September 20, 2018 Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

Dr. Wendy Ellis and Dr. Lynda Hutchinson of the Department of Psychology attended the 126th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association in San Francisco from August 9-12, 2018.

The 2018 conference was attended by over 10,000 people. Dr. Ellis and Dr. Hutchinson were among 1,282 international presenters representing 68 countries.

Dr. Ellis had a poster presentation titled "Aggressive behaviour, popularity and peer group belonging in school-age children,” based on some of the work of her honor’s thesis student, Katherine Bigham.

“In this research, we took a closer look at why only some aggressive children have social and psychological difficulties and what it means to be popular,” Dr. Ellis explains. “These complex social relationships are extensively discussed in my course "Social Relationships in Childhood and Adolescence" (Psych 3781F/G). “

Dr. Hutchinson’s presentation involved understanding how academic tasks and practices can be used to support students' self-regulated learning (SRL).

“In particular, my research focused on describing how one teacher, in particular, built a community of learning (where students were sharing ideas and working collaboratively) in the classroom to promote learners' engagement in SRL. Also, the teacher was observed supporting, and tailoring many of her approaches to teaching towards SRL to suit the individual needs of her diverse and inclusive classroom,” she explains.

Dr. Hutchinson is teaching Psychology 1000, Educational Psychology 2610F, and Psychology 4891E. “In these courses, I apply SRL promoting tasks and practices regularly, and I especially strive to build a community of learning within classrooms,” Dr. Hutchinson explains.

The trip to San Francisco also allowed them to cross paths with a few King’s Honours Psychology alumni, now completing graduate research at universities across Canada. The photo is included in the banner for this story.

From left to right: Dr. Lynda Hutchinson, Ben Dantzer, 14 (UBC); Devon Trower, ‘15 (Western); Logan Ewanation, ‘14 (Carleton); Cassandra Trevisani, 15(Western); Dr. Wendy Ellis, Kelsey Losenno, 16 (McGill).