REPORTERS are invited to watch Kubovy demonstrate his high-tech
approaches on the last day of class this semester:  Thursday, Dec.
7, from 2 to 3:15 p.m. in room 130 of Gilmer Hall.  However, he asks
that reporters call him at (804) 982 4729 prior to sitting in on the
class.

CAN HISTORY, OR PSYCHOLOGY, REPEAT ITSELF?
PROFESSOR HOPES TO CREATE ANOTHER LEGENDARY COURSE

	CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Dec. 2 -- It takes a brave, innovative
teacher to follow in the footsteps of the legendary Raymond Bice,
who delivered the wildly popular "Psych 101" course at the
University of Virginia to approximately 28,000 students until his
retirement from teaching last year.  Each semester for 46 years
U.Va. students would resort to last-minute shenanigans to gain
admittance into the course that demonstrated psychology principles
through original "Bice Devices."
	U.Va. psychology professor Michael Kubovy, in an approach he
says is inspired by Bice's devotion to gadgetry, is pioneering the
"interactive real-time, wireless classroom" in teaching the
introductory course, and students are raving about his new method of
demonstrating scientific principles.  Another legend may be in the
making.
	Determined not to let student interest in the psychology
course decline, Kubovy has devoted considerable time to planning how
technology can spur the same excitement and participation that
students enjoyed in Bice's course -- with one important difference.
Whereas Bice relied on class volunteers to demonstrate psychology
principles on a one-by-one basis, Kubovy is engineering a new
technology that will allow all 300-400 students to participate at
the same time.
	Holding an infrared device much like a TV remote control,
students will push one of 10 buttons on a key pad in response to
questions or stimuli Kubovy generates.  The students' responses will
be fed into a central classroom computer that will allow Kubovy to
display the group's reactions in color graph form in less than 60
seconds.
	The recipient of two University grants to develop the new
education technology, Kubovy has been demonstrating the methodology
to students in class this fall.  For example, to demonstrate how
people perceive and respond to sexual stereotyping, he asked
students to write their reactions to a list of adjectives.  
	Knowing research has shown that such words as "competitive"
are more often used to describe men whereas words like "shy" are
more often used to describe women, Kubovy divided the students into
two groups.  He asked one group to rate on a five-point scale how
well the adjectives applied to men and women in general.  He asked
the other group to rate how well the same adjectives applied to
themselves and their closest friend of the opposite sex.
	Kubovy's teaching assistant, Tyrone Yang, took the students'
responses, ran to a psychology lab computer, quickly entered the
data, then ran the results downstairs to the classroom, where Kubovy
fed the information into a computer.  Projected on a large screen,
the computer's output allowed students to see how Kubovy had
analyzed the data to reveal patterns in the number of their
responses.  The data, as he had expected, showed systematic
differences between how men and women stereotype differences in
sexes.
	"Students find the demonstration thought-provoking.  It
gives them new insights," Kubovy said.
	Having students enter their responses in the handheld
devices will expedite the teaching process by making the collection
of data virtually instantaneous.  Next semester Kubovy hopes to test
the innovative wireless technology he has developed in collaboration
with Mait Brandt Pearce, an assistant professor in U.Va.'s School of
Engineering and Applied Science.  They are investigating sources of
funding for producing the units, which he hopes can eventually be
manufactured for under $50.  He plans to unveil the devices in fall
1996, when he will next teach the introductory psych course.
	"The devices will create a truly interactive classroom that
will bring the Socratic method to a large classroom setting," Kubovy
said.  "Students will no longer be anonymous in large lecture
courses."
	To whet students' appetite for using technology, Kubovy has
taught them how to access the psychology department's home page on
the World Wide Web, where all his lectures are posted.  He also
requires students to participate in an electronic discussion group,
where he displays an unusual style as facilitator.
	"I edit the question, remove the student's name and respond
in a 'Dear Abby' format to all students electronically," Kubovy
said.  
	Over the summer the psychology department, under the
leadership of chair Richard McCarty, created in the Gilmer Hall
auditorium a projector set-up that allows Kubovy to operate from a
podium the computer, laser discs, videos and CD-ROMs.  
	"I never write anything on the blackboard.  Every lecture
incorporates state-of-the art computer technology," Kubovy said.
###
December 1,  1995