Friday, November 28, 2014

TV Alert: Sleepless in America on National Geographic

This Black Friday morning, I am watching tv, surfing the web, and avoiding crowds.  I found this commercial about an upcoming show related to sleep.
The website says:
In an unprecedented partnership, NGC along with The Public Good Projects and NIH, America’s foremost scientific authority, will draw the nation’s attention to the science of sleep — a topic fundamental to our collective well-being.
The link to the site with several other video clips is here: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/drain-the-bermuda-triangle/videos/sleepless-in-america-trailer/
Topics include highway hypnosis, sleep deprivation, sleep after combat, fatigue, and more.

The episodes airs at 8 pm and 11 pm Eastern, 5 pm  and 8 pm Pacific time.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn



Monday, November 24, 2014

Pinterest and Psychology-Amazing Resources

I was recently sick and had too much time to use my iPad.  I went back and looked at my Pinterest app and discovered some amazing things.

One person in particular, Francesca Mura, a person from Italy, has an incredibly detailed set of "pins" organized into a variety of "boards." Check out her collections here. Boards are kind of like folders and Pins are like bookmarks, but they can be organized in whichever way you would like.  You can Pin sites, infographics, and more.  Even if you are not into recipes, DIY projects, wedding pictures, and the other stereotypes of Pinterest users, there is still some amazing content out there.  I have selected a few accounts I follow about both psychology, technology, and education.

Pinterest on Apple Products: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pinterest/id429047995?mt=8
For Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pinterest&hl=en


Here is a screenshot of a tiny bit of what you can find on just her page--she has at least eight times this number of boards:


If you are anything like me, you could easily get lost for hours on this site.  Enjoy. There are so many class-worthy ideas on this site.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Sunday, November 23, 2014

NCSS 2014 - Psychol-a-palooza!

THANKS to the fantastic, dedicated folks at the NCSS Psychology community for another GREAT set of psychology sessions at the NCSS convention!

Below are a few notes from the sessions I was able to attend. Apologies to presenters who I wasn't able get to see.

As you can tell by the notes, NCSS is one of the best conferences psychology teachers can attend - thanks to all the presenters!


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Friday 10:00, Hillary and Pete, Mindfulness Revolution

What is mindfulness? Being present in the moment, awareness, directed attention (we’d like this for our students!)

The opposite of mindfulness is thinking, judgment, multi-tasking - anything not relevant to what is happening here and now

Bio-psychology of mindfulness
Applications for mindfulness in the classroom
The Mindful classroom 


Keith Maddox Tufts University, 1:00 Friday “Discovering Bias: Challenges and Opportunities for Organizational diversity” 

Trying to translate lab research into practical implications

Definitions
Who is biased
    GREAT implicit associations demonstration using slides without technology! REALLY effective
how bias affects us
    confirmation bias and attributional bias 
    stereotype threat
    attributional ambiguity
conclusion
    potential strategies - we don’t want to be bias but we know we are 
                      DON’T try to be colorblind - not realistic
                      DON’T try suppression - will come back to haunt you
                      DO increase your awareness - make implicit processes explicit
                                        acknowledge, recognize, and strategize


Maria Vita: APA/TOPSS Psychology Standards: Deepening Scientific Inquiry & Literacy
See the whole presentation at http://ncss2014.wikispaces.com/ - great use of wikispaces as a presentation tool!
·      Connections between the APA High School Psychology standards and the C3 framework – inquiry!
·      Examples:
o   movement feature detectors – sensation or perception?
o   Is everything lost when it comes to Alzheimer's or dementia?
o   What is life like with only one hemisphere?


Rob McEntarffer – Responsive psychology
Argument for using response systems to check for understanding
·      The index card test
·      Examples of response systems
o   Poll everywhere
o   Kahoot
o   Socrative
o   EdPuzzle
o   Plicker
o   Pear Deck


Charlie Blair-Broeker Memory:

remote associates test

in the old days, there were literally no resources, now there is a barrage

Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning McDaniel, Roediger
Opening Demo for memory unit – 107!
Deep processing task 
Moonwalking with Einstein: The art and science of remembering everything - Foer
Loftus constructed memory replication
All purpose memory demo

Alan Feldman and Rob McEntarffer - Reading Psychology
Conversations about books that might be interesting/useful for high school psychology teachers
  • Perry - Behind the Shock Machine
  • Haidt - The Righteous Mind
  • Eagleman - Incognito
  • Show and tell with Alan! 



posted by Rob McEntarffer

Friday, November 21, 2014

How to Think Like a Psychologist

One of my favorite sites to find free things is "Open Culture" at http://www.openculture.com/

I had bookmarked a site I wanted to share with everyone.  I have already written about Jane McGonigal and her TED talk about gaming.  Her twin sister, Dr. Kelly McGonigal has complied a continuing studies course called, "How to Think Like a Psychologist" available on iTunes.  This link takes you to the Open Culture write-up of the course:
http://www.openculture.com/2014/02/how-to-think-like-a-psychologist-a-free-online-course-from-stanford.html

The iTunes web link to the course is here:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/how-to-think-like-psychologist/id513506131?mt=10&ign-mpt=uo%3D8

As you can see from the screenshot, there are other podcasts available for the psychology aficionado.


posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Thursday, November 20, 2014

The Brain From Top to Bottom: McGill University


Kent first posted about this site back in 2009, but it has been updated and is worth a visit for those teaching or learning neuroscience.  For an amazingly detailed site that has various levels and topics dealing with neuroscience, it would likely take hours (or a full-year course) to utilize all its content.

So check out: http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/avance.php if you would like to have a great resource for your kids doing research (or for you as well).



posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Monday, November 17, 2014

What's your favorite psychology book? Help us out with suggestions!

Alan Feldman and I (Rob McEntarffer) get to chat with psychology teachers at the National Council of Social Studies (NCSS) conference during a session focused on books high school psychology teachers love/use. We'd like to make a "bibliography" of books, and we'd love your help!

Please answer this short survey. Note: Your responses will be shared anonymously during our presentation, made available for other psychology teachers (via a permanent URL address) and will be shared with the excellent blog http://booksforpsychologyclass.weebly.com/blog.

Reading Psychology: Books for High School Psychology Teachers

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1dSRHsUy5aOxMAKdJgrYzP07qadqGBoSlIKA2OFOy4ZM/viewform


posted by Rob McEntarffer

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Request for Suggestions

Hello Everyone,

I received a great question from one of my US Government students today.  He wanted to know if I could give him a list of books (top 5) in psych to give him a good overview of the field.  He mentioned Freud (and to be honest, I internally cringed). While I have my personal favorites, I would love to hear from you all.

What recommendations do you have?  What are the best books about psych for a non-psych person to get acquainted with our field?  You can post in the comments or email me at schallhornpsych @ gmail.com

I look forward to hearing from many of you. I will compile the list and publish in a few weeks.

Thanks in advance,

Chuck Schallhorn

Saturday, November 8, 2014

What do I do now? Mental Health Referral


Here's some information from the site.

The acronym “REFER” can be a guide for the mental health referral process.
  • Recognize - what’s going on in this situation ?
  • Extend knowledge - learn more
  • Facilitate a conversation - start talking
  • Evaluate the experience - how did things go?
  • Revise and revisit - continue the conversation with follow up as needed
Mental health issues often come to light in the course of a psychology class whether related to self, friends, teammates, or family.  Students understand that they are not mental health professionals and they can help by making a referral, but how do you really initiate the referral conversation?

The NCAA has funded research and programs to support mental health for athletes and this interactive website demonstrates several real life situations and possible outcomes.  It typically takes students about 20 minutes to go through the site, and efficacy for making a referral is increased. Probably the most useful sections of the site are the two below, which come up as you enter the site.  "What would you do?" follows several steps and conversations between two athletes.




For a variety of different situations, have a look at the these:



There is also some basic information and links to professional organizations for more information on other parts of the site.The NCAA holds its annual meeting in January, and if this site is helpful to you or your students, your positive feedback is most welcome! Please comment on the blog or email me directly ndiehl@hkis.edu.hk

posted by Nancy Diehl

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Brain Games--National Geographic Series

I could have sworn I had posted about this before, but perhaps I had just created a false memory based upon mental repetition of the intent to do so.

If you have not seen these shows, they are fantastic.  The first season begins with hour-long episodes. Seasons two, three, and four have half hour episodes, but each one runs 22 minutes.  The segments are as varied as psychology itself, but ultimately, you will have one of the best resources you can imagine.

Demonstrations I used to create for class or had on old VHS video are now all in high resolution and prepared professionally by editors and graphic artists.  I must say, I am a huge fan of this show. Below are links for you to order them from Amazon.com.  I have seasons 1-3 and have preordered season 4 since I have watched them on tv.  Simply great tv and great psych.  For me, seasons two and three were excellent, but one got me hooked.  Check them out.  You will not regret it.  This is great for both regular and AP Psych.









posted by Chuck Schallhorn



Exercise and the Brain Video

One of my students found this short video on exercise and the brain.  I enjoyed the narration because it so closely mirrors my own in class. There are lots of brain and bio connections made.  Just lots of good stuff.



posted by Chuck Schallhorn




Tuesday, November 4, 2014

One Minute Video on Taste--Ask Smithsonian

A nice one minute video on taste buds and explaining away the old taste bud map we've all seen.  You know, the one that was misread from a 1901 study and reprinted in biology and psychology texts for decades?

Anyway, this is a nice one-minute into to the chemosenses.


posted by Chuck Schallhorn



Monday, November 3, 2014

Sleep Videos--Wow! I Had No Idea There Were This Many!

My kids are doing a project on the brain and related topics and creating infographics (more on that in a later post).  One group found some amazing videos on sleep.  Here they are.  Enjoy.


























posted by Chuck Schallhorn