How a University of Toronto Lecturer is Redefining Cognitive Psychology
180+
students enrolled in Introduction to Cognitive Psychology per semester
10+
years teaching with Top Hat
The Challenge
Turning abstract cognitive theory into fun and meaningful lessons
For more than a decade, Christine Burton has taught undergraduate psychology courses at the University of Toronto, specializing in cognition—a subject she describes as deeply theoretical and, at times, difficult for students to connect with in a meaningful way. Teaching Introduction to Cognitive Psychology with enrollments of up to 180 students alongside smaller upper-year seminars, Burton faced the ongoing challenge of making abstract cognitive theories feel relatable and interesting. “The biggest challenge is addressing boredom in class,” she explains. “There’s a lot of theory, a lot of complex manipulations that are done to infer various processing models…not everyone enjoys thinking that way.”
Before adopting Top Hat, Burton experimented with several teaching tools in an effort to make her classroom more interactive. Her course previously relied on a web-based platform where students completed assignments outside of class, which disconnected the experiential learning from lecture content. She later incorporated physical clickers to increase participation, but found them limiting. “Students had to buy a device. They were slow and I still didn’t get the information I wanted,” Burton said. Most importantly, the available tools only provided aggregate class averages rather than individual student responses, preventing her from recreating the experience of conducting real psychological research. “I really wanted students to be able to have the experience of running through a whole piece of research from beginning to end,” she noted. “I couldn’t do that if I didn’t have individual responses.”
School background
The University of Toronto’s St. George campus is one of Canada’s leading research and teaching institutions, recognized globally for its academic excellence and innovative learning environment. Located in the heart of downtown Toronto, the campus serves a diverse student population across a wide range of disciplines, including psychology, cognitive science, and the social sciences.
About the professor
Christine Burton is a Sessional Lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto’s St. George campus, where she has taught undergraduate cognition and aging courses for more than 10 years. Known for her interactive teaching style and focus on cognitive psychology, Burton is also a co-author of Top Hat’s Cognitive Psychology textbook, helping students connect complex psychological theories to real-world research and experimentation.
Christine Burton Sessional Lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto, St. George
The Solution
Transforming lectures into live cognitive psychology experiments with Top Hat
Burton ultimately turned to Top Hat as a way to bring active experimentation directly into the classroom and bridge the gap between theory and practice. Rather than using Top Hat continuously throughout lectures, she strategically incorporates dedicated “Top Hat time” into every class session. During these activities, students participate in simplified versions of published cognitive psychology experiments by responding to prompts, stimuli, memory tasks and rating exercises directly within the platform. “I tell them to act as though you’re a participant in an experiment,” Burton explained. “We’re going to try to replicate this as best we can and in exchange, they get a participation grade in Top Hat.” By adapting real research studies into classroom exercises, students experience firsthand how cognitive theories are developed through experimentation.
Outside the classroom, Burton leverages Top Hat’s data capabilities and custom textbook tools to deepen student learning long after lectures end. By downloading individual student response data from in-class experiments, she’s able to conduct statistical analyses that students later compare against the findings of published cognitive psychology research. This process gives students a firsthand look at how researchers collect, analyze and interpret behavioral data. “Having the individual data from each student…really is what sets Top Hat apart from anything else,” Burton explained. In addition, Burton uses her fully customizable and interactive Cognitive Psychology textbook within Top Hat to tailor course content to her exact teaching goals. She regularly adds, removes and adapts material while incorporating embedded questions and homework exercises that reinforce key concepts and help students identify gaps in their understanding. “Students appreciate that I can customize the book to only include the material that we cover in the course and will be testable. It helps reduce their anxiety to know everything they read is relevant to the course,” she shares. Her colleagues have also taken note of the textbook’s engaging and interactive nature. “Anecdotally, I’ve had other lab managers reach out to ask about the textbook since their students speak so highly about it in Top Hat,” Burton reflects.
Burton has also found that being able to take advantage of in-person Top Hat support, given that the company is headquartered in Toronto, has been what she describes as a “mutually beneficial” relationship. She’s received quick, on-demand technical support while providing the Top Hat team with how students most commonly use the engagement features available.
The Results
Driving stronger attendance, deeper engagement and stronger confidence
Since implementing Top Hat, Burton has observed a noticeable improvement in classroom engagement and attendance. Students are more motivated to attend lectures because the learning experience feels more participatory and dynamic. “Students like coming to class more. Top Hat lends itself to quick demonstrations and really increases that engagement beyond raised hands in class,” she says proudly. While only six percent of the final grade is directly tied to Top Hat participation and homework, the platform’s activities also support larger assignments that collectively account for 30 percent of the course grade. Burton noted that the interactive structure helps break up dense material and creates a more inviting classroom environment where students feel comfortable participating and asking questions.
The impact has extended beyond attendance alone. Burton has received overwhelmingly positive student feedback about both the interactive classroom activities and the Top Hat textbook experience. Students frequently report that the activities help them better understand complex cognitive theories and even inspire greater interest in the field itself. “I get lots of emails saying how much the interactivity really helped them understand,” Burton says. “It made them become interested in the field of cognition and they want to learn more about it.” She also credits Top Hat with making her own teaching more creative and enjoyable. “It has generally lightened the mood in the class,” she says. “Top Hat has helped me form a more fun classroom with zero walls between me and my students.”
“Top Hat has helped me form a more fun classroom with zero walls between me and my students.”
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