PSYC 4281: Psychology Capstone — Content Expert/Curriculum Developer

Brief description of the project:

Thompson Rivers University, Open Learning (TRU-OL) is looking for a qualified content expert/curriculum developer to complete a major revision of PSYC 4281: Psychology Capstone.

 

Course Description:

Students integrate and apply the knowledge and skills acquired during their degree by completing a capstone project focused on a specific area of interest within the field of psychology. This project should align with their professional development goals and provide tangible benefit to the community or society at large. Throughout the process, students showcase how they meet the psychology program’s learning outcomes and reflect on their growth in relation to TRU’s general education themes of Connection, Engagement, Exploration, and Local-to-Global. Through faculty and/or community engagement, students incorporate feedback to refine their work and strengthen their ability to apply psychological knowledge and skills to real-world situations and societal needs.

 

Course Development Process:

The course developer will work under the guidance of the Instructional Designer responsible for the course development project, and in collaboration with the course development team will:

• Participate in brainstorming and planning sessions.
•  Note that students in this course must complete their own independent project but cannot collect their own data (due to research ethics board requirements). Some examples of independent projects could include:

  • Creation of an evidence-based psychology-informed training module for employees or volunteers working with a specific community organization

  • Creation of a “Knowledge Mobilization (KMb) Toolkit” where students translate psychological research into user-friendly materials for a partner organization

  •  Historical or contextual analysis of a specific community issue from a psychological perspective

  • Creation of grant support documents for a community organization related to psychology

  • Creation of a behaviour change intervention proposal for an identified community problem or issue

  • Creation of a community services and resources map, analyzing gaps, barriers, and opportunities for better psychological supports and resources in the community

  • Develop a psychoeducational workshop for a specific community agency

  • Create a crisis communication or outreach plan for a community organization

• Create a case-based ethical decision-making guide for volunteers working with vulnerable populations
• Secondary analysis of an open dataset (e.g., ICPSR, OSF, Databrary, OpenNeuro, NIH repositories)Develop a detailed course planning document for the course which includes relevant learning outcomes, learning activities, and assessments appropriate for an online continuous entry course.
• Revise and/or develop content, including learning activities and authentic assessments, to ensure that they are relevant and appropriate for an online continuous entry course.
• Develop rubrics that explicitly map each assignment to the psychology program learning outcomes 
• Develop assignments that require students to reflect on how they have met TRU’s four general education themes, over the course of their entire degree (note: students do not have to demonstrate having met those themes specifically in this class). 
• Create multimedia or other active learning activities to ensure student engagement through experiential learning.
• Assessments should emphasize scholarly source evaluation, plagiarism avoidance, and APA conventions
• Choose effective and appropriate resources, ideally digital, and prioritize low-cost and accessible options, such as Open Educational Resources (OERs), TRU’s e-Library collection and article databases, and other accessible material and media.
• Accurately cite sources and identify third-party material that may require copyright clearance as TRU respects intellectual property laws.
• Follow the guidance of the Instructional Designer on the inclusion of any AI-generated content.

 

TRU-OL uses a collaborative approach to course development that involves interactive planning meetings and review sessions as needed. 

 

Expectations:

• Meet the deliverables according to the agreed-upon timeline.
• Respond to project-related communication and meeting requests in a timely manner (within 48 hours).
• All team members will provide feedback that is
  • constructive and relevant, and
  • centered on course content and learning activities.
• Participate in post-development contract evaluation.
• Communicate in a professional and respectful way in accordance with TRU Policy Number BRD 17-0:  RESPECTFUL WORKPLACE AND HARASSMENT PREVENTION (tru.ca) 

Criteria for assignment of work:

The successful candidate will be selected on the basis of the following criteria:

• PhD in Psychology is required.
• Demonstration of current and ongoing engagement in the course subject matter through research and/or the scholarship of teaching, including the dissemination of outcomes in appropriate academic venues.
• Recent and substantial experience in psychology.
• Demonstrated ability to write in a clear and consistent style, with grammatical accuracy.
• Ability to meet deadlines.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a collaborative and consultative manner.
• Experience or training in facilitating online instruction is an asset.

 

Please submit a cover letter detailing how you meet the selection criteria, CV/resume, copies of transcripts*, and a writing sample^ via the online application system; please combine these components as one file in your attachment.  Response to this notification signifies that you are willing and able to comply with the aforementioned terms and conditions of the project work.

  *Copies of transcripts are not required if you are currently working, or have in the recent past worked, for TRU or TRU-Open Learning

  ^A writing sample could include a lesson outline, learning activity, element of evaluation, etc., or indicate the name(s) of any TRU Open Learning or BCOU courses that you have written

Application Restrictions

Applications will be reviewed commencing the closing application date and may continue until the position is filled.