedback. Behavioral Interventions, 24, 73-83.