The Southwest Teachers of Psychology (SWToP)

The Southwest Teachers of Psychology (SWToP) is an organization of instructors of psychology at the university, community college, and high school levels. Historically, SWToP hosted an annual conference that allowed these teaching professionals the free exchange of philosophies, research, and instructional materials for the teaching of psychology in an informal, collegial, and supportive atmosphere. The SWToP membership is for the southwest chapter of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology, APA Division II, and in 2010 SWToP became an official affiliate organization of the Southwestern Psychological Association’s annual conference, hosted each April.

As an affiliate organization, SWPA will schedule poster, symposia, and workshops specific to the teaching of psychology. In this manner, SWToP maintains its identity and autonomy, providing you the opportunity to share your teaching experiences, discover new ways to approach the classroom, and meet people with a passion for teaching psychology.

SWToP membership is free and open to any instructor or aspiring instructor of psychology or related disciplines at public or private universities, colleges, or secondary schools. Please email the SWToP program chairperson, Dr. Jamie Borchardt (borchardt@tarleton.edu), to register your membership or update your contact information. SWToP members may receive periodic SWToP-related announcements. Membership is encouraged but not required for SWToP-SWPA submissions.

Guidelines for SWToP Submissions (Talks, Posters, Symposia, Workshops, and Brief Teaching Demonstrations):

• Select SWToP as the organization to which you are submitting.
• At least one author on each submission must have paid SWPA member registration fees at the time of submission. Additional authors do not have to pay SWPA member registration fees at that time, but do need to have a completed profile in the SWPA system.
• All authors on a submission who attend the convention are expected to pay SWPA registration fees.
• SWToP membership is encouraged but not required for SWToP submissions. Email Dr. Jamie Borchardt to register your SWToP membership or update your contact information (borchardt@tarleton.edu).
• Pedagogical research abstracts should follow the guidelines outlined for SWPA abstract submissions for talks, symposia, and posters.

Descriptions of Submissions:

• Talks are 20-minute (15 minutes + 5 minutes for questions) research presentations including background information, methodology, data analysis, and discussion.  Most people provide slides for the audience to follow.
• Posters include research presentations (see requirements for talks above) OR instructional methods/teaching demonstrations including purpose, audience, and implications, with a description of the demonstration on the poster.  Please provide a handout for attendees.  SWPA will provide boards and easels, 40” high by 84” wide.
• Symposia are talk sessions involving multiple presentations (by separate presenters) covering a common topic related to teaching, and may be research-based or instruction-based.  The symposium must include a chair, and involve three or four presentations, all of which are submitted as one proposal. The length of a Symposium is 1 hour.
• Workshops may cover a research area or instructional methods with purpose, audience, and implications outlined in the abstract.  Workshops should include an interactive component to involve the audience. There are two options for Workshop length: 1 hour or 1.5 hours.
• Brief teaching demonstrations are 10-15 minute demonstrations including teaching ideas, instructional methods, and short classroom demonstrations.  Please provide a handout for attendees.  The submission abstract should include the purpose, audience, and implications.

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Contact Information

Dr. Jamie Borchardt

borchardt@tarleton.edu