A response to Hartley

would seem to depend upon, among other things, learning, memory, perception, thinking, motivation, individual differences, social factors, motivation and many more terms that feature in basic textbooks of Psychology. Psychologists ought, therefore, to know a great deal about the basics of teaching. Hence my title. James Hartley begins with some reminiscences of his early days teaching Psychology, and I will accordingly indulge myself similarly. In passing, I adopt Graham Richards’ useful distinction of upper case – Psychology – for the discipline, and lower – psychology – for the subject matter of that discipline. I further distinguish the discipline, the body of problems, methods and knowledge, from the subject, a selection of material and resources for purposes of dissemination, teaching, examining and so on, and from the profession, those who practice, both academically and otherwise. If this is familiar I apologise. But to resume. My first lecturing post, in 1964–1965, was at Enfield College of Technology (now the University of Middlesex). Such colleges offered a range of courses, often up to degree level and occasionally above.) The main work was to prepare students for the external BA General of the University of London, in which three subjects were taken for three years. The very specific syllabus and examinations were the responsibility of the London Board of Studies in Psychology, which then covered, and was constituted from, the internal schools. At Enfield we had absolutely no input, it was like doing an A-level. I and two colleagues shared a room with a technician, where planning, seminars and instrument repairs went on together or in turn. To equip us for our duties we were each supplied with one ring binder and two ball pens. As a matter of fact, this situation was rather a good introduction to teaching. The objective was clear, the students keen, syllabus and timetables provided, and there was little or no academic administration to bother with, nor interference in what we actually taught. The way we did it was, more or less, the way we ourselves had been taught. There were many other problems, too bizarre to recount here. I have told the story for the British Psychological Society Oral History project, and a written version is also available.