All my occipital lobe can perceive is you, valentine

For Valentine's Day last week the students in my regular psychology class were challenged to make hearts for their sweethearts (real or imagined) that fit three criteria: they had to include a part of the brain, the unit we were studying; they had to include the function of that part; and they had to fit the style of normal valentines. I'm posting some of my favorites here. What do you think? Which one do you love? And how do you tie holidays into your classes?

--posted by Steve

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Research Conference Opportunity for HIgh School Researchers!

Pam Marek from Kennesaw State sent the following message to the PSYCHTEACH email list earlier this week, and gave us permission to repeat the announcement here. Looks like a great opportunity for high school researchers to present their work! The folks at Kennesaw are wonderful and I bet it would be a wonderful experience for any high school students and teachers who can make it to the conference.

"On behalf of the Psychology Department at Kennesaw State University, I am extending this direct invitation to you and your undergraduate or high school psychology students to join us at the 11th Georgia Undergraduate Research Conference in Psychology (GURP) on April 14, 2012. We are also inviting post baccalaureate students and junior graduate students in their first or second year of study. The one-day conference will be held in the new Social Sciences Building on the KSU campus in Kennesaw GA. We encourage you to promote this opportunity for students to present the results of their empirical research, either in poster form or as a paper presentation. We will be awarding prizes for the best paper and poster. Please email me for a 1-page Power Point file you might print out and use to advertise GURP to your students. The deadline for submitting abstracts for review is March 21, 2012. Further information about submissions, plus directions to the college, lodging, etc., is available at the GURP website, http://www.kennesaw.edu/gurp/. If you have any questions about the conference, please contact Adrienne Williamson, awill176@kennesaw.edu, Sharon Pearcey (our Department Chair), spearcey@kennesaw.edu, or email KSU's designated GURP account, gurp@kennesaw.edu."

posted by Rob McEntarffer

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New Neuroscience Video Resource

One of my long favorite sources for videos has been Learner.org, a site by the Annenberg Foundation that allows registered users to stream a variety of videos from a diverse set of topics.  I posted this blog back in 2009 to highlight some previous episodes available--I am reposting below.

Annenberg Media has a new offering for psychology teachers in 2012--a video course in the history of and how to better understand neuroscience called, "Neuroscience and the Classroom: Making Connections."  While I obviously love the "making connections" pun, I am looking forward to updating my knowledge of the brain and behavioral neuroscience.  Based solely on the descriptions, they appear to be very interesting.  The few I've watched are relatively dry, but extremely good for those of us learning or reviewing some basic content.  They seem to be much shorter and helpful for teachers--only some are for high school students--preview and see if you can use them.  The videos also contain closed captioning.

If neuroscience is a challenge for you, this site is a must!
Direct Link to the Video Series

===========================================================

From Annenberg Media

Discovering Psychology: Updated Edition

http://www.learner.org/resources/series138.html

The World of Abnormal Psychology (caution, this used 1992 DSM-III diagnoses)

http://www.learner.org/resources/series60.html

The Mind: Teaching Modules

http://www.learner.org/resources/series150.html

The Brain: Teaching Modules

http://www.learner.org/resources/series142.html

Seasons of Life (development)

http://www.learner.org/resources/series54.html

Growing Old in a New Age

http://www.learner.org/resources/series84.html

Death: A Personal Understanding

http://www.learner.org/resources/series108.html

From PBS

Dying to Be Thinhttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/thin/program_t.html

Life's Greatest Miracle
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/thin/program_t.html

Ape Genius
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/apegenius/program.html

PBS Frontline Viewing Portal--for all showshttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/view/

Inside the Teenage Brainhttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/view/

The Merchants of Cool
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/view/

American Experience--Jonestown and others
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/onlineFilms/theme/popculture/





posted by Chuck Schallhorn

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Happy Anniversary THSP Blog

Three years ago today, February 10, 2009, at exactly 12:21 pm, the first posting went up on the Teaching High School Psychology Blog. Since that day:

• over 730 postings have been made,
  
• the blog has gotten 320,000 hits with 605,000 pages viewed,
  
• 160 people have become followers,
  
• 635 people have subscribed to the blog and receive every posting via email,
• the THSP Blog has joined Twitter,
• an Amazon E-store has been added and
  
• much, much more.

Thanks to everyone who helped make the THSP Blog a success! Here's hoping for many years to come.

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Sternberg's Triangular Theory of Love

The days leading up Valentine's Day might be a good opportunity to talk about one of the only "psychological love theories" I've heard of: Sternberg's Triangular theory of Love. This summary is a good overview, I think (note: looks like the links in that citation aren't working).

I enjoyed asking my students to read the abstract of the Psychological review article and using that as a basis for a discussion about the theory and how well it "fits" their experiences AND what they learned in the social psychology chapter about attraction AND other sources of information.

Maybe students could make Valentines for the different kinds of love? Could be entertaining (and potentially dangerous ... :)

image credit: http://nathensmiraculousescape.wordpress.com/2011/05/31/sternbergs-love-typology/

posted by Rob McEntarffer

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Most Influential Superbowl Ads?

If your students are all abuzz about the superbowl ads from last night's game, you may be able to turn their conversation in a social psych. direction.

Students could analyze the ads for their potential to INFLUENCE (instead of just entertain :) Students could think about how the ads use social psych. compliance strategies (e.g. foot in the door, etc.) as well as look at the work of Cialdini. This list of research based strategies is a good place to start (I haven't read his book Influence, but I've heard great things about it!

posted by Rob McEntarffer

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TOPSS announcements

The latest and greatest information from the good folks at TOPSS (Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools). For further information about any of this, contact the wonderful Emily Leary at the APA: eleary@apa.org

APA TOPSS Scholars Essay Competition for High School Psychology Students

In the 2012 essay competition, students are asked to describe specific psychological concepts as they relate to the various ways a person might react to a natural disaster. There will be four winners, each of whom will receive a $250 award. Submissions must be made by March 5, 2012. For details, see http://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/topss/essay-competition.aspx.

National Survey of High School Psychology Teachers

Please take 20 minutes to take this APA survey, available online at

http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/684207/National-Survey-of-High-School-Psychology-Teachers. The survey will close March 1, 2012.

APA TOPSS Excellence in Teaching Awards

The purpose of the APA TOPSS Excellence in Teaching Awards is to provide an opportunity for TOPSS to recognize outstanding teachers in psychology. There will be up to three annual awards. Winners will receive a framed certificate, engraved award, cash prize of $500, High School Psychology Video Toolkit DVD, and a free TOPSS membership or renewal for the 2013 membership year. The Toolkit DVD has been generously donated by Worth Publishers. The submission deadline is March 15, 2012. For details, see http://www.apa.org/about/awards/teaching-excellence.aspx.

APF Professional Development Awards for High School Psychology Teachers

The purpose of these awards is to help high school psychology teachers travel to and attend regional or national teaching and/or psychology conferences; applicants may be awarded up to $500. The application deadline is April 15, 2012; visit http://www.apa.org/apf/funding/professional-topss.aspx for details.

APF High School Psychology Teacher Network Grants

The purpose of these awards is to support the development of local and regional networks of psychology teachers and to support a local or regional teaching workshop or conference for high school psychology teachers. APF will award $2,000 in grants in 2012. The application deadline is May 1, 2012; visit http://www.apa.org/apf/funding/psychology-teacher-network.aspx for details.

APF 2012 Pre-College Psychology Grant Program

This grant program which provides financial support for efforts aimed at improving the quality of education in psychological science and its application in the secondary schools. The deadline for applications is May 1, 2012; visit http://www.apa.org/apf/funding/pre-college.aspx for details.

Mark your calendar!

The 8^th annual APA/Clark University Workshop will be held in the summer of 2012 in Worcester, MA (dates TBD), and the annual APA Convention will be held in Orlando, FL, August 2-5, 2012. We hope you will make plans to apply for the Clark Workshop and attend Convention! Please look for details in the Psychology Teacher Network newsletter and on the TOPSS website.

National Standards for High School Psychology Curricula (APA, 2011)

The revised National Standards provide a framework for teachers and others to use to craft introductory psychology courses for high school students, and are available online at http://www.apa.org/education/k12/national-standards.aspx.

TOPSS Membership

Please remember to renew your membership with TOPSS! To renew, visit http://www.apa.org/membership/renew.aspx. If you are not already a member, we hope you will join today. Dues are $50 per year, and membership includes subscriptions to the Psychology Teacher Network newsletter, the monthly APA Monitor on Psychology magazine, the American Psychologist journal, and the Educator newsletter. TOPSS membership also includes access to TOPSS unit lesson plans. To join, visit the TOPSS website at http://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/topss/index.aspx.

APA seeks comments on revised ethical guidelines for high school research projects The Committee on Human Research (CHR) of the American Psychological Association (APA) is seeking comments from the broad scientific community on the draft revision of the APA Guidelines for Ethical Conduct of Behavioral Projects Involving Human Participants by High School Students (the Guidelines) – see http://www.apa.org/science/leadership/research/hs-guidelines.pdf.

posted by Rob McEntarffer

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Big Think and Psychology Resources

For some time now, I have been receiving regular emails from a web site called "Big Think."  While the site contains content ranging from economics, technology, style, culture, history, and more, it also contains neuroscience, psychology, and identity.

Like TED, the site contains videos from experts, but they are more individual and up-close.  These videos typically occur within longer blogs related to a variety of topics, the best of which relate to psychology and neuroscience.  I will link to some favorites below.  Because the videos are short, they can be wonderful additions to what we do in the class, to have another person (read: expert) explain an idea that we'd like to get across to our students.  Additionally, the content creates a wonderful little professional development opportunity for we teachers.

Science and Technology Link Page
Brain Bugs: Hallucinations, Forgotten Faces, and Other Cognitive Quirks (with V.S. Ramachandran)
How ADHD Affects the Brain
This is Your Brain During Orgasm
Your Storytelling Brain (with Michael Gazzaniga)



There are so many other stories and content that are fascinating, I recommend taking some time to explore.  It is well worth it.


posted by Chuck Schallhorn

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Another disturbing educational trend

This morning I read Kristin's post on Michael Mendillo's trashing of high school courses - of course, only after I spent time using the Hubble Space Telescope -- and just sighed when I followed her link to read the original column and the comments there. It seems so fashionable to bash teaching of all kinds these days, to look for ways to get rid of all these "bad" teachers and replace them with all the "good" ones that are apparently just standing in lines all over the country, ready to swoop in. Or inevitably someone will offer another solution, invoking an entity like Khan Academy and say heck, we just need to have one guy making videos about everything and that will solve the whole problem (something that former Harvard president Larry Summers suggested in this morning's New York Times).

So it was with that jaundiced perspective that I read a press release from the Rapid Learning Center, an organization I was unaware of until my AP Psychology Google News alert popped up in my inbox. The release highlighted RLC's "expansion into the behavioral sciences with the introduction of a new course for AP Psychology." What is this new course, you ask? Why it's the latest in their series of courses that promise that you can "teach yourself the entire course in 24 hours."

Yes, people, AP Psych in 24 hours. Here's what they offer for $199:

1. 24 Rich-Media Tutorials (Chapter Movies)
   Core concept tutorials with on-screen visualization and expert narration via our signature Rapid Learning System.
   
2. 24 Problem-Solving Quizzes (Interactive Drills)
   Feedback-based problems with a scoring system to track performance and complete solution to reivew concepts.
   
3. 24 Super-Review Cheat Sheets (PDF Printables)
   One cheat sheet per chapter and all key concepts in an at-a-glance single sheet, both printable and laminable, ideal for exam prep and quick review.
4. 24 Printable eBooks
   One eBook per chapter, a print version of the tutorial video for easy-to-read
5. 24 MP3 AudioBooks
   One AudioBook per chapter for learning-on-the-go on any MP3 player or smart phone.

What you can see online for free is their AP Course Guidebook (PDF) and the AP Psychology tutorial, which appears to be a narrated PowerPoint for the whole course. I'm hardly an objective party, but that tutorial is sad. There may be a future enterprise that makes me realize that my days in a classroom are numbered because some product does it better than I do, but this isn't it. I found the Guidebook to be startlingly similar to parts of the Myers Psychology textbook, but I didn't see any sort of link to any other publishing company in the About page on the RLC site.

The tutorial just seems very boring - a monotonous voice reading mediocre text alongside minimal graphics. I didn't view all of the slides, but the ones I did see were painful. Here are some of the things I learned from them:

• To make a mnemonic, write down a list of words, take the first letter and create a sentence. So "to remember the various subfields in psychology - Biological Developmental Cognitive Personality Social - [use the mnemonic] But Do Cats Play Soccer."
• "If you cram too much information and make yourself nervous the night before the exam, you might get into a 'mental indigestion.'"
• When taking the test, "apply techniques to eliminate incorrect answers."

At best it's the online version of a mediocre AP review book, but at up to $199 it's far more expensive. I'd be interested to know if anyone else has ever heard of this company (I hadn't until today) and what your thoughts are if you check out the guidebook and tutorial. As for me, I'm heading back to the telescope to address dark-energy issues if you'd like to join me. I'm hoping not to develop mental indigestion.

--posted by Steve

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Stop Letting High-School Courses Count for College Credit

A friend sent this link to a piece in the Chronicle of Higher Education entitled, "Stop Letting High School Courses Count for College Credit." For you A.P. Psychology teachers, I thought you might find Michael Mendillo's perspective interesting. I found it alarming. His basic premise is that high school courses cannot provide the richness of experience or expertise that is found at the college level. Here is a passage from the article:

"Lost to these nonscience students is an exposure to cutting-edge science and the methods of science taught by professors active on a daily basis in their exploration of nature. In how many AP classes in high school does the physics instructor say, "At the last American Physical Society meeting, one of my students presented a paper on this very topic"? Or, in an astronomy class, "My upcoming observations using the Hubble Space Telescope will address this dark-energy issue"? Identical scenarios exist, of course, for science and engineering students who miss out on university-level introductions to the humanities and social sciences taught by active scholars in those areas."

The problem I have is that he is assuming that all college faculty are "active scholars." I don't mean any disrespect to college faculty, but not everyone is teaching general education courses at a research institution or has the opportunity to look "through the Hubble telescope" as it were. It also seems that many general education classes are taught by adjunct professors or lecturers that may not be engaged in the type of scholarship that he is describing.


If you have time, you'll find the link to this article below. I'd be interested in your thoughts of Michael Mendillo's position of the value of Advanced Placement courses in high school.

http://chronicle.com/article/Stop-Letting-High-School/130183/















Kristin H. Whitlock

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