Request for Feedback on APA’s National Standards for High School Psychology Curricula

Request for Feedback on APA’s National Standards for High School Psychology Curricula 

The National Standards for High School Psychology Curricula Working Group invites feedback on the National Standards (APA, 2011) to inform the next revision of the policy document.

 All high school psychology teachers are invited to complete a short survey available online here by July 1, 2018.

The Working Group will review all submitted feedback this fall as it begins to revise the psychology standards. The current National Standards, which expire in August 2021, define learning benchmarks for the high school psychology course.





The standards are available online at http://www.apa.org/education/k12/national-standards.aspx. Questions can be sent to topss@apa.org.



posted by Chuck Schallhorn

APA Annual Conference--HS Teacher Opportunities

Hi Everyone,

If you can, check out the offerings for the APA's annual convention. This year it is in San Francisco in August. If you are already out here, join us. Among other offerings, you can see me interview the great Paul Ekman. I still cannot believe that one. So check this out and register!

The following is excerpted from a letter by past-Chair of TOPSS, Kristin Whitlock, sent out to TOPSS members. Wonderful opportunities for teachers of high school psych!

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Dear Colleague, I am writing to encourage you to attend the annual American Psychological Association (APA) Convention, being held August 9-12, 2018, in San Francisco, CA. APA is a great opportunity to learn firsthand about current findings in psychological science, network with other high school psychology teachers, and meet noted psychologists.

Full Day Pre-Convention Workshop for Psychology Teachers 

On Wednesday, August 8, the APA Education Directorate is hosting a full day workshop for psychology teachers on metacognition, hard to teach topics in introductory psychology, and improving student well-being. The cost of this workshop is $40 to attend for TOPSS members; breakfast, lunch, and materials will be provided. Presenters are Elizabeth Yost Hammer, PhD, and Elliott Hammer, PhD, both of Xavier University of Louisiana, and Annette Jordan Nielsen of Woods Cross High School (Utah). For details and to register, please visit the workshop website. The application deadline is July 1. The workshop will be held at the San Francisco State University downtown campus. Space is limited, so we hope you will register soon.

 TOPSS Invited Speakers and Reception 

We are pleased to announce the TOPSS invited speakers at Convention. These sessions will all be held in the Moscone Convention Center:

• Elliot Hammer, PhD, Xavier University of Louisiana; Leveling the Field: Fostering Identification with School in all our Students; Friday, August 10, 3:00 – 3:50 PM, Moscone Center Room 206

• Paul Ekman, PhD, University of California, San Francisco; Lee Gurel Lecture: A Conversation with Dr. Paul Ekman; Saturday, August 11, 2:00 – 2:50 PM, Moscone Center Room 215 

• Linda Woolf, PhD, Webster University; Randal M. Ernst Lecture: Politics, Sex, Religion, and Rights: Controversial Topics in the Classroom; Saturday, August 11, 3:00 – 3:50 PM, Moscone Center Room 151 

There will also be a reception for high school psychology teachers on Friday, August 10, from 5:00-6:30 PM, at The Irish Bank, 10 Mark Lane, San Francisco, CA 94108. We hope you can join us for complimentary drinks and appetizers.

The APA Convention is an outstanding opportunity to learn about psychology and network with teachers and psychologists. You can choose from hundreds of sessions on psychology, including numerous plenary addresses on cutting edge research in the field at APA.

You can read about additional convention sessions for educators through the Society for the Teaching of Psychology website. You can read a high school teacher perspective on why the APA Convention is the “greatest professional development opportunity available” here.

If you are not the only psychology teacher at your school we hope you will share this information with your fellow psychology teachers. For more details and to register for convention, visit the APA Convention website. You can also register on-site. We hope to see you in August!

Sincerely,

Kristin H. Whitlock, MEd Davis High School,
Kaysville, UT
Past Chair, TOPSS
Chair, TOPSS 2017 Convention Programming





Office of Precollege and Undergraduate Education
The American Psychological Association
750 First Street, NE Washington, DC 20002-4242 202-572-3013
Email: topss@apa.org


posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Job Opening in China-great opportunity for the right person

This is the information for a job opening in China--it's a great opportunity for a person at a certain point in their lives. This info comes by way of Kay Minter.

Forgive the formatting--I copy/pasted from a forwarded email. :)

Job Description:

This is an amazing opportunity to live and work in Hangzhou China, the most beautiful garden city in China if you are the ONE we are looking for!

One of the top 4 high schools in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China is looking for a certified and experienced AP Biology and AP Psychology teacher.

The school is located downtown with convenient connection to train stations, airport and only a 5 minutes’ walk to the beautiful West Lake.  In 2012, the AP center was founded which is dedicated to educating and helping the top students in Hangzhou to further study in the eminent universities worldwide. The school highly emphasizes and values the teaching quality so that they think their teachers’ main responsibility is to maintain a high level of teaching quality and in the meantime keep being professional inside and outside classroom.

Job Requirement for AP Biology and AP Psychology Teacher（starting Sep 2018）: 

• Master’s Degree or Bachelor’s Degree with Teaching Certification; 
• Preferably 3‐5 years of teaching experience; 
• Must be able to teach AP level of AP Biology and AP Psychology at high school level. We strongly recommend that you have experience in teaching these subjects. 
• ELL or ESOL teacher training and/or experience is highly preferred; 
• Teachers who are very comfortable with technology are preferred  
• Proficiency in facilitating lab experiences for ELL/ESOL students. 
• Candidates must be able to successfully clear a criminal background check and provide official college degree. 
• The candidate should agree on a three month probation period. Details of the probation are listed in the contract.    Here we offer our expatriate teachers a very attractive compensation package and treat our teachers with great respect. 
• Our compensation varies based on related teaching experience and our evaluation based on your interviews.  
• The rough range is about 300,000 RMB to 350,000 RMB annually. If a teacher deserves higher pay than this range, the school has no problem about offering a higher salary. 
• 20000 RMB of contract completion bonus if the school is satisfied with the teacher    
• A housing reimbursement of 4000 RMB per month and 4500 RMB per month if you come with your family (which can usually cover the rent) 
• Reimbursement of the 2 flights: to our school and back to your home country  
• 3000 RMB of excess luggage fee or moving fee if you’re already in China 
• Comprehensive Insurance annually from an international insurance company.  
• 10 days of paid sick/personal leave;  5 days of Paid Bereavement Leave 
• One month of Paid Maternity Leave and 5 days of Paternity Leave

If you are interested, please send your resume and a cover letter to sinoized@gmail.com no later than May 11th 2018. 

posted by Chuck Schallhorn