Lyle K. Grant Home Page

Countercultural Paths to Sustainability: ABAI 2012 Presentation References

Courses:

Interest Areas

Instructional psychology; instructional design; concept learning; computer-based instruction; critical thinking and independent reasoning; self management; behavior analysis of education; behavior analysis of sustainable living ; behavioral narratology; psychology of literature.

Contacting Me

If you are a Psychology 289 Student and you do not have a tutor, please email the Student Support Centre or phone them at 1-800-468-6531. The Student Support Centre is set up to either assist you directly or to forward your enquiry rapidly to the appropriate person.

Mailing Address:
Centre for Psychology
Athabasca University
Athabasca, Alberta T9S 3A3
Canada
Phones:
Voice: (888) 449-0105
Fax: (780) 675-6186

About Me

I am professor of psychology at AU, where I have worked since 1981. I received a Ph.D. in educational psychology from West Virginia University, where I became interested in how people learn from written materials, especially self-instructional exercises. Toward the end of my career in graduate school, I realized that my work in materials development had qualified me to work in the field of distance education, a movement then in its infancy. As a result I was elated to come to work at Athabasca University, a leading institution in distance instruction. AU's approach to course delivery has been very much in keeping with my teaching and research interests.

The courses I teach at AU use adaptations of the Personalized System of Instruction (PSI). PSI is a mastery-learning system that makes use of detailed study guides and student manuals, an emphasis on the written word, course tutors, and student self-pacing, all of which are features of most Athabasca University undergraduate courses.

I also have an interest in developing computer-based tutorials and other web-based resources that help students learn. Online tutorials that I have worked on in some capacity or another include:

Advanced Biological Psychology Tutorials
Internal Validity Tutorial
Introductory Biological Psychology Tutorials
Direct Instruction Tutorial
Positive Reinforcement Tutorial
Precision Teaching Tutorial
Verbal Behavior Tutorial

Most of my work has been focussed on teaching adults in university courses, but having children of my own led me to become interested in direct instruction and other effective approaches to preschool and grade-level instruction. Some web resources I've found helpful in early childhood instruction are included in my page of Early Learning Resources.

I have also become interested in the phenomenon of Peak Oil from a number of different perspectives, including the way in which projected future events function to influence current behavior. This, combined with concerns with public safety, human freedom to have a future, simple living, the environment, and Gustav LeBon's work (i.e., what might be called group hypnosis), has in part led me to advocate a car-free lifestyle. I've written an Open Letter to AU Colleagues advocating telecommuting because of its environmental and energy reduction benefits.