Elizabeth Ligon Bjork

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Driven by the goal to, in her words, “make students active participants in the learning process,” UCLA Psychology Professor Elizabeth Bjork has created and implemented groundbreaking teaching programs. Her work, she says, is fueled largely by her idea that students should be immersed in the research methods that are the foundation for creating knowledge. Bjork developed Psychology 100B, a course on research methods that introduces students to the basic principles of the scientific method and provides them with firsthand experience on how those principles are used to investigate research questions in psychology. Bjork’s course combines theory and practice, arming students with the tools needed to critically evaluate research findings. One student writes, “The skills I learned in Psychology 100B will be valuable to my future. I plan to be a pharmacist … and I intend to use my research skills to understand and assess medical literature.”

Psychology 100B is now a required class for all students pursuing psychology, cognitive science or psychobiology. More than a thousand students take the course each year, and it has been singled out by the Workgroup on Strategic Planning for College Counseling as a model preparatory course. Bjork’s class has become the model for research method courses throughout the U.S., Europe and Canada.

Since 1993, Bjork has served both as a member and chair of the Teaching Assistant Training Committee. She also has served as the UCLA Psychology Department’s undergraduate vice chair and as chair of its Undergraduate Affairs committee, where her focus on curriculum building has led to the creation of a new major in cognitive science, minors in applied developmental psychology and cognitive science, and a computing specialization in psychology.

A graduate of the University of Florida and the University of Michigan, Bjork is instrumental in implementing the Psychology Undergraduate Research Conference (PURC). Under her guidance for 16 years, this annual event has grown from about 40 to more than 100 participants, representing around 20 colleges and universities. PURC offers a profound learning experience for students while also acknowledging the critical role that undergraduates play in their schools’ research missions. The conference is one of the many student experiences fueled by Bjork’s belief that “actively involving students in their own learning is the best way to inspire intellectual curiosity.”