Pamelyn MacDonald

Contact Information

Pamelyn MacDonald

College: JFK School of Psychology and Social Sciences

Department: Psychology

pmacdonald@nu.edu

(480)253-4593


Education

University of Houston - PHD - Developmental Psychology
Dr. Pam MacDonald joined National University (previously Northcentral University) as a full-time faculty member in 2017 after teaching face-to-face and online for over 20 years. Pam is the Academic Program Director (APD) for the Child and Adolescent Developmental (CAD) psychology MS program and also the CAD Psych Internship coordinator. Pam teaches numerous courses in the one-to-one model and also chairs dissertation committees, serves as a Subject Matter Expert on dissertation committees, and regularly updates and develops new curriculum. Pam has an earned Doctorate in Developmental Psychology and a Master’s degree in Experimental Psychology. She has taught at the college level for over 30 years, including years spent as a Graduate Teaching Fellow at the University of Houston. Pam has been teaching online classes for about 17 years now. Online education has made remarkable advances during this time period! Pam has also chaired over 35 graduate thesis and dissertation committees during her career. Just prior to the merger, Pam served as a Faculty Laureate, co-chair of the SSBS diversity committee and a member of NCU’s University wide diversity committee and Inclusive Excellence Council. Pam has served as the assistant director of curriculum development for psychology, as interim program director for the BA Psychology program, and as a reviewer for the IRB (and as Chair of the IRB at another University). She is currently a member of several committees at NU. Pam’s research is in the area of program evaluation or in other words, evaluating the effectiveness of intervention programs. She designed one of the first empirical evaluations of equine facilitated therapy/learning in the United States and has worked with programs internationally. She is particularly interested in programs that intervene with at-risk youth. Pam has numerous publications and presentations on a variety of subjects in developmental psychology, with an emphasis on childhood and adolescence. Pam currently lives in Visalia, California and enjoys reading, cycling, hiking, weightlifting, live music, and watching her daughters play soccer.

Publications

  • Pamelyn MacDonald. (January 01, 2014). Departmental models of advising. Chapter in Academic Advising: A Handbook for Advisors and Students, Vol. 1.. Society for the Teaching of Psychology.

  • Pamelyn MacDonald. (January 01, 2011). Case studies: An effective means to promote students’ learning or a waste of class time?. Emporia State Research Studies.

  • Pamelyn MacDonald. (n.d.). Equine-facilitated therapy with "at-risk" youth. Does it work?. NARHA Strides.

  • Pamelyn MacDonald. (n.d.). A comparison of relational violence and trauma experienced by traditional and non-traditional college students. Under Review.

  • Pamelyn MacDonald. (n.d.). Assessment of Teenage Diaries for Teaching Concepts in Adolescent Psychology. Journal of Instructional Psychology.

  • Pamelyn MacDonald. (n.d.). Listening to Classical, Pop, and Metal Music: An Investigation of Mood. Emporia State Research Studies.

  • Pamelyn MacDonald. (n.d.). Three years of equine facilitated therapy with severely emotionally and behaviorally disturbed youth. Child & Youth Care Forum.

  • Pamelyn MacDonald. (n.d.). Reforming academia: Turning the ivory tower into a family friendly workplace.. Psychology of Women Quarterly.

  • Pamelyn MacDonald. (n.d.). The effects of adult supervision on children’s play. Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research.

  • Pamelyn MacDonald. (n.d.). Role of early testing and incentive on quiz performance in introductory psychology courses utilizing mastery learning.. Journal of Instructional Psychology.

  • Pamelyn MacDonald. (n.d.). The effectiveness of equine-facilitated psychotherapy with at risk adolescents. Journal of Psychology and the Behavioral Sciences.

  • Stewart, M.E., Mower, P., Mcmillen, D., Mccoy, M., Mccormick, P., Macdonald, P., Lalonde, D., Cook,. (n.d.). Faculty collaboration on Writing Across the Curriculum assignments: Linking teaching and scholarship. Language and Learning across the Disciplines.

  • Pamelyn MacDonald. (n.d.). Validation of facial expressions for emotion recognition in pre-school aged children. Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs.

  • Pamelyn MacDonald. (n.d.). Production of facial expressions of emotion in preschool children. Perceptual and Motor Skills.

  • Pamelyn MacDonald. (n.d.). Interpretations of facial expressions of emotion by sexually abused and non-abused girls. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse.

  • Pamelyn MacDonald. (n.d.). Performance on the Weschler intelligence scale for children as related to salivary testosterone in children with learning disabilities: A post-study analysis.. Perceptual and Motor Skills.

Presentations

  • (2022-04-04). The "Gift" of an A. San Francisco, California.
  • (2022-04-04). Processes and Outcomes of Enriching the Online Learning Experience through Applied Internships. San Francisco, California.
  • (2020-05-01). Teaching Diverse Students through Engagement in an Online Environment. Washington D.C..
  • (2020-01-01). Enrichment through Experience: Applied Internships in the Online World. Orange County, CA.
  • (2019-01-01). The Use of Academic Integrity Education in an Early Foundational Course to Assist Psychology Majors in Becoming Better Scholars and to Help Prevent Plagiarism. St. Pete Beach, Florida.
  • (2018-01-01). Teaching Students through Engagement in an Online Environment. St. Pete Beach, Florida.
  • (2014-05-01). The Efficacy of Equine Assisted Therapy in Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorde. San Antonio, Texas.
  • (2014-01-01). Best Practices in Online Teaching. Hays, Kansas.
  • (2013-06-01). The Relationship between Gender and Perceptions of Police Abuse of Authority. Fort Worth, Texas.
  • (2013-04-01). The Efficacy of Equine Assisted Therapy in Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Baldwin City, Kansas.
  • (2012-01-01). Sexual Attitudes: The Effect of Gender on Perception of Infidelity. Chicago, Illinois.
  • (2012-01-01). Evaluating Counselor Competency and Awareness of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues. Chicago, Illinois.
  • (2011-01-01). Evaluation of a Discussion Board Assignment in an Online Adolescent Psychology Course. San Antonio, Texas.
  • (2011-01-01). The Role of Evolutionary Psychology Theory on Bed Placement in College Students. San Antonio, Texas.
  • (2010-02-01). Understanding Infant Psychopathology: An Examination of Infant-Caregiver Relationships, Psychopathology, and Psychosocial Stressors. Dallas, Texas.
  • (2010-02-01). Overcoming obstacles in teaching students how to think critically: An instructional intervention. Dallas, Texas.
  • (2010-01-01). Tips for Applying to Graduate School.. Emporia, Kansas.
  • (2009-01-01). The effect of Teen Diaries as case studies on students’ learning. San Antonio, Texas.
  • (2009-01-01). Listening to classical, pop and metal music: An investigation of Mood. San Antonio, Texas.
  • (2008-03-01). Infant mental health: bridging the gap from research to clinical practice. Vancouver, Canada.
  • (2008-02-01). What can 350 infant cases tell us? Clinical evaluation, parent infant relationships and the zero-to-three classification. Yokohama, Japan.
  • (2008-01-01). Accurate assessment and deep understanding of concepts in adolescent psychology among college undergraduates: The use of case studies in a traditional and an online course. Pete Beach, Florida.
  • (2008-01-01). Getting ready for the job market with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Bellevue, Nebraska.
  • (2008-01-01). An exchange of ideas and activities to promote knowledge and relevance of course topics and student engagement in fully online psychology courses. Pete Beach, Florida.
  • (2008-01-01). Graduate school applications: Insider secrets. Bellevue, Nebraska.
  • (2007-01-01). Stereotypes about the Elderly: The Impressions of College Students enrolled in Introductory Psychology Courses. Boston, Massachusetts.
  • (2006-01-01). Tips for the Beginner: Online Education. Overland Park, Kansas.
  • (2004-11-01). Can equine facilitated learning benefit youth with severe emotional disorders? Three years of research.. Kansas City, Missouri.
  • (2004-11-01). Evaluation of an equine facilitated mental health program with youth from residential treatment homes. Kansas City, Missouri.
  • (2004-03-01). The effectiveness of equine-facilitated therapy with at-risk adolescents: A summary of empirical research across multiple centers and programs. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
  • (2002-05-01). EEL (Equine Experiential Learning) as a core curriculum for special education: Collaboration between a school, a university and a therapeutic riding center. Seattle, Washington.
  • (2002-04-01). Decade of prevention: Evaluating teen pregnancy prevention programs in Kansas from 1991-1999. New Orleans, Louisiana.
  • (2002-04-01). Program Evaluation of Teen Pregnancy Prevention. Washington D.C..
  • (2002-02-01). Developing evaluations for EFMH/EEL: A national study with Washburn University. Temple, New Hampshire.
  • (2001-11-01). Developing programs and evaluations of equine-facilitated mental health work: A case example of a collaboration between an operating center, an alternative education school, and a University. Tacoma, Washington.
  • (2001-11-01). Evaluations of the effectiveness of an equine experiential learning program with at-risk youth: Results from year one. Tacoma, Washington.
  • (2001-04-01). Program evaluation of the teen pregnancy prevention models in the state of Kansas. Minneapolis, Minnesota.
  • (2000-11-01). The effectiveness of an equine experiential learning program with at-risk youth: Quantitative and qualitative evidence. Bloomington, Minnesota.
  • (2000-04-01). Implementation and evaluation of mastery learning testing in introductory psychology. Miami, Florida.
  • (1999-08-01). Do mother-child interactions influence children's peer relationships? A comparison of adoptive and nonadoptive families. Minneapolis, Minnesota.
  • (1998-03-01). Developing multi-ethnic family studies on a shoestring: Emphasizing university-community collaborations. Galveston, Texas.
  • (1998-02-01). Mother child interactions and peer relationship quality: A test of genetic mediation. San Diego, California.
  • (1997-11-07). Developing multi-ethnic family studies on a shoestring: Emphasizing university-community collaborations. Lincoln, Nebraska.
  • (1995-03-01). Production of facial expressions of emotion in preschool children. Savannah, Georgia.
  • (1993-03-01). Validation of facial expressions for emotion recognition in pre-school aged children. Atlanta, Georgia.
  • (1990-03-01). The locus of sex differences in a visual vigilance task. Atlanta, Georgia.