Psychology 192: Educational Practices in Psychology

Course Description

Psychology 192 offers undergraduate students the opportunity to assist regular faculty members in the Psychology Department by serving as course assistants for a Psychology course in which they have previously taken for credit. Students are required to work (non-paid) a minimum of 7 hours per week for the 10-week quarter (Summer enrollees are required to work a minimum of 74 hours over the 6-week session) in addition to attending the class for which they will be assisting. Students are also required to attend a one-hour weekly seminar, the time of which will be arranged by the instructor, where students will receive training and supervision from the faculty instructor.

Course Deadlines:

Psychology 192 Learning Contracts (see enrollment instructions below) must be submitted to the Psychology Advising Office via Message Center on MyUCLA by Friday, October 6th at 5:00pm for Fall Quarter 2023 in order to be enrolled in the course. Contracts submitted after the deadline will not be reviewed.

  • Psych 192 is a 4-unit course, which can only be taken on a P/NP basis.
  • Sophomore, Junior, or Senior standing is required.
  • Students must do the work in the same quarter that Psych 192 is taken for credit.
  • Only 12 units from any combination of courses 185, 192, 194, 195, 196 may be applied toward undergraduate degree.
  • Psych 192 does not satisfy any major requirement for Psychology, Psychobiology, or Cognitive Science majors.
  • Holding office hours for students who wish to ask questions regarding the course.
  • Being a discussion leader for a small number of students who meet each week to discuss special topics related to the course (Note: student-led discussion sections may not substitute for the instructor’s scheduled lecture sections or for the graduate student Teaching Assistants’ scheduled sections).
  • Helping to proctor exams (Psych 192 students may not be the only proctors present at an exam).
  • With the approval and supervision of the faculty instructor, assisting in the preparation of materials and development of innovative programs to complement or enrich the faculty instructor’s teaching of the course.
  • Grading papers or exams or serving as a reader.
  • Giving lectures to an entire class.
  • Meeting with sections of a course that are regularly scheduled and listed in the Schedule of Classes.
  • Being responsible for the designing or teaching of a course or a section of a course, selection of reading or student assignments, planning of examinations, evaluation of students’ performance in the course, or determining students’ final term grades.
  • Doing clerical work for professors or graduate TAs.

The instructor must be a regular faculty member in the Psychology Department. The instructor is responsible for the following: training and supervising the student throughout the quarter; leading the one-hour weekly seminar; and evaluating the student’s performance. Faculty instructors should remember that a Psych 192 student is not a substitute for a graduate Teaching Assistant and may not perform the functions of a graduate TA. If a Psych 192 student’s information is listed on the syllabus, please use title of “course assistant” not “teaching assistant” or ‘TA.’

  • Contact faculty member in Psychology whose courses you have previously taken to see if they will approve you as an undergraduate TA for their class. Psychology Faculty member and their contact info is listed on www.psych.ucla.edu/faculty
  • This course does not require a course contract created on MyUCLA – please fill out the Psychology 192 Learning Contract and email it to your instructor for their signature. A scanned signature or e-signature is acceptable.
  • Visit your College Counseling Unit if you need approval to take more than 5 P/NP units or are planning to exceed 19 units for the quarter.
  • Submit the completed Psych 192 Learning Contract with instructor’s signature via Message Center on MyUCLA by Friday of Week 1.
  • You must check your MyUCLA Study List on Thursday of Week 2 to make sure you are officially enrolled.