Teaching High School Psychology

Another disturbing educational trend

2012-01-22T10:35:00.000-08:00

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:

24 Rich-Media Tutorials (Chapter Movies)
Core concept tutorials with on-screen visualization and expert narration via our signature Rapid Learning System.
24 Problem-Solving Quizzes (Interactive Drills)
Feedback-based problems with a scoring system to track performance and complete solution to reivew concepts.
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.
24 Printable eBooks
One eBook per chapter, a print version of the tutorial video for easy-to-read
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

Stop Letting High-School Courses Count for College Credit

2012-01-20T14:19:00.000-08:00

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

Using motivation with students - and a great motivator for teachers

2012-01-17T08:46:00.000-08:00

Two big fans of high school psychology: Dr. Lee Gurel and Dr. Nancy Budwig (Clark University)

My favorite part* of writing this blog is when I get feedback from readers who enjoy reading the site regularly, so I was thrilled last year when I learned that Dr. Lee Gurel looks forward to reading THSP in his inbox each day that we publish. If you don't know who Dr. Gurel is - and you should - he's an amazingly generous man who is a big fan of high school psychology and who has contributed his time and resources to fund a number of amazing programs from the APA/Clark University workshop each summer to revisions of the TOPSS lesson plans to funding for travel so that teachers can attend conferences and workshops. He is a great motivator for high school psychology teachers! For more on Lee Gurel, check out this nice interview with him (Giving Back to Education) in the June 2010 issue of the APA Monitor.

So I was thrilled to open my inbox last week and find an e-mail from Dr. Gurel with a tip for me - a link to a guest post in the New York Times Learning Network from teacher Larry Ferlazzo on student motivation. I have read Mr. Ferlazzo many times on technology issues, but I didn't know he was a social studies teacher and I'm now wondering if he teaches psychology! His column is about ways to build intrinsic motivation, and he includes references to the work of:

Edward Deci and Dan Pink on motivation
Carol Dweck on mindset
Walter Mischel and Jonah Lehrer on the marshmallow experiment
Roy Baumeister on self-control

Check out Ferlazzo's column and share your thoughts in the comments below. And thanks again, Lee, for the great tip!
--posted by Steve

*P.S. Okay, it's my second favorite - my favorite is getting fabulous ideas from my fellow psychology teachers!

Resources for mastering APA style

2012-01-16T11:36:00.000-08:00

In response to a member's query, a few members of the PsychTeacher listserv* shared some excellent resources about APA Style and I wanted to pass them on. Honestly, I was surprised that we haven't posted something like this before, but I couldn't find anything similar in the archives.

Here are the resources:

APA Style at the Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) - a terrific resource for anything to do with writing, and this APA Style Overview and Formatting Guide look great. (posted by Tammy Steiner
The Basics of APA Style - an excellent Adobe Presenter tutorial with an audio narration from the APA. Note: be prepared that the audio will begin when the page loads, but you can skip to the next slide before the narration is complete. (posted by Joanne Zinger of UC Irvine)
Writing in APA Style - this great PowerPoint that Dr. Zinger uses in her method course takes a step-by-step approach to APA formatting and citations. Dr. Zinger encourages you to use the PowerPoint and edit/revise as necessary.

After I found these resources I stumbled on some other sites at the APA to share, such as the APA Style Blog, APA Style Frequently Asked Questions, APA Style on Twitter, and of course a link to purchasing the APA Style Manual itself. If you have another favorite resource, please share it in the comments!

--posted by Steve

*P.S. Want to know how to join the PsychTeacher listserv? Check it out here!

Get the scoop on Twitter and Psychat

2012-01-11T18:05:00.000-08:00

I am delighted to share this guest post with you. I met Heather last year on Twitter and was thrilled to meet her face-to-face at the National Social Studies Conference in DC last month. Take it away, Heather!

Heather (@irishteach) on the right, with the extraordinary Charlie Blair-Broeker (@ctbb) on the left, at the 2011 NCSS Conference)

Hi, I'm Heather and I teach high school psychology and sociology in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago. At the NCSS conference, I told Steve and Rob, I would love to do a guest blog post about #psychat.

A few years ago, I was introduced to the social media site Twitter, but I didn’t do much with it. That all changed once I learned about the hashtag (back in the 20th century it was called the pound sign #). The hashtag unites groups of people on Twitter who want to talk about anything from sports to elections to teaching! Through reading some teacher blogs and a few Google searches, I discovered that teachers are collaborating on Twitter all day long! Teachers are using the hashtags #sschat, #edtech and #edchat among many others to exchange valuable information and build a personal learning network (PLN).

The #sschat, social studies chat, is really what motivated me to use Twitter as a teacher. Every Monday night at 7pm EST social studies teachers from across the country use the #sschat hashtag to have content and pedagogy discussions. If you teach other social studies courses besides psychology, you should check out #sschat The group also has a NING in which they archive chats and are planning an Ed Camp in Philly on March 24th of this year. The #sschat hashtag is what really led to #psychat, you could say we are somewhat of spinoff.

So, what is #Psychat? It is a hashtag that psychology teacher’s and anyone else passionate about psych can use on Twitter to collaborate, share links, ideas, resources and ask questions!

On Thursday nights at 8pm EST is when #psychat has their live chats on Twitter. We start with a brief intro to who we are and then we tweet about the topic for the night. Last week we discussed teaching psychology with technology, which was Jen Schlicht's idea. As a group of psych teachers we discussed students creating blogs, podcasts, Prezis and videos. The teachers using #psychat would love to have more people join us as we work together in a live format.

If you cannot make it on Thursday nights to chat with the #psychat crowd, you can use the hashtag anytime you want to share Psychology content. Many people follow it and tweet throughout the week using #psychat. They tweet articles, videos, and questions from teachers and students about psychology.

You should come check out Twitter and join the excellent group of teachers who use #psychat to improve their teaching. All you have to do is sign up for Twitter, write a short 160 character bio about yourself and start tweeting. Just make sure to type in #psychat so that other psychology teachers will see your tweet.

And for our visual learners, courtesy of social studies teacher, Shawn McCusker:

Thanks for reading!
-Heather Kilgallon
(Oh and you can follow me on Twitter by clicking my name above)

--posted by Steve

I never thought how they were made - Mr Daisey and the Apple Factory

2012-01-11T14:09:00.000-08:00

I highly recommend listening to This American Life in general, but the most recent episode is just a terrific piece that I'd love for you all to listen to as well as your students. "Mr Daisey and the Apple Factory" is a piece in which - well, here's the overview from the TAL website:

Mike Daisey performs an excerpt that was adapted for radio from his one-man show "The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs." A lifelong Apple superfan, Daisey sees some photos online from the inside of a factory that makes iPhones, starts to wonder about the people working there, and flies to China to meet them.

It's a great example of cognitive dissonance, as Daisey comes to terms with how his actions impact people on the other side of the world, people he never thought about and at one point he even admits that he thought cool tech toys were made by robots. But don't let the fact that it's completely appropriate to be used as an assignment keep you from listening to it just for your own increased mindfulness. I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

--posted by Steve

Student Tweets about AP Psychology

2012-01-11T00:31:00.000-08:00

At the 2011 NCSS convention in Wasington , D.C., Kristin Whitlock, Steve Jones and I got to talk with teachers about the use of this blog. Steve did the heavy lifting on the presentation (thanks again Steve!), and Kristin and I chimed in about our experiences. One of the topics was how we use Twitter.

I was very skeptical about Twitter at first, but it's turned into my most important way to hear from my "personal learning network." I started by finding a colleague who I admire and trust, and I "followed" several folks he was following, and then it steamrolled from there. It doesn't take me very long to scan my "feed" every day, and I always walk away with a few great articles/ideas.

In case you didn't know, Steve maintains a twitter feed for items related to this blog at @highschoolpsych

Charlie Blair-Broeker attended this session and shared a great "data collection" he's done related to Twitter. Charlie used the search features in twitter to gather student comments about AP Psychology, and they are interesting, funny, sometimes perplexing, but always revealing. You should be able to access the links below to .ppt slides Charlie put together (thanks Charlie! Please add a comment if I forgot anything?)

posted by Rob McEntarffer (with generous help from Charlie Blair-Broeker)

Psych demos from Joe Swope - multi-modal learning

2012-01-10T09:01:00.000-08:00

Quite a while ago, Joe Swope sent me this list of classroom demonstrations about multi-modal learning. They languished in my inbox, but I'm finally getting around to posting them (thanks Brad, and sorry it took me so dang long!)

(explanation from Joe below)

Even though we know we shouldn’t, many psychology teachers often fall back on old faithful – lecturing from bell to bell. Not that lecturing is always bad of course, but psychology teachers should use what we teach. Students should encode multi-modally and we should present information to tickle all of the types of intelligences that our students bring to the class room. Here is a short list of 10 easy to pull off class room demonstrations that will get students out of their seats and into the lesson.

Joe's full description of the demos is available at this link - below are the titles of each demo:

1) Depth perception – echo location

2) Where rods and cones are and aren’t

3) Classical Conditioning

4) Conformity

5) Serial Position Curve

6) Remembering by Schema

7) Priming and “reading students’ minds”

8) Operant conditioning using token economy

9) Speed of neural impulse

10) Taste transduction and spatial coding

posted by Rob McEntarffer (impersonating Joe Swope!)

How to get the most out of studying - Dr. Stephen Chew

2012-01-09T07:45:00.000-08:00

Dr. Stephen Chew from Samford University is a good friend to High School Psychology: Former AP Psychology reader, and he is very generous about sharing resources and news on several list serves.

A while back he posted a series of very clear and effective (to me) youtube videos that explain important connections between cognitive psychology and student learning. There are piles and piles of advice (good and bad) about "how to be a better student," but Dr. Chew's videos very quickly get to practical advice that is supported by cognitive psych research. These may not be the most exciting videos students ever receive, but they might be some of the most useful!

I recommend starting with the first video and then picking and choosing where to go next. The first video covers 4 mistaken beliefs and will help set the stage for students before watching the rest of the videos. The 4 mistaken beliefs:

1: Learning is fast

2: Knowledge = learning isolated facts

3: Multitasking is possible

4: Being good at a subject depends on inborn talents

posted by Rob McEntarffer

Make your own gory brain cap

2012-01-07T08:40:00.000-08:00

I'm not the artsy-craftsy type, but I suspect some of you (or your students) might be, so I'm sharing this as found on BoingBoing. The details on how to make your own cap can be found at Make Projects. Maybe this is the hat to wearing when your class is doing the zombie brain activity?

--posted by Steve

Apply for the Social Psychology Network Action Teaching Award

2012-01-01T15:10:00.000-08:00

First, this official release information from Scott Plous:

Dear Colleagues,

I'm writing to invite you to apply for this year's Social Psychology Network award honoring excellence in "action teaching" -- that is, teaching which not only leads to a better understanding of human behavior but to a more compassionate, sustainable, and peaceful world.

The award is open to all instructors regardless of student level (K-12, high school, college, graduate level, or adult learners). Entries may include a student assignment, classroom activity, field experience, or web-based demonstration. For further details, please visit: http://www.ActionTeaching.org

The application process is simple, and the prize is $1,000. If you teach in a creative, socially engaged way, please consider applying for this award!

Best wishes for 2012,
Scott Plous
Professor of Psychology, SPN Executive Director

Second, please note the deadline is deadline: January 15, 2012 - only two weeks from today!

Third, I was able to hear Scott Plous (professor of social psychology, Wesleyan University) talk this past summer at the APA/Clark University workshop about action teaching, and he did a convincing presentation on teaching as not only a way to share information and build skills, but also to have students engage in using what they know in the real world. If you visit the Action Teaching site, you'll see some great examples of how past award winners and runners up have used action teaching in their classrooms.

--posted by Steve

The top psychology books of 2011

2011-12-29T07:41:00.000-08:00

To begin, a few caveats. I'm a very bad reader. I read *about* a lot of books, and even read a few chapters here and there, but in terms of actually starting and finishing books, I'm not so good. So when I was thinking about a post on the best psychology books of 2011, I was delighted that the amazing brainpickings.org had already gone to the trouble in a much better fashion than I would have. Actually, the site's list is of the best psychology and philosophy books of 2011, so here are the psychology-related books from the list:

You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You're Deluding Yourself, David McRaney
Thinking Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman
The Secret Life of Pronouns: What Our Words Say About Us, James W. Pennebaker
Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain, David Eagleman (a favorite of Rob's)
The Ego Trip: In Search of the Self, Julian Baggini
Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being, Martin E.P. Seligman
The Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientist's Quest for What Makes Us Human, V.S. Ramachandran
The Belief Instinct: The Psychology of Souls, Destiny, and the Meaning of Life, Jesse Bering
Out of Character: Surprising Truths About the Liar, Cheat, Sinner (and Saint) Lurking in All of Us , David DeStono and Piercarlo Valdesolo

There is also a psychology book in the Best Biographies and Memoirs of 2011 post, Moonwalking with Einsten: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer. Finally, listed in the Best Food Books of 2011 is Maira Kalman's excellent illustrated version of Michael Pollan's Food Rules, which includes this illustration:

Here are some other books from 2011 that should be in a top psychology books list, in no particular order:

Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength, Roy Baumeister and John Tierney
The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined, Steven Pinker
Redirect: The Surprising New Science of Psychological Change, Timothy D. Wilson
The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry, Jon Ronson
Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure, Tim Harford
The Science of Evil: On Empathy and the Origins of Cruelty, Simon Baron-Cohen
The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies - How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths, Michael Shermer
Brain Bugs: How The Brain's Flaws Shape Our Lives, Dean Buonomano
A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness, Nassir Ghaemi
The Compass of Pleasure: How Our Brains Make Fatty Foods, Orgasm, Exercise, Marijuana, Generosity, Vodka, Learning, and Gambling Feel So Good, David J. Linden
Now You See It: How the Brain Science of Attention Will Transform the Way We Live, Work, and Learn, Cathy N. Davidson
Who's in Charge?: Free Will and the Science of the Brain, Michael Gazzaniga
The Optimism Bias: A Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain, Tali Sharot
What Makes Your Brain Happy and Why You Should Do the Opposite, David DiSalvo

Whew - that's quite a list. What books have YOU read? What are your thoughts? And which books did I omit that should be added? Please share in the comments section below.

--posted by Steve

Design a Brain Experiment Competition

2011-12-23T08:59:00.000-08:00

The Dana Foundation is sponsoring this competition which asks high school students to design "an original brain-related experiment." Please note the quick deadline - January 19! The guidelines referred to are in PDF format and can be found here:

Design a Brain Experiment guidelines

--posted by Steve

Race: The Power of Illusion and Race Sorting

2011-12-20T08:07:00.000-08:00

I was just reading my email from Teaching Tolerance, an offshoot of The Southern Poverty Law Center trying to raise awareness of racial/ethnic issues and decreasing the conflict related to them. In the newsletter there was a link to a PBS site called "Race: The Power of an Illusion, a video from 2003." The main activity I was directed to was to look at pictures and sort the faces into racial categories. Wow.

Let's just say I was not successful. Nor are most people. It's a real eye-opening activity that can be done by a person on under five minutes and could be a great beginner to a social psychology unit or a mini-unit on race, ethnicity and/or prejudice/discrimination. Great for sociology as well.

What is Race? Is Race for Real?

Sorting Activity

Main Page of Race/Illusions Site

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

More than Mouse Party

2011-12-13T10:35:00.000-08:00

It's not that Mouse Party isn't one of the most amazing websites for teaching about how various drugs affect neural tranmission - CAUSE IT IS - but there's a lot more to this site than just Mouse Party. Check out some other offerings from the Genetic Science Learning Center at the University of Utah:

Tour of the Basics - animation with narration that explains what the following are: DNA, gene, chromosome, protein, heredity and trait
The New Science of Addiction
Welcome to the synapse - you are Cerebral Commando (game)
The Time of Our Lives - circadian rhythms and biological clocks
PTC: Genes and Bitter Taste - genetics of PTC sensitivity
How Cells Communicate During the Fight or Flight Response and 3-D animation of this
Epigenetics and a video on the epigenetics of identical twins

Oh - did I mention the lesson plans and activities? Oh my!

So - how do you use Mouse Party and these other sites in your class? Have you played Cerebral Commando or used any of these other links? Please share below!

P.S. I could listen to the Mouse Party music all day. Is that wrong?
-- posted by Steve

4Shared File Sharing Account

2011-12-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

A few years ago, as many of the listservs and electronic discussion groups stopped allowing attachments to their posting, it became increasing difficult for teachers to share files with one another. Teachers were left with pasting the document within their posting which caused most of the formatting to be lost or offering to email the file to all interested parties. This last option became increasing difficult as one posting could result in hundreds of requests. Teachers became reluctant to make such an offer.

To solve these problems, in February of 2009, an all access account at 4Shared filing sharing service was created. The account allows anyone to easily download and upload files. The account currently has hundreds of files with thousands of downloads.

Below I've tried to outline the steps of downloading and upload files to and from the 4Shared account. Please be aware, the directions may vary based on the computer and internet browser you use. Please let me know how I can change these directions to accommodate everyone.

Some may have problems reaching the site as a few school districts block access to file sharing accounts. As a result, a number of teachers download the information at home and transfer it to their school computers.

Please feel free to download any of the files on the 4Shared site. Each was uploaded by teachers throughout the country willing to share their work. Please seriously consider uploading materials as well. Throughout my teaching career, I have found psychology teachers always willing to help. Please refrain from uploading copyrighted materials or items inappropriate for the high school level.

To Download Items from the 4Shared account to your computer

Go to http://www.4shared.com/dir/10555367/29577282/sharing.html. The main 4Shared screen should appear listing the various units in a psychology course
Browse through the various folders (click on any folder you would like to explore) until you find an item you would like to download
Once you have found something to download, click on the green down arrow located at the extreme right
Cursor down until you see a blue box saying "Download Now" and "No Virus Detected". Click on that box.
Click the "Slow Download" button. The screen should change to one with a blue countdown box. Wait until the countdown is complete.
Click on "Download File Now".
A typical Windows "You have chosen to open" box should appear. Select whether you want to open the file or save it.
Click OK. If you are saving the file you will be asked where you want the file saved. Choose a location and click save.

Under no conditions should you be required to pay for using the 4Shared account. The owners of the account would obviously prefer you purchase a premium account. A premium account allows for a host of options making downloading files a bit easier and faster, but is not necessary to download or upload files.

To Upload Items from your computer to the 4Shared account

Go to http://www.4shared.com/dir/10555367/29577282/sharing.html The main 4Shared screen should appear listing the various units in a psychology course.
Browse through the various folders (click on any folder) and determine which subdirectory would be the best for your item.
In the Upload files box at the bottom of the screen click the "browse" button.
Locate the file you would like to upload on your computer.
Use the "more" button if you have multiple files to upload to the subdirectory.
Click the "Upload" button with the green up arrow.
A screen should appear stating your upload was successful.

Thanks to everyone who has posted files on the 4Shared account. Please feel free to contact me (Kent Korek) at kkorek@germantown.k12.wi.us if you have any questions, comments, suggestions, etc. about the 4Shared account.

APA Announces National Survey of High School Psychology Teachers

2011-12-06T09:52:00.000-08:00

APA Announces National Survey of High School Psychology Teachers

All high school psychology teachers are invited to participate in a national survey the American Psychological Association (APA) is conducting of high school psychology teachers. This survey, which has been funded through the American Psychological Foundation, will provide APA and the APA Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS) with vital information on who is teaching high school psychology across the country. The survey asks questions about your educational background, preparation and training, resources and opportunities, classroom issues, future trends, and professional development needs.

Please take 20 minutes and complete the online survey, available at:

http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/684207/National-Survey-of-High-School-Psychology-Teachers

All data will be held confidential and reported in the aggregate only; individual-level data will not be released. Overall compiled survey results will be shared with everyone who completes the survey. The survey will close March 1, 2012, but we encourage you to take the survey now. It is critical for us to be able to have data on the teaching of high school psychology, as it will inform our work on behalf of high school psychology teachers and students.

If you have any questions, please contact Emily Leary at 202-572-3013.

-- posted by Steve

NCSS2011 - what an experience!

2011-12-04T06:14:00.000-08:00

I am back from this past weekend's National Council for the Social Studies Conference and I can happily report to all who were unable to attend that it was a BLAST! I will be posting many updates over the next few weeks about the conference, but I also wanted to put up this post to remind everyone that THSP would love to be the home of any and all reports from the conference. If you attended and have notes to share from a presentation, overall impressions to share, photos -- as long as they are not incriminating photos of a certain THSP moderator with a certain emeritus professor of psychology -- please send them to me at ashejones@gmail.com and I will post them here. I'll also add the new label NCSS2011 to each post, so by clicking on NCSS2011 you can see all of those posts.

I will also be sharing the THSP presentation that I presented (along with Rob and Kristin) at the conference. Thanks again to everyone who attended, presented and shared - it was a GREAT experience!

--posted by Steve

Guinness Record for 3D street art!

2011-11-30T08:53:00.000-08:00

If you're not done with sensation and perception yet (or if you have time to go back, briefly) this world-record breaking effort at 3D street art might be worth sharing with your students. A huge understanding - these pictures show a bit of the "planning" and the final product, and this video includes an interview with one of the organizers/artists. Students could try to spot the monocular depth cues used!

posted by Rob McEntarffer

The Flavorists on 60 Minutes

2011-11-27T19:27:00.001-08:00

On tonight's (11/27/2011) episode of 60 Minutes, there is a nice piece on the flavor industry and their attempt to create "addictive flavors" to woo consumers. Lots of potential here.

The link to the segment with script
The video segment itself: it's 14 minutes long

One of the things I make sure to mention to my students during this unit is the use of language in terms of sights, sounds, smells, and flavors. We are often lacking in describing smells and tastes that those in other cultures would easily describe. To me, this is an important part of psychology--how do we understand the world around us and how can we best communicate it to others?

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

ADD/ADHD

2011-11-27T10:20:00.001-08:00

I was catching up on some reading this weekend and discovered a nice little article in the California Educator, our state (California Teachers Association/NEA magazine). The post has a number of items that teachers/educators should know about ADD.
This is the link to the direct article (digital version).
Text version of the article
California Teachers Association

Among the key ideas are:

this is a brain disorder--it's not that the students are trying to be annoying
larger class sizes make for more challenging circumstances for teachers
ADD/ADHD is the most common behavior disorder among children
self-regulation is a key deficit
these kids need "wiggle time"
article also covers teaching strategies, medication, and what life is like for someone who has the diagnosis

Medline Plus reference and links on ADD

To learn more about ADD/ADHD, please visit the Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder website at www.chadd.org or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Great student-created neural transmission video

2011-11-18T11:33:00.000-08:00

Scott Miller sent me this link for a great student authored video about neural transmission (thanks Scott!). The video goes "deeper" into the chemical details of depolarization that I usually did, but it's well done! Congrats students!

posted by Rob McEntarffer

Psych Songs!

2011-11-15T10:35:00.001-08:00

Our topic in psychology club this morning was "Brains!" One of our great club members asked me if I'd heard "Phineas Gage: A Song" on youtube and I said "No, but I need to!" As far as I can tell, the song is not only catchy, it's pretty accurate! (although I never heard the detail about a tea cup full of brains?)

The song reminds me of the only other direct psych-concept to song translation: "John Lee Supertaster" by one of my favorite bands, They Might be Giants (that youtube clip isn't a great version of the song - the lyrics might be more useful)

Does anyone know any other "direct" connections between songs and psych concepts? Please chime in in the comments!

(PS: If you have kids, I think the They Might be Giants kids albums are a must-have. Great music that are perfect for little ears. The science album is my favorite :)

Picture credit: http://cheezburger.com/HockeyRaven/lolz/View/293971712

posted by Rob McEntarffer

Brain Anatomy Instruction ... now with Zombies!

2011-11-07T20:28:00.000-08:00

@BrdCmpbll posted a link to a great biopsychology assignment on his Twitter feed today: Zombie Day! Here's his description of the assignment: "Market a product to zombies as a way to prove you understand the importance/function of an assigned part of the brain."

His students' work is definitely worth a look - great, creative ideas that effectively connect their knowledge about brain anatomy and function to their obvious affection for zombie-Americans. Mmmm... Brain Bits. Please vote for your favorites!

posted by Rob McEntarffer

History of the Brain: A New BBC Radio Series

2011-11-07T19:56:00.000-08:00

Do you like British accents? Do you like learning about the brain? How about history? If so, I've found something you will probably like. I was reading a blog over at "Advances in the History of Psychology" and they have a post about a new BBC Radio 4 show about the history of the brain. Check out their post here.

The BBC 4 Radio Site
Episode 1--A Hole in the Head

If you explore the site, there are also other links to some great brain education items.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Movie review: A Dangerous Method

2011-11-06T14:39:00.000-08:00

Unless you've been living under ~~a rock~~ - an iceberg, you probably are well aware that this is an exciting month for psychology: a feature film featuring Freud and Jung comes out on November 23rd nationwide. At THSP we're excited to feature this review of A Dangerous Method from our special correspondent, fellow psych teacher Kimberly Patterson:

With the succession of “psychological movies” out there, and an endless list of theatrical ventures of historical figures from psychology, I was surprised at the film that bubbled up at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF) 2011. On Friday evening, a colleague and I went to see A Dangerous Method – a film advertising itself as a historical account of Carl G. Jung and Sigmund S. Freud and their shocking friendship. This familiar camaraderie sets out with a bold woman who confesses her hysteria and becomes sexually involved with Jung, a Russian Jew named Sabina Spielrein. Multiple books exist about Spielrein, one of the first woman psychoanalysts.

I was stunned by the poignant dialogue and although I had many “what on earth?” moments, I found the film touching, lovely, and antiquely impulsive. Although this glance at the Jung-Spielrein story is solely alleged, the film captured viewers with the efficacy of talented actors, an eye-catching set, and costumes of the period.

If, by happenstance, the film makes it to your area, I encourage you to check it out. Lord knows we watch all types of movies for a $10 movie ticket – at least this one is entertaining in regards to the character portrayals.

And of advice from a nomadic character – “Never repress anything”. Enjoy!

Kimberly C. Patterson teaches AP Psychology at Cypress Bay High School in Weston, Florida.

[If the trailer does not appear above, it is available on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ7JKmcLTsI

--posted by Steve

How do you use THSP?

2011-11-05T05:54:00.000-07:00

(A THSP meta-cognitive moment.)

You know who you are: you're a THSP user. That's right, just like some people use PCP or LSD or even THC, you are a THSP. What is THSP? It's this blog of course - Teaching High School Psychology. What we want to know is this: how do you use this resource?

I am delighted that three of the moderators - Rob, Kristin and myself - are going to be presenting at the National Council for the Social Studies conference next month about how our fellow psychology teachers are using the information shared here in your classrooms. We have a lot of empirical data already - we know the number of hits that we get, our most popular posts, the countries in which our readers are located - but we'd like to add some stories from actual users like you. (No, you don't need to begin with "Hello, my name is John, and I am a THSP-oholic...")

So: please either post your thoughts in the comments below, or send me a note privately (ashejones@gmail.com). Please be sure to include your school, the subject(s) that you teach, and whether we can use your name. I would love to have all of your comments by Tuesday, 11/ 8. Thanks so much for reading our blog!

--posted by Steve

Scientific Fraud

2011-11-04T13:23:00.000-07:00

The New York Times coverage of a recent case of scientific fraud could be a good starting point for a discussion about how science is supposed to "work", and how dishonesty and lack of replication/ oversight, etc. can cause it all to go "wrong", at least for a while.

Brief summary of the article: social psychologist Diederik Stapel of Tilburg University in the Netherlands recently admitted to falsifying data for several of his published journal articles.

This controversy started a very lively discussion about implications and potential "fixes" on the PSYCHTEACHER listserve - a good reason to join that listserve if you like to read those kinds of discussions

image credit: http://ktwop.wordpress.com/

posted by Rob McEntarffer

Innattentional Blindness and Ghosts - Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T06:26:00.001-07:00

I was happy to find a Halloween-themed article by Daniel Simons in my RSS feed this morning: In his latest post, "Ghost busters, parapsychology, and the first study of inattentional blindness", Simons writes about discovering a very early study about innattentional blindness in a book by Mary Roach (Roach's books are all great, by the way. I think "Stiff" is my favorite). In 1959, a psychologist (at Cambridge decided to test how people would react to seeing a ghost on campus:

"Each night, Cornell or his assistants dressed in a white sheet and strolled down a path, making various hand gestures before shedding the sheet 4.5 minutes later. Other assistants observed how many people were “in a position to observe the apparition.”

Simons points out that "Although Cornell’s finding is consistent with later studies of inattentional blindness, his conclusion isn’t." Hardly anyone on campus admitted to seeing the "apparition", which Cornell attributed to an unconscious desire to NOT see a ghost. This finding is actually very consistent with Simons' and others' findings about innattentional blindness (and the invisible gorilla!).

Happy Halloween everyone! I hope all your costumes and fun Halloween surprises are noticed by all the bystanders :)

image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/klearchos/3916626559/sizes/m/in/photostream/ - some rights reserved via CreativeCommons

posted by Rob McEntarffer

Old facilitated communication controversy and new iPad "research"

2011-10-25T08:12:00.001-07:00

This recent 60 minutes clip about autistic folks using iPads to communicate reminded me of a Frontline clip I used to show about facilitated communication (that link takes you to google video, which makes me a bit nervous b/c I thought google video was going away?).

The Frontline clip presents a dramatic and compelling story about how a "revolutionary technique" can take hold of a group of professionals, and then goes on to show how careful experimentation reveals that what appeared to be "revolutionary" was actually just confirmation bias. I used to show the clip up to the point of the experimental design and then have groups of students design tests to gather evidence about the validity of the facilitated communication technique. Word of warning: the clip involves accusations of sexual abuse and some of the language gets graphic.

The more recent 60 minutes clip is a great feel good story, and it might be interesting to show after the Frontline video. Is there any chance some of the folks working with iPads are falling into the same cognitive "facilitated communication" traps? What are the similarities and differences?

image credit: http://tweetbuzz.us/entry/78160135/www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7385402n

posted by Rob McEntarffer

Research invitation from David Eagleman

2011-10-19T08:51:00.001-07:00

We've posted about David Eagleman before(and here). He's a skilled neuroscience writer/researcher who has a knack for finding fascinating consciousness issues and writing/talking about them in compelling and understandable ways.

He posted an invitation on Twitter this morning: "Do you hate the sound of certain words? This may be a form of synesthesia. Pls participate in our 5 min survey: words.eaglemanlab.net"

I haven't followed the link through to the research yet (I'll have to do it at home) but if any of you out there have time to take the test, please comment about your experiences here! Might be an opportunity to get students involved in research in an easy and engaging way?

posted by Rob McEntarffer

Psychological First Aid

2011-10-16T09:23:00.000-07:00

NPR had a recent post that led me to some basic research about a topic called "Psychological First Aid" or "Mental Health First Aid." I found the following resources for something that, as psychology teachers, we all do to varying degrees--helping students deal with stress and other challenging situations. I would hope that we all know when to refer--that as teachers of psychology, we know more than the average person, but we let the professionals do their jobs. We do the first aid and let the counselors and therapists do the heavy lifting.

Here are the article and links:

TV alert: Brain Games on NatGeo TV tonight

2011-10-09T10:11:00.000-07:00

National Geographic TV (aka NatGeo) has three back-to-back features on the brain tonight under the title Brain Games:

Episode 1 (8pm ET) - Watch This! "Hack into the ultimate supercomputer — the human brain — as Hollywood filmmakers create mind-bending sensory illusions."
Episode 2 (9pm ET) - Pay Attention! "When it comes to mastering — and manipulating — attention, some of the world's leading experts aren't scientists; they're magicians."
Episode 3 (10 pm ET) - Remember This! "Our experts are on a mission — to find out where memories reside in the brain — and they're examining every millimeter for clues."

If you miss the series, be sure to check your TV listings as it's sure to be re-run many times. There are also many interesting looking clips on the Brain Games online site that I've yet to check out. Be sure to comment below if you watch the series or have checked out the online videos. (Also, did anyone else notice that exclamation points are! very! important! in this series?)

--posted by Steve

Guest post: Teaching Classical Conditioning to High School Students

2011-10-09T04:29:00.000-07:00

Note from Steve: today's guest post is from teacher Mark Molloy.

I have been teaching a high school introduction to Psychology class for over 15 years. When I first started teaching the course, students had a very difficult time understanding the concepts of classical conditioning. It might be safer to say, I had a difficult time presenting the material in a clear, understandable way.

Since those first years, I have added two mnemonic devices, an additional helpful step to the equation, and two video clips of classical conditioning to my learning unit.

Mnemonic devices

VOICE - For the learning unit, students are introduced to two mnemonic devices. The first one is the word VOICE. VOICE points out the major difference between operant conditioning and classical conditioning. This word reinforces the role of the subject in the learning process.

V voluntary
O operant
I involuntary
C classical
E extra (no purpose. The E only completes the word)

“S starts it off and R is ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL right.” Before introducing the 3 steps of classical conditioning, I share this sentence with the students. I stress the word ALLLLLLL because I have found it helps the students remember the sentence better. I also really like saying it this way.

I developed this sentence 2 years ago. The purpose of the sentence is to help the students remember where the terms are placed in the classical conditioning equation. The CS and UCS will always be to the on the LEFT side of the equation, starting it off, and the CR and UCR will always be on the RIGHT.

The equation

Below are the notes I present to my students in a PowerPoint. (Teachers can email me at mark@mytowntutors.com and I will gladly share the presentation):

The helpful step – The traditional classical conditioning equation consists of three steps. Students seem to gain a better understanding of the concepts when I include the “helpful step.” When reviewing the notes I say “The neutral stimulus DOES NOT PRODUCE the unconditioned response.” (The arrow with the X through it was the best way for me to created a visual with my limited computer abilities. I am sure other teachers could find a better visual.)

The helpful step reinforces the term “neutral stimulus” which is not included in the traditional steps of classical conditioning. It is also helpful to show that anything can be a neutral stimulus / conditioned stimulus. Additionally, I circle the conditioned stimulus and the neutral stimulus, drawing an arrow connecting them. The arrows illustrate that the word that is placed in the equation for NS and CS will be the same, similar to the UCR and CR being the same.

The Xs – I place an X in the spot of the term that is not used in step #1 and #3. This visual enhances student understanding of the material. It helps students remember that CS always comes before the UCS. During quizzes and tests, I leave the spaces for the Xs and deduct points if incorrect.

The BIG crossed out U – To reinforce the fact that the final response of classical conditioning is conditioned (learned), the students write a very large U and then place a line or an X through it.

The Videos

Seabiscuit: There is an excellent 2-minute clip from the movie Seabiscuit that illustrates how the trainer conditions Seabiscuit to start quickly at the sound of the bell. I have a tape of the movie (A DVD would be so much better.) I simply fast forward to the scene which takes place just prior to the match race with War Admiral, towards the end of the movie.

A teacher can extend the clip to provide the background information about the movie, which by the way is great.

Little Albert Experiment: The Little Albert experiment is an early example of classical conditioning. This clip (4:14) includes commentary. (Turn the volume down, it is set very high on this website!) The comments are a little comical, however, if you do not like the comments, you can mute them. The presentation does include some useful slides at the end that are very educational, identifying the different terms.

Another Little Albert clip (3:20) has excellent footage of the experiment without the added commentary.

Hopefully these tools are helpful in teaching classical conditioning to high school students. I would be glad to share other lessons ideas with any teacher who was interested. Email me at mark@mytowntutors.com

The strange powers of the placebo

2011-10-09T04:06:00.000-07:00

Great video above (or here, if you can't see the embed). I'm not sure that every one of these claims is accurate as there are no specific pointers to each individual statement, but most of them ring true with what I have read previously. And a mild heads up: "Professor Funk" uses the term "shiny and shit" in the narration at one point.

-- posted by Steve

Situations Matter: Understanding How Context Transforms Your World

2011-10-04T08:16:00.000-07:00

After having watched the Zimbardo Discovering Psychology series multiple times every year since about 1990, I have wanted more from social psychology in terms of examples and current and relevant research to support concepts within the topic. The author, Sam Sommers does so with humor, both pointed and self-deprecating.

I also have a colleague who is very much in the "free will" camp philosophically and I have a difficult time convincing him about the social forces that shape our behavior. If you are like me then you will love this new book I had the opportunity to review recently. It is called, Situations Matter: Understanding How Context Transforms Your World. It will be released at the end of the year. Short review: if you like social psychology you will like this book and it's a worthwhile read.

For years I have struggled with coming up with great examples and additional research that had not been dealt with by the introductory texts. Now I have that book I've been looking for. Some highlights and observations from my dog-eared copy:

judging people's expertise by our own narrowly ranged knowledge base
being seduced by character is something we do when attributing explanations of behavior
using famous people in advertising testimonials--do they really use the products they are hawking?
realizing that situations are often invisible to us--we need to learn how to see them and their influence (the tools in this book can help me do this with my students)
Numerous explanations of situations and the influence of context on people's behavior ("what's wrong with these people?"
The wisdom of crowds--how real is it? when should we use/avoid it?
Asch's study, conformity and mimicry of nonverbal behavior
Who are you? An examination of self-definition that is flexible by situation and context
What we think we will do and what we do are often very different things--some research
A breakdown of the Singer-Schacter experiment--some details that are missing in the textbooks
An overview of what is commonly called "The Lake Wobegon Effect"--where everyone is above average
how we are skilled at self-deception
achievement based on what we are told about intelligence
gender differences--how much is biology and how much is society
proximity and love--how location influences who we are attracted to
how making yourself visible makes you more attractive
Much, much more

There are more examples and much more research referred to in the book. Bottom line is that it is an extremely helpful book to have for support for your social psychology unit.

If you have questions for the author, please comment below and we will do our best to get them answered.

You can find more of the author and this book at these links:

Author's website
Twitter
Facebook

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

An amazing new resource

2011-09-28T06:40:00.000-07:00

Wow, this is sweet. The great people at the Society for Teaching Psychology (STP) have just released a terrific new e-book called Teaching Introductory Psychology: Tips from TOP. It's a compilation of more than 60 articles published in the journal Teaching of Psychology and get this - it's FREE. You can download each individual article in PDF format, or the whole thing (21 MB) at one time.

Here are some of the titles of the articles:

The effect of refuting misconceptions in the introductory psychology class.
Introducing students to psychological research: General psychology as a laboratory course.
Active learning within a lecture: Assessing the impact of short, in-class writing exercises.
How do students really study (and does it matter)?

(Now if only this came with a bonus 20 hours so that I could have time to read and absorb all this without getting behind in the rest of my life!)

What is the Society for the Teaching of Psychology, by the way? STP is Division Two of the American Psychological Association. Their mission: "to promote excellence in the teaching and learning of psychology. We welcome teachers of all stripes, whether teaching in a university, two or four-year college, or high school, tenured, adjunct, or teaching assistant." Membership in STP for high school teachers is $25 a year.

-- posted by Steve

NPR moments, revisited - How Psychology Solved A WWII Shipwreck Mystery

2011-09-27T11:02:00.000-07:00

Following up on Chuck's NPR Moments post - A friend at work excitedly told me about a great memory/psychology/mystery story on NPR this morning. He said it was great, details, and that I would love it - he was right!

How Psychology Solved A WWII Shipwreck Mystery

Briefly: Memory researchers used what they learned about how our memories change over time in predictable ways to examine the stories of captured German WWII soldiers and figured out where a ship likely went down. GREAT example of application of research, and the methodology they used in the original "how memories of stories change over time" could be easily replicated by students, I think.

image credit: http://m.npr.org/news/front/140816037?page=0

posted by Rob McEntarffer

UTOPSS Fall Institute, November 4, 2011

2011-09-26T19:07:00.001-07:00

The 13th annual Utah-Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (UTOPSS) Fall Institute will be held Friday, November 4, 2011 at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. If you would like to attend I would be happy to email you registration materials. Contact me at

kwhitlock@dsdmail.net

Registration is due Friday, October 21. The cost of the conference is $40.00, by the deadline, and $50.00 after the deadline. Registration includes continental breakfast, lunch, parking validation, and all materials.

We have a wonderful schedule planned!

Dr. Jane Halonen, University of West Florida, "Bottlenecks, Thresholds, and Transformers: New Ways to Look at Old Content"

Cynthia Smith, Northridge High School, Kim Searle, Copper Hills High School, & Lark Woodbury, Layton High School, "Using Social Networking in Psychology"

Dr. Paul White, University of Utah, "Do I Have to be Freud to do Psychology? Moving Students Beyond Pop Cultural Images of Psychology"

Dr. Monisha Pasupathi, University of Utah, "Autobiographical Memory and Narrative Identity"

Participant Idea Share

Hope you can join us!

Kristin H. Whitlock

NPR moments--Sugar Cravings and Kids & Pain-What Works?

2011-09-26T07:58:00.000-07:00

This morning on the way to work, I heard two stories that grabbed my attention.
1) Kids having a sweet tooth--it's biological and it changes during life
2) Pain and how we deal with it--a one-size-fits all approach does not work

Take a couple minutes to check these out--short and worthwhile.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

New Stereotype Threat research

2011-09-26T07:39:00.000-07:00

In a previous Teaching High School Psychology post I referenced Daniel Willingham's great summary of some of the implications of the stereotype threat. Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal briefly summarized new stereotype threat research that high school psych teachers and students might find useful and provocative.

"Sunk by Stereotypes"

I haven't been able to get at the journal article yet, but according to the WSJ summary, the researchers made up a fake learning styles inventory and categories ("convex or concave learning styles" - might be just as (in)valid as auditory, visual, and kinesthetic :) and told participants that either their learning style would likely impact performance on a working memory test or that would probably have no effect. As predicted, the more strongly a participant identified with the fake learning style, the lower their test score.

This study might be easily replicable by high school students (after following ethical guidelines and getting the permissions you need in your district, of course), and students might be VERY interested in how stereotypes may be impacting their learning!

image source: http://www.photoxpress.com/stock-photos/woman/girl/man/1924891

posted by Rob McEntarffer

Internet Search and Discover Activities

2011-09-25T15:22:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things to do is share new ideas and perspectives with my students--especially ones that I do not necessarily have time to do within the formal curriculum. Since I teach on a 100-minute alternating block schedule, I have created a couple of activities that have the students go to web sites that deal with aspects of a unit, read through the sites, and answer questions. As much as anything, it exposes them to new resources that I've already checked for accuracy and appropriateness (front-loading). I also ask questions that have them consider issues that I have some personal interest in. Perhaps, at some point, they will continue asking questions themselves about obvious things within the context of their own lives.

Here is my first one for this fall for Social Psychology. If you'd like a .docx version of this document, email me at psydways AT gmail.com. I've also made one for the brain and biology unit later in the term.

Psychology:Web Exploration Name Per

SocialPsychology Edition rev. F2011

Be sureto read the instructions on each one to make sure you are doing the properaction.

#1 http://www.beyondprejudice.com/reduce_your.html

Read the page and list ten things people can do to reduce their prejudicial behavior (I know there are more than 10).

10.

#2 http://about-face.org/r/facts/ List two facts each about:

Body Image:

Media:

Eating Disorders:

Children and the Media:

Appearance Messages:

Socioeconomic Status, Ethnicity, and the Thin Ideal:

#3 http://about-face.org/goo/archive/

Choose a brand from repeat offenders______________________. What messages do this company’s ads send?

#4 http://about-face.org/goo/archive/

Choose a media literacy category.__________________________

What messages do ads from this category send?

#5 http://www.about-face.org/gallery-of-winners/top-ten-winners/1-2/

Examine these ten ads. Why are these ten ads seen as being better ads in terms of their portrayal of women?

#6 http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10005059

Describe where the term “ghetto” comes from. Can you really describe something as "ghetto" now? Explain.

#7 http://www.understandingprejudice.org/nativeiq/

Take your native IQ. This is a test about your knowledge related to Native Americans and their history. How did you do? Explain why you did as well or as poorly as you did.

#9 So you are curious about brainwashing? Check out this site:

http://health.howstuffworks.com/brainwashing.htm

Find terms and ideas we’ve studied so far to find out what you can discover about brainwashing. Write down at least 5 things.

#10 This site is a blog about relationships written by an author in the UK. Choose one of the sub-articles and write down four observations/conclusions the research found about your topic.

http://www.spring.org.uk/2007/02/psychology-of-relationships.php

Title of sub-article here:

#11 Go to this site: http://psychcentral.com/news/2008/01/11/culture-affects-the-way-we-use-our-brain/1773.html

Write a five sentence (one paragraph) summary of the findings.

#12 Can we avoid segregation?

http://www.understandingprejudice.org/segregation/

Go to this site, read each short page and do the exercise. Describe the Schelling Effect and the Anti-Schelling Effect.

Schelling Effect

Anti-Schelling Effect

What you learned as a result of doing this exercise:

#12 http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007679

Describe what Nazi racism was about.

#13 Go to this site: http://www.tolerance.org/activity/si-se-puede

Read the article and list three key questions this raises in your mind.

#14 https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/demo/selectatest.html

Take two of the demonstration quizzes on this page. Which two did you take? How did you do? What surprised you? Explain.

Quiz 1 Result:

Quiz 2 Result:

Explain why you think you scored this way. How did it surprise you?

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Reconstructing Visual Perception using fMRIs - Wowza!

2011-09-23T06:54:00.000-07:00

I'm still trying to wrap my head around this research, but ... WOWZA!

(Note: Follow any of the links on this page in order to see videos of this in action)

Researchers from University of California, Berkeley used fMRI scans to "reverse engineer" images of how the brain might put together visual stimuli. Below is their "simple outline" of the study (taken from their summary on the Gallant Lab web page).

"The goal of the experiment was to design a process for decoding dynamic natural visual experiences from human visual cortex. More specifically, we sought to use brain activity measurements to reconstruct natural movies seen by an observer. First, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure brain activity in visual cortex as a person looked at several hours of movies. We then used these data to develop computational models that could predict the pattern of brain activity that would be elicited by any arbitrary movies (i.e., movies that were not in the initial set used to build the model). Next, we used fMRI to measure brain activity elicited by a second set of movies that were completely distinct from the first set. Finally, we used the computational models to process the elicited brain activity, in order to reconstruct the movies in the second set of movies"

It's a tricky one to understand - I think the summary on the Gizmodo blog is a bit more clear, and this summary article in a Berkeley newsletter includes quotes that might help.

Here's how I think I'd summarize it for students (and there is a STRONG chance I might be wrong here, so please correct me in the comments!): Participants spent time (a long time!) in an fMRI watching movie trailers, and the researchers used that data to create a model of what their brains were doing while watching the movies. Then they collected a LOT of random youtube clips and transformed them into data ("voxels") the computers could compare with the fMRI data they stored from the participants. The computers picked the youtube clips that best matched the fMRI data, and smooshed all those video clips into a composite video. When we watch the composite video, we can see the similarities to the original clips the fMRI participants watched (although there is a high chance of confirmation bias here, right?)

Please holler in the comments about this if you have time - I'd love to know if I'm understanding this correctly!

posted by Rob McEntarffer

Infant Brains and Teenage Brains--Two New Articles

2011-09-18T08:27:00.000-07:00

This weekend has been a boon for neuroscience articles. Below are a couple of articles that we could use in our classes related to development and the human brain.

1) National Geographic--The Teenage Brain

Printable version of the article
The article begins by asking rhetorical questions about our teens and their decision making process. The article also deals with a cross-cultural/historical mention of adolescence and its tempering effect on behavior. The article includes an excellent overview of brain development, including myelination. Very nice article--but what else would one expect from National Geographic.

2) The second article comes from NPR--the article describes a book and interview with the authors of Welcome to Your Child's Brain with an article entitled "How to Help Your Child's Brain Grow Up Strong."

The NPR article also discusses brain development, but highlights what infants are capable of which is considerably more than previously thought. Help a child develop self-control is a highlight of both the book and article. It's another good read. Also, in the left column of the article are links to other brain books and authors.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

PBS Nova Science Now "How Does the Brain Work?"

2011-09-14T20:54:00.000-07:00

Tonight my family watched Nova Science Now "How Does the Brain Work?" What an amazing program! It covers a lot of ground - how magicians use attention, how Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation can impact judgment, how emergencies alter time perception, and artificial intelligence. Great "guest stars" too - Penn and Teller, Mo Rocca, and David Eagleman. If there is any way to get a copy to show in your classroom, you'll find dozens of short sections to show to go along with the Biopsych chapter. Great stuff.

posted by Rob McEntarffer

Near-Death Experiences

2011-09-14T07:52:00.001-07:00

If you discuss near-death experiences as a part of your consciousness chapter, check out this Scientific American article, "Peace of Mind: Near-Death Experiences Now Found to Have Scientific Explanations." Researchers are focusing on the role of dopamine in producing this phenomena.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=peace-of-mind-near-death

Kristin H. Whitlock

Love this: How Will Shortz Edits a New York Times Crossword Puzzle

2011-09-13T16:29:00.000-07:00

Okay, I promise one day to post my "how I got five crossword puzzles published in the New York Times" story here. I can tell you the blow by blow of making a puzzle and the chutzpah needed to sell your very first puzzle to the Times. I know at least one of you (thanks Rob!) is looking forward to reading this.

Until then, let me strongly encourage you to check out How Will Shortz Edits a New York Times Crossword Puzzle in the Atlantic. Shortz talks about the process that happens after the puzzle gird is finished, when the constructor (Liz Gorski, in this case) creates the clues. The editor's job is then to make the clues a little snappier, less obvious, more "fresh" -- fresh is a word that Will Shortz loves.

This is a great example of his mind, talking about Liz's clue for the word snow:

One clue that's fun and twisty is 11 Down: "Wet blanket" for SNOW. I can check the database—I bet she's not the first person to ever use that clue. That's just too nice a clue never to have been used before. Hold on one second, I'll see. There is a database of every clue back to my start. [A pause.] I see previous clever clues for SNOW that include "winter fall," "white blanket," "winter blanket," "white coat," "falling flakes"—that's not all that clever. This one's sort of cute—"serial killer." Snow on your TV, it's going to hurt your reception of a serial. Oh, one more. "Drifter," with a question mark. Well, I don't see "wet blanket." Maybe it is fresh.

How can you fit this into psychology? I suppose you can make it fit nicely into the Cognition unit when you talk about algorithms and heuristics. Me, I put it squarely in the Intelligence section, under Genius. :-)

--posted by Steve

Brain Pickings

2011-09-13T13:49:00.000-07:00

Michael Sandler sent me an email about this blog a LONG time ago (thanks Michael!) and it looks like a good resource. This post reviews an intriguing book - The Mind - a collection of essays on the brain and consciousness edited by John Brockman. I haven't purchased the book yet but the list of authors is impressive: Pinker, Seligman, Gopnik, Haidt, Zimbardo, and Ramachandran! Looks great, and this blog might be another source for good psych stuff!

Brain Pickings

posted by Rob McEntarffer

Ten years ago: a hero on September 11

2011-09-11T05:46:00.000-07:00

Durham, 1996: It was my second year teaching AP Psychology and I was still fumbling around, trying to figure out how to pace the course. Since my creativity to organization ratio is normally 10:1, the classes were fun but not always well structured. I realized this in September when I was reminding the class about a test the following day, and this senior on the front row starts freaking out, looking wildly around the room at this classmates. "Wait, we have a test tomorrow? How did I not know this? Did you know?" His classmates all nodded. "How do I not know what's happening in here?" I remember teasing him about this, but that night I realized that he had a point - the students who were organized could compensate for my chaotic nature, but this student needed more structure.

So I typed out an outline for the next few weeks, with page numbers to read, important topics and quiz/test dates, and the next day in class I proudly handed it to him. "Look, John Cerqueira," I said, "it even has your name on it." It was called the Cerqueira guide, and John beamed proudly, showing it off to his classmates. Of course, every student who saw it wanted one as well, so I made copies for the whole class. It then became a tradition - for every unit we did, the students got a copy of the Cerqueira guide. After John graduated I continued to use the name on the guides, so with every class I got to tell the story of John and taught them how to pronounce the name (sir-KWEHR-uh). Don't say "the guide," don't say "that outline thing," say the Cerqueira guide," I'd tell them.

On September 11, 2001, I was on the 2nd day of a new job. I left teaching after the 1999-200 school year and was a stay at home dad for a year, but I was anxious to get back to work and got a non-teaching job at a school near my house. I found out about the attacks at work and crowded around a TV with my new co-workers as we watched the horrors unfold that morning.

I didn't have any personal connection to 9/11 or so I thought, until the next day when I was reading the USA Today and spotted a name so distinctive I recognized it immediately. John Cerqueira had gone to NC State University, and after graduation landed a job with a telecommunications company in the World Trade Center. He was in a meeting that morning when the first plane hit the tower above him, and he and the others in his office began to climb down from the 81st floor. (I loved the fact that the USA Today reporter noted that John had been "late as usual" and was carrying his breakfast in hand when he arrived at work!)

When John reached the 68th floor, he and his manager, Michael Benfante, noticed a woman in a wheelchair who was crying because she was unable to descend the stairs. The two men grabbed the emergency chair in the stairwell, helped the woman (Tina Henson) into the chair, and resumed their descent. It took the nearly an hour to descend those stairs. When they reached the lobby, it looked nothing like it had earlier that morning: "The lobby is completely destroyed. Turnstiles blown out near the walls, counters cracked in half, doors off hinges, floor to ceiling plate glass windows broken. What captures my attention the most is the desolate West side highway, the thick coat of what looks like a new fallen snow." This was John's description of that moment that he captured in his book, Hero Sandwich.

The men watched as rescue workers put Tina into the back of an ambulance, then they turned to look at the building behind them. They saw flames at the top, and saw the figures of people who had thrown themselves from the top of the tower. Suddenly, the tower itself began to disintegrate, and they had to run for their lives to escape the falling debris. They dove under nearby vehicles and were able to avoid being injured.

John and Michael were featured as heroes on Oprah and on Good Morning America and in People Magazine, and each has written a book about the experience (Michael's is here). Out local TV station has followed John over the years as well, and as you can see at the bottom of this post (or go here, if you cannot view it), they just aired an update on John for the 10th anniversary. But for me, I'd like to think that John will be remembered in a different way as well. When I returned to teaching AP Psychology in the 2008-09 school year and started to update those old Cerqueira guides, I had a moment when I thought: should I just change the name to a study guide? And then I thought both of John's heroism and his face that day in class, and I thought, no, my students need to know his story. So they continue to be Cerqueira guides, I continue to teach students how to pronounce his name, and I continue to tell the story, starting with "and John, being John, was running late to work that day..."

-- posted by Steve

Memories of 911

2011-09-08T18:00:00.000-07:00

As the anniversary of 9-11 approaches, an article in Scientific American looks at the accuracy of our memories for this tragic day. Psychologists have talked about "flashbulb memories" and many believe that they are accurate representations of our memories for emotional events. This article is an interview with Elizabeth A Phelps, who is the lead investigator of a study looking into the accuracy of 9-11 memories.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=911-memory-accuracy&WT.mc_id=SA_CAT_MB_20110907

Kristin H. Whitlock

CNS/TBI Neuroskills Newsletter

2011-09-06T16:21:00.000-07:00

One of the great things about the internet is the wonderful resources one can find to assist in virtually any aspect of life and adjustments one may be confronted with. For a few years now, I've been receiving a newsletter put out by a company called Centre for Neuroskills that assists people with traumatic brain injury (TBI). In addition to patient and family services, they also provide some excellent resources.

Below is a partial listing from their newsletter:

Traumatic Brain Injury Resource Guide
Pharmacology Guide--this is an amazing resource of all kinds of psychoactive drugs
Veterans and TBI
Concussions and Brain Injury Facts and Symptoms
The CNS Store
Laminated Cards for Sale

Brain Injury Information

One external link is to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website about TBI

Following CNS on social media:
Keep up to date with daily breaking TBI research and news, as well as CNS services, products, employment opportunities and educational videos.

Go to CNS Twitter

Go to CNS Facebook

Go to CNS Youtube Channel

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Placebo bands, get your red hot placebo bands

2011-09-05T16:23:00.000-07:00

If you (like Rob McEntarffer) are big fans of the placebo bands that Rob posted about back in January, you're in luck - they're back in stock! I just placed an order myself and will report back to the blog when mine arrives. I believe it will cure everything that ails me, so I can't wait!

--posted by Steve

A Picking Cotton update, and more on eyewitness memory

2011-09-04T09:13:00.000-07:00

Ronald Thompson and Jennifer Thompson-Cannino, now friends (photo from the N&O)

Every teacher has examples that they must use, and I must use the case of Ronald Cotton when teaching about the problems with eyewitness testimony. In 2009 I posted a link to the "60 Minutes" episode featuring the case of Cotton and his accuser Jennifer Thompson-Cannino, and I recently posted on the AP Psychology e-mail list about how I use the case in class. (I'll re-post an edited version of that e-mail in the bottom of this note.)

Today the Raleigh News & Observer had two disturbing articles linked to eyewitness testimony. The first was a story about Ronald Cotton and other North Carolina men who were unjustly convicted of crimes based on faulty eyewitness testimony. I was very sad to see that despite the terrific book that Cotton and Thompson-Cannino co-wrote last year, things have taken a turn for the worse for Cotton. He suffered a stroke in July which resulted in the loss of the full use of his right arm and leg, and he has experienced significant financial setbacks as well. It's so sad to see this turn of events given that things had been so positive for him since he has been released. The other men included in the article who had been also imprisoned for years before being declared innocent have likewise suffered in their reentry to society.

The second article is the first of a series suggesting serious misconduct on the part of the district attorney in Durham, where I live. The focus is on a man who was arrested and convicted of multiple counts including robbery and attempted sexual assault during a home invasion. At one point, the police detain a suspect, bring the victims to the location where the suspect is held, and ask them together if they can identify him as they sit 20 feet away. The victims confirm that he is the perpetrator, despite the fact that he was shorter than their original description, is not carrying the money he allegedly stole, and he is not wearing the hat or bandanna that the person who broke in had been wearing. An appeals court threw out the conviction, in part based on what they refer to as the police's "use of a highly suggestive show-up procedure to identify defendant as the perpetrator of this crime." DNA evidence later cleared the man of the crime.

North Carolina made significant changes to the way that police do lineups in 2007 based in part on the Ronald Cotton case and the infamous Duke lacrosse case, but this "show up" procedure is still allowed. In a 2010 paper to the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (PDF), Michael D. Cicchini and Joseph G. Easton say that this show up procedure "makes already bad evidence even worse, and is even more likely to result in false identifications and wrongful convictions."

As promised, here is how I use the Cotton case in class:

The two videos (13 minutes each) from "60 Minutes" can be found here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-SBTRLoPuo (Part 1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4V6aoYuDcg (Part 2)

BEFORE you show this, though, I would recommend showing two clips (which also are included in the videos above, in Part 2 I think) from psychologist Gary Wells at Iowa State. Clip one is a shaky video of someone on the roof of a building, and clip two asks you to select from a lineup the person you saw on the roof in the first clip. This person is suspected of planting a bomb. As you might guess, the person on the roof is not in the actual lineup, but that won’t stop nearly 100% of your students from choosing a person in the lineup. Powerful stuff!

-- posted by Steve

Announcing: a workshop for NC psychology teachers

2011-08-30T07:34:00.000-07:00

Attention high school psychology teachers in North Carolina: hold the date of October 8! A new group, North Carolina Teachers of Psychology, has been formed (thanks to a grant by the APF) to provide professional development for and by high school psychology teachers, and our first workshop will be in Durham on Saturday, October 8. North Carolina has not had any sort of statewide group like this since the late 1990s, and we're excited to have a way to get together to get to know each other, share our knowledge and, we hope, to improve the teaching of psychology in high schools across the state.

If you are interested in attending, please e-mail me at ashejones@gmail.com (or steven.jones@dpsnc.net) with your name and the school where you teach. Even if you can't attend this workshop, we'll add you to our contact list for future meetings.

Also, if you know a high school teacher in NC (besides me!), please share this information with him or her. Thanks!

-- posted by Steve

Psychology Teacher Web Sites

2011-08-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

I would imagine that there are many of use who have created some amazing web sites or know of others who have created sites for their regular or AP students.

Let's celebrate and brag about these teachers and their web sites.

Please add the teacher name and the web address in your comment to bring attention to those who go that extra mile (or ten) by creating online resources for our students.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Psychology and September 11

2011-08-28T06:13:00.000-07:00

Tonight National Geographic Channel presents George W. Bush: The 9/11 Interview, "a world premiere documentary that reveals exclusive, first-person insight into the former president's experience following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001." I will TiVo this program because I'm not only interested in the political aspects of what the president recalls, but also in the nature of that kind of memory known as flashbulb memory. When we experience an event that causes us strong emotion, such as the 9/11 attacks or the death of a famous person, we frequently feel that we know exactly where we were, what we were doing, who was with us, and so forth, because the memory seems "burned in" by a flashbulb, or seemingly captured in a video in our brains.

Most people know where President Bush was when he learned the planes hit the towers in New York City -- he was in a Florida classroom reading The Pet Goat with elementary students. (Did you think it was My Pet Goat? It's not!) But did you know that the president later gave several different versions in the next four months of who told him about the attacks and what he saw of the attacks on TV? In 2004 psychologist Daniel Greenberg of Duke University did, writing a paper in Applied Cognitive Psychology (PDF here) about these inconsistencies. In one version, for example, Bush recalled that adviser Karl Rove had told him of the attacks, whereas the video footage clearly indicates it was Andy Card. In another version, he states that he saw on TV the first plane flying into the Twin Towers, yet at that time there was no footage on any channel of that event. I will be very interested to compare Greenberg's paper with Bush's events in the NGC special.

Misremembering 9/11 is not unique to President Bush, of course. Psychology teacher Eric Castro recently tweeted about a Scientific American guest blog by Eric Boustead who was in Manhattan and who gives a very detailed description of some of his experiences of that day - what he watched on TV, neighbors coming together, even enjoying a corn muffin baked by his downstairs neighbor Serena. Later he contacts his former roommate to hear his remembrances, only to learn that their TV was only hooked up for games (thus no TV news), Serena didn't move in until a year later, and the roommate had no memory of the food - as the roommate put it, "I mean why would we be eating muffins during all of that anyway?"

One of the most brilliant insights immediately following 9/11 also came from Duke University, this time from Jennifer Talarico and David Rubin, who brought small groups of undergraduates in on September 12 and asked them to record what their memories were of 9/11. The brilliant part was that they also asked them to record what they remembered of some personal everyday memory that had happened in the preceding couple of days, such as a party, a study session or a sporting event. When they brought the students back one year later, Talrico and Rubin found unsurprisingly that the memories of both flashbulb and everyday memories had similar errors in consistency, but the students rated their confidence in the 9/11 memories much higher. In other words, their memories of both events were equally flawed, but the flashbulb nature of the 9/11 made them believe much more strongly in those memories. (The video above (also linked here) is of cognitive neuroscientist Elizabeth Phelps describing this study and 9/11 memories in general at the World Science Festival.)

One other quick pointer: the September 2011 issue of American Psychologist is devoted to the events of 9/11 and its effects in many areas, including post-traumatic stress, memory, social consequences, group dynamics and more. The introduction to "9/11: Ten Years Later" can be found here (PDF).

The 10th anniversary of 9/11 will be an interesting challenge for us as psychology teachers. If you are teaching primarily high school juniors and seniors, for example, those students were probably between 6 and 8 years old at the time. Not only will their memories of the event be as fuzzy as everyone else's, but they will have had less of an opportunity to even be exposed to the coverage that day and in the days that followed, as their parents may have shielded them from the news. Nonetheless, they have grown up in the shadow of 9/11 and their lives have definitely been affected by those events. There was a great article in the Washington Post in 2009 about the challenges of teaching students too young to have experienced this firsthand, though some of the frustrations I perceived in that story seem more pointed toward work in general and maybe very little to do with 9/11.

So - how will YOU teach about 9/11? Please add a comment below or e-mail me directly (ashejones@gmail.com) and I'll post your reply anonymously.

--posted by Steve

What do you do the first day?

2011-08-21T12:40:00.000-07:00

There was a recent discussion on the AP Psychology e-mail list about favorite things to do on the first day of class. I posted about my favorite, the Slippery Snakes memory demonstration by Janet Simmons and Don Irwin. You can download the demonstration here and you can also download information from me about how I use this activity here. (Note that both files are PDFs.)

So what do YOU do on the first day? How do you set the tone for the rest of the year? Please add your contributions in the comments below.

--posted by Steve

Reminder: join psychat on Twitter tonight!

2011-08-17T15:25:00.000-07:00

A last-minute reminder: #psychat is on tonight from 8-9 pm ET. If you're already on Twitter you probably know how to follow #psychat, but if not, just head on over to Twitter.com and type #psychat into the search box to see the most recent conversation. Tonight's topic: projects! (Who doesn't need new project ideas?)

For more info, check out last week's post on #psychat.
--posted by Steve

Dancing Squid and Frog Legs--Do They Connect to Psychology?

2011-08-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

This Discovery online uses two different YouTube hits to explain why post-mortem activity can still occur in a dead organism. Creepy, fascinating, ethical, unethical and more responses are on the various pages where this is linked. Potential for chemistry of not only deceased organisms, but also potentially applicable for for living ones. What you do all think? Of course, I suppose one could apply this to emotions and disgust as well.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Join the psychology Twitter crowd on #psychat

2011-08-11T11:14:00.000-07:00

Wanted: psychology tweeps to join #psychat

If you are on Twitter, join #psychat next Wednesday night at 8pm (ET) for a live hour of free professional development! Last night @mrpotter hosted and the discussion centered on how high school psychology teachers are using social media. It was the first #psychat so the crowd was a little small, but that actually gave all of the participants plenty of time to ask and answer questions from each other. Last night folks chatted about using Twitter and Facebook, as well as new media like Diipo and the differences between Edmodo and Schoology, among other topics.

How do you participate? If you are using Twitter and you want to join, just be sure to use the hashtag #psychat at the end of each tweet. If you're not a Twitter user but still want to follow the conversation, you can go to Twitter.com and type #psychat into the search box (or just click here). It's really a great way to share information with each other in an informal manner - a psych-based virtual Personal Learning Community where your voice is heard!

And if you participated in #psychat or just use Twitter in general, please chime in about your experience!

--posted by Steve (who can be found on Twitter as @highschoolpsych - follow me!)

AP Teaching Tips by Kristin Whitlock

2011-08-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

Have you ever driven the same route for a long time and, out of the blue, noticed something that you've never noticed before? That happened to me earlier this summer when I was checking out some of our previous posts. A mention was made of a document by our very own Kristin Whitlock called "Teaching Tips or Teachers Guide," depending upon the site name or the document name. It is a reference document on the AP Central site of the College Board. Go to the AP Psychology Page for a full listing of materials that are free for the taking. Somehow I had missed it the past couple of years--but now it is within my awareness.

The Teaching Tips document is a rich repository of items that will make your AP Psych course better. Among other things, there is a history of the AP Psych course and exam, choosing a textbook, working with parents, getting students to read the text, numerous activities, how to write the free response questions, eight sample syllabi (which include pacing and ordering possibilities), the exam format, what to do with students to prepare well and what to do with them afterwards. The document also includes additional resources. In other words, it's a gem.

Take some time to examine the document (1.6MB .pdf download). I highly recommend it before you complete your planning for 2011-2012.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Movie review: Project Nim

2011-08-07T09:53:00.000-07:00

NOTE: today's review comes to us via Twitter! Actually, to be more precise, it comes from a connection I made on Twitter with another psychology teacher, Shana Stites (see bio below). I have found Twitter to be one more vital way to connect with other psych teachers around the world, in addition to TOPSS, this blog, multiple e-mail listservs and conferences/workshops. Now on to the review!

I went to see Project Nim at my local arts theater this morning. I never saw a trailer for the movie, just a random poster at the theater. Always on the look-out for things to enhance what I teach in class, I wondered about its merit as a classroom tool. Was it relevant? Was it interesting? Could I show it during the year or after the AP test? Yes. Yes. I don’t know why not.

Many AP teachers already know, but Project Nim was a study led by Columbia University psychologist Herbert Terrace in which a chimpanzee was raised by humans in order to see if he would have the capacity to learn language- not just to learn certain words through modeling and reinforcement, but to put them together into grammatically correct communications. The chimpanzee, Nim Chimpsky (Terrace had hoped to disprove Noam Chomsky’s theory of innate human ability for language, hence the play on his name), was taken from his mother when he was two weeks old and raised as a New York boy who learned sign language to communicate with his family. The documentary follows Nim from his initial placement in the LaFarge household through his subsequent placements both during the study after its conclusion. However, rather than focusing mostly on the science behind the study, it really focuses mostly on Nim himself and the relationships that he formed with his various caretakers.

The film was interesting, and I would recommend that psychology teachers go out and see it. I had the expectation that this documentary was going to be most relevant to the units on cognition and use of language, but it ended up even more applicable to the unit on research methods and psychological ethics. It raised questions about Nim’s rights as a test subject and about the objectivity necessary in psychological science. At the least, it could spark a lively debate about ethics but could also delve into the complex relationships that human beings have with different animals as is addressed in Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It’s So Hard To Think Straight About Animals by Hal Herzog. (See this earlier THSP post about Hal and his book.)

Shana Stites is beginning her fifth year as an AP Psychology teacher at Blue Valley North High School in Overland Park, Kansas as well as her first year as a psychology graduate student at Avila University.

Related links:
The Chimp That Learned Sign Language (NPR, with video)
The Project Nim website (which was down earlier today)

--posted by Steve

Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain

2011-08-06T12:20:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a short entry about David Eagleman appearing on the Colbert Report. After having delayed the purchase of his book, I did finally buy it. And was it ever worth it. His writing style is so engaging I could first imagine reading portions of it to my classes. He mentioned so many demonstration-style activities that I started marking the book up to be able to use or remind myself of these great ideas.

The content of the book examines the premise that reality is not what the conscious mind tells us it is. He explains how "processes under the hood" are going on in our various biology-based systems and that our "conscious choices" may not exactly be that, but rather due to some underlying mechanism that we are unaware of.

No matter if you like the neuroscience books, you will like this book. I encourage you check it out--or at least share it with one of your students and get a more detailed book review.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

New Society for Neuroscience Website--

2011-07-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Society for Neuroscience has created a wonderful resource that could potentially be utilized by those of us who can get our kids to the internet or for use during snow days or other cancellations. It could also be used in a webquest. Wonderful name as well: "NERVE: Virtual Encycloportal." I do believe they have engaged in creating a new word, a neologism.

After the welcome page, the user is directed to this page where there are links to various themes including addiction, anatomy of the brain, and much more as you can see from the graphic on the left.

Each theme has numerous links to other resources that provide an incredible wealth of information and graphical representation of each topic. One could literally spend days examining all the sites.

In fact, I will be starting my background research for my neuroscience, mental health, and sensation and perception units from this page. There are just so many incredible resources.

Do take the time to visit the site and search through the topics.

Core Concepts in Neuroscience is a booklet that is downloadable for teachers and students to use. Not only is there the booklet, but there is a short PowerPoint that you can download.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Rethinking food labels

2011-07-29T08:20:00.000-07:00

One thing I am always on the lookout for is an idea that fits into many different areas of psychology. In issues like these, we can ask students to draw in several different content areas in novel ways, but perhaps even more importantly, they are fresh and new. It's hard for students to plagiarize from one year to the next if your assignment incorporates ideas that weren't even around last year.

This is one of them. Rethink the Food Label is a project by the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism’s News21 program and Good Magazine. They asked the public to revise the current food label with better labels that "make it easier to read and more useful to people who want to consume healthier, more nutritious and wholesome food." In the space below you'll see more examples, but I hope that you can think of some ways to incorporate this in your class: human factors, heuristics, framing, hunger motivation, and persuasion techniques come to my mind. How else can you use this? And what other areas could you apply this to besides food labeling?
-- posted by Steve

"If You Love Something, Set it Free"

2011-07-27T09:50:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I must just share something that amuses me. This cartoon makes me giggle. It was the Zits cartoon from July 27, 2011. I will be showing this to my students and asking them to make connections to course content. Just off the top of my head, I can connect it to brain and neuroscience, social psychology, cognition, and motivation. I'll let our kids find the specifics. :)

Posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Migraines

2011-07-23T11:38:00.000-07:00

At some point every semester, one or more students will ask, "what causes headaches?" and/or "what causes migraines?" I usually pull out one of my posters that are not already on the wall about the topic (the second edition is to the right--my poster is the first edition from anatomical.com http://www.anatomical.com/product.asp?pn=9780781776592). Most texts that I've seen rarely deal with the subject since it's more medical than psychological.

Today, while on facebook, PBS offered this little article about migraines. It also had a wonderful little graphic--I love how artists are increasingly making incredible looking graphics related to the body and brain.

Posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Neuroscientist David Eagleman on Colbert Report on 7/21/11

2011-07-22T19:02:00.000-07:00

I was catching up on some television watching when I discovered this little nugget. Dr. David Eagleman has written the book, Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain which examines the various processes that occur without the conscious mind being aware. The reviews on Amazon are mixed, but for those of us who are not in the neuroscience field, it could be a good read. In the interview, he comes across as a younger, cool, hip and bright neuroscientist. He does not come off all like the stereotypical stodgy scientist image. It's a short, fun interview. Who knows, it may just make a student interested in the brain.

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

David Eagleman

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog

Video Archive

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Psychology Clubs

2011-07-21T10:17:00.000-07:00

Recently on one of the psych teacher listservs, questions about and interest in psychology clubs have manifested themselves. Images in this post are from various university psychology clubs.

I went back into my files and found these ideas from an old Chicagoland Teachers of Psychology (ChiTOPSS) conference from the 90s).

Create "Did You Know?" posters are place around campus (words and graphics) during a "Psychology Awareness Week"

social facilitation
speed of neurons
sleep disorders
vision tricks
positive psychology
pets and learning principles
developmental info about children and teens
bystander apathy and helping behavior
etc.

Create bookmarks or placeholders on card stock with an optical illusion on one side and psych info on the other
Publish a campus-wide newsletter or short info sheets about major topics (depression, stress, suicide prevention, etc., anything to increase visibility of psychology)
Host speakers on topics relevant to teens
Host seminars and discussions on relevant topics to teens
Conduct demonstrations to members of the student body to increase interest
Organize field trips
Show videos that you do not have time to show in class
Keep a question box near your classroom (or use an internet based questionnaire) and students in the club can research the answers and display them)
Design club t-shirts
Organize a psychology fair
Create "psychology passes" for use when sending students from your class

One overall goal was to "a club dedicated to enhancing the experience and appreciation of psychology to all students through a variety of social and educational activities." (from TCNJ)

With this kind of overall goal in mind, one can do quite a variety of activities. Just examine the list above and check out what kinds of awareness activities are already done in your community on any activity.

If you have additional ideas, please post in the comments section.

A quick search of google for "psychology club" yielded hundreds of results, mostly at the university level.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Hello from Clark University!

2011-07-12T18:21:00.000-07:00

Let me just say this: if I (Steve) had a bucket list, I would be one step closer to completing it - I got to meet Kristin Whitlock! And not only have I been able to meet her, but I have had the pleasure of presenting with her at the 7th annual APA/Clark University Workshop for high school psychology teachers. We have had an awesome two days and I'm sad that it's going to wrap-up on Wednesday. I will be posting more about the workshop later in the month, but let me just encourage you all to apply for next year's workshop. (And what's the best way to learn about this workshop and others for psych teachers? That's right - by joining TOPSS!)

What's so great about Clark? You get to hang out with 25 amazing fellow teachers, learn from each other, hear the latest research from terrific presenters and get treated royally by the terrific folks at APA and Clark University. This workshop is made possible by the generosity of Dr. Lee Gurel who should be deemed the parton saint of high school psychology teachers. I was really excited this week to learn that Lee subscribes to the THSP blog and reads it regularly!

And to my fellow moderators: now that I've met Kristin, I'm hoping to meet the rest of you this December at NCSS - right? We'll do our presentation on THSP and have a grand time in DC as well!

Stanford Prison Experiment: where are they now?

2011-07-08T06:41:00.000-07:00

The July/August issue of the Stanford Alumni magazine features a retrospective on the Stanford Prison Experiment which took place 40 years ago this summer. In addition to the expected Q&A with "warden" Philip Zimbardo, the article includes interviews with co-researcher Craig Haney, Christina Maslach (the graduate student/girlfriend of Zimbardo who was the "whistleblower"), two guards and one prisoner.

In the interviews I found some interesting comments. One of the guards, Dave Eshelman, called "John Wayne" because of his sadistic behavior, denied that the situation provoked cruelty from him. Rather, he says, he was actively playing a part:

"What came over me was not an accident. It was planned. I set out with a definite plan in mind, to try to force the action, force something to happen, so that the researchers would have something to work with. After all, what could they possibly learn from guys sitting around like it was a country club? So I consciously created this persona. I was in all kinds of drama productions in high school and college. It was something I was very familiar with: to take on another personality before you step out on the stage. I was kind of running my own experiment in there, by saying, "How far can I push these things and how much abuse will these people take before they say, 'knock it off?'" But the other guards didn't stop me. They seemed to join in. They were taking my lead. Not a single guard said, "I don't think we should do this."

Another guard, John Mark, takes Zimbardo to task for what he sees as Zimbardo's claim that events just happened by themselves:

"During the day shift, when I worked, no one did anything that was beyond what you'd expect in a situation like that. But Zimbardo went out of his way to create tension. Things like forced sleep deprivation - he was really pushing the envelope. I just didn't like the whole idea of constantly disturbing people and asking them to recite their prisoner numbers in a count. I certainly didn't like when they put a guy in solitary confinement ... I didn't think it was ever meant to go the full two weeks. I think Zimbardo wanted to create a dramatic crescendo, and then end it as quickly as possible. I felt that throughout the experiment, he knew what he wanted and then tried to shape the experiment—by how it was constructed, and how it played out—to fit the conclusion that he had already worked out. He wanted to be able to say that college students, people from middle-class backgrounds—people will turn on each other just because they're given a role and given power. Based on my experience, and what I saw and what I felt, I think that was a real stretch. I don't think the actual events match up with the bold headline. I never did, and I haven't changed my opinion."

Richard Yacco, who was one of the prisoners, now teaches at an inner city high school in Oakland. He makes some intriguing comparisons between the SPE and the lives of his students, and expresses frustration with how the "power of the situation" impacts them:

"But what frustrates my colleagues and me is that we are creating great opportunities for these kids, we offer great support for them, why are they not taking advantage of it? Why are they dropping out of school? Why are they coming to school unprepared? I think a big reason is what the prison study shows—they fall into the role their society has made for them."

I would love to do a longer interview with Yacco, but can't find an e-mail for him at the moment. If anyone else can, please let me know in the comments.

Zimbardo, for his part, seems to be working hard to be known for more than just "the prison experiment guy." Last year on THSP I described his work with the Heroic Imagination Project, and just last week he was interviewed on NPR on the same subject. But really - after 21 years on PBS stations and in countless high school and college classrooms - isn't he also very well known as the host of Discovering Psychology? That alone should be his claim to fame!

--posted by Steve

2011 Bellevue AP Psychology Workshop!

2011-06-27T12:14:00.000-07:00

I am working with 24 wonderful current and future AP Psychology teachers at the 2011 15th Annual Pacific Northwest AP institute in Bellevue, WA! Tomorrow (Tuesday June 28th) one of the activities is looking through this blog as a resource. If any of you out there have suggestions, ideas, well-wishes, etc. for this group of teachers, please add them in the comments! I'll post an update in the comments after we do the blog activity.

posted by Rob McEntarffer

THSP goes to China

2011-06-15T17:33:00.000-07:00

Okay, the whole blog isn't going to China, but I am! I am going with a group of about 25 North Carolina teachers who are traveling thanks to the Center for International Understanding, an organization that's part of the UNC system. Our focus is on how new technologies are emerging in China as well as looking at how technologies developed there in the past. Most importantly the Center thinks that sending teachers to the other side of the world will change the way they see the world and therefore how their students see the world - and at a time when teachers are getting bashed left and right, this is a pretty refreshing attitude.

For my part, I'm wearing two hats. First, as a civics and economics teacher, I'm hoping to learn more about how China's amazing "leap forward" in the past twenty years has changed and is changing the balanced of economic power in the world. But I'm also going as a psychology teacher who is fascinated with how China's policies are affecting its people. With such a massive shift of populations from rural to urban, how is the collectivist culture of China changing? What are the planned and unplanned effects of the one-child policy? And how is the education system the same or different as it's portrayed in the media?

So many questions and only 11 days! If you would like to keep up with me on my journey, please follow my new blog at http://mrjtochina.blogspot.com/ or feel free to comment below.

--posted by Steve

Teenagers and Sleep

2011-06-06T08:42:00.000-07:00

A colleague shared this NPR story with me this morning. It is a nice overview/background on teens and sleep issues. The second story is a followup with experts responding to listener questions.

The Other Big Deficit: Many Teens Fall Short On Sleep

Sleep Experts Answer Your Questions On Teens And Shuteye

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Top Ten Myths About the Brain

2011-05-25T10:27:00.000-07:00

A link to this Smithsonian article, "Top Ten Myths About the Brain" was recently posted by Dr. Stephen L. Chew on the PsychTeacher listserv. It is EXCELLENT. You could easily use this article in introducing your unit on the brain, or as Dr. Chew suggests, an excellent teacher resource.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/Top-Ten-Myths-About-the-Brain.html

Best!

Kristin H. Whitlock

National Geographics Brain Page

2011-05-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, the National Geographic has part of their website devoted to the human body. I (Kent) will leave the sections on the digestive system, heart, skin and lungs to our colleagues in biology and concentrate on the section devoted to the brain. Go to http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/health-and-human-body/human-body/brain-article.html for more information.

In addition, make sure to check out a short, but fantastic slide show at http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/photos/brain/?source=A-to-Z as well as an article on sleep deprivation in rats at http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/04/110427-sleep-deprived-brains-nature-science-health-rat-asleep-awake/

Books Books Books!

2011-05-10T08:56:00.000-07:00

A while back, Chuck Greiner posted an intriguing question on the AP Psychology list-serv (he gave me permission to repeat the question here on the blog):
"Our school has been doing something called "One Book, One School" for about two years. Basically every student in the school reads the same book and the school then TRIES to implement ideas, concepts, theories etc into every curricular area...I would like for us to read a book in some way related to psychology but that we can segway into any discipline - that is 9 -12 readable -and not a lecture type of book"

Several Teaching High School Psych BLOG posts focus on specific books that might be useful (maybe not for a "One book, one school" project, but for something else!)
Ramachandran - Tell-Tale Brain
Watters - Crazy Like Us
Ackerman - Natural History of the Senses
Herzog- Some we love, some we hate, some we eat
Carter- The Human Brain Book

Also, a project called Reachout published a list of Young Adult fiction books they believe may help young people struggling with specific psychological disorders

If you have ideas for other books (for "enrichment", for summer reading assignments, for in class use, for teachers, or just for fun) please share them in the comments!

posted by Rob McEntarffer

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T10:46:00.000-07:00

This is "A Biologist's Mother's Day Song" but I thought it would fit nicely on our little psychology blog as well. "More than half of everything I am is thanks to you!"

Happy Mother's Day to all of our readers and their moms!
-- posted by Steve Jones

Milwaukee Area Teachers of Psychology Meeting - May 11, 2011

2011-05-05T09:06:00.000-07:00

Please excuse the cross-posting. We are trying to make sure we reach everyone interested in the MATOP meeting.

Since 1993, Milwaukee area psychology teachers have gathered twice a year to share teaching ideas and develop friendships. Our group has come to be called the "Milwaukee Area Teachers of Psychology" (MATOP). Below you will find an invitation to our next meeting on May 11th. If you live within driving distance of the Milwaukee area, please feel free to attend. If you would like to be included on the MATOP mailing list please contact me at the email address below.

For those of you not within driving distance of Milwaukee, feel free to "check out" our agenda for items you might find useful in your classroom. Whenever possible, I have tried to include email or website addresses for further information. Please contact me with any questions you may have.

For more information on MATOP, please go to my website at http://www.germantownschools.org/faculty/kkorek/

Kent

Kent Korek
Germantown High School
W180 N11501 River Lane
Germantown, WI 53022
Phone: 262-253-3400
Fax: 262-253-3494
kkorek@germantown.k12.wi.us

Dear Psychology Teacher:

Please consider attending the meeting of the Milwaukee Area Teachers of Psychology (MATOP) on Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. at Pius XI High School, 135 N. 76th Street, Milwaukee 53213 in the Library.

Our meeting will include:

■ an examination of Peter Gray’s Psychology 6e from Worth Publishing. This text is a number one seller for AP and IB classes. Thanks to Eileen Tanania, the Bedford, Freeman and Worth representative (866-843-3715 ex 1714) etanania@bfwpub.com , everyone attending the meeting will receive an examination copy of the text and student study guide. For more information on this text go to http://highschool.bfwpub.com

■ a discussion of the just released 2011 AP Psychology Exam Free Response Questions. For your own copy of both questions, go to http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap11_frq_psychology.pdf

■ an inspection of the new edition of Psychology 9e (AP Edition) by Bernstein, Penner, Clarke-Stewart, and Roy from Holt-McDougal. Through the courtesy of Katie Golem, Advanced & Elective Programs Specialist at Holt-McDougall, (800-479-9799 ex. 3870) katie.golem@hmhpub.com everyone will receive a complementary copy of this mainstay AP Psychology text. Go to http://holtmcdougal.hmhco.com to learn more about the Bernstein text.

■ a demonstration of a pair of both displacement and inversion goggles courtesy of Gerry Palmer palmtree60045@yahoo.com at Psychkits at http://www.psychkits.com. Thanks to Gerry for his contribution to almost every MATOP meeting. Two lucky teachers will be leaving the meeting with a pair of these goggles with suggested lesson plans to use next year in their sensation and perception unit.

■ an appraisal of the first AP version of Prentice Hall/Pearson’s Psychology 2e (AP Edition) by Ciccarelli and White. For our fall meeting Kevin Kuckkan of Prentice Hall (866-340-3692) kevin.kuckkan@pearson.com has sent copies of this new edition for all those in attendance. The Prentice Hall/Pearson website can be found at http://pearsonschool.com

■ a presentation of My Psych Lab, a internet based learning and assessment tool for students using Prentice Hall/Pearson textbooks. Elaine Shemas, the AP, Honors, & Electives representative for Prentice Hall (201-236-5521) Elaine.Shema@PHSchool.com has graciously provided information to give access to all attending our spring meeting. The Prentice Hall/Pearson website can be found at http://pearsonschool.com

■ a review of Laura King’s The Science of Psychology: An Appreciative View 2e from McGraw-Hill/Glencoe. At our fall meeting, Crystal Hooks, the AP, Honors and Electives at Glencoe/McGraw-Hill (877-286-4821) crystal_hooks@mcgraw-hill.com stopped by to highlight the Annual Edition series. For this meeting Crystal has donated copies of the King text. For additional information go to https://www.mheonline.com

■ Mike Kopish from UW-Madison has been conducting research on AP Psychology for his doctoral dissertation. Mike has agreed to present some of his research findings from studying four different AP Psychology programs throughout WI.

■ information regarding activities/demonstrations/resources for classroom use. At our fall meeting, we agreed spend more time letting teachers share some of their best classroom activities. A number of people have agreed to share. Please feel free to bring something to the group.

■ and much more.

Everyone is welcome to attend any and all MATOP meeting. There is no need to RSVP. Please feel free to invite anyone you feel might be interested in coming. Our meetings usually last about two hours. You need not stay the entire time.

If you have any questions concerning our meeting, please contact Ruth Regent-Smith at Pius H.S. (414-290-7000) rregent@piusxi.org or Kent Korek at Germantown H.S. (262-253-3400) kkorek@germantown.k12.wi.us.

For directions to Pius, go to http://www.piusxi.org/prospective/Transportation.aspx We look forward to seeing you.

Ruth Regent-Smith
Kent Korek

AP Psych Post-Test Debriefing

2011-05-03T10:22:00.000-07:00

As part of my ongoing effort to improve my preparation and teaching and also to assist my students in understanding the rigors of the course, I do a post-test debrief about a week past the AP Exam using a form that is relatively simple. The main issues are below. The document itself is linked here.

I've recieved some outstanding suggestions and have incorporated many. If you do use this idea, I hope it works for you. Please also add any ideas to supplement the debriefing process.
----------------------------------------------------------------

AP Psychology—Debriefing

The purpose of this form is to help me understand what went right and what can be improved as far as preparation for the AP exam. Please answer the questions honestly—I am just looking for ways to improve things for my future students.

How much total time (in hours) did you spend reviewing/studying for the AP Psychology exam?
1-5
6-10
11-20
20+

State your initial reactions to the Multiple Choice section of the exam. Explain why you think you had this reaction.

State your initial reactions to FRQ #1 section of the exam. What was it that you liked or did not like? Explain why.

State your initial reactions to FRQ #2 section of the exam. What was it that you liked or did not like? Explain why.

What score did you think you may be receiving? (circle one) Just guess.

1 2 3 4 5

What types of preparation did you do? This may include reviewing the following. Circle all that apply.

the text
your notes and papers from the year
the previous exams we took
Barron’s Review Book
Princeton Review Book
Princeton Review Cards
A different review book (if so, which)
Oral review with self or friends
Online review with non-class sources
Using the class review resources
In-school review
Review session(s) with the instructor
Other (please list below)

What type of review mentioned above was most helpful? Please explain.

What recommendations for change would you make for our preparation for the exam? I’m looking for constructive suggestions. Feel free to make suggestions about the course, the organization of the course, what we did and how we did it. Use bullet points.

What advice would you give to future students in AP Psychology so that they may be successful both in the class and on the AP exam? Use bullet points.

---------------------------------------------------

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

The Cognitive Dissonance song debut!

2011-04-30T16:02:00.000-07:00

For the first time on any blog (I think) AP Psychology teacher Brad Wray is debuting his new video "Cognitive Dissonance (Dissonant & Justified)." You may remember that Mr. Wray's hit song about cognitive bias was featured here just before the AP Psych exam last May, and he's back with another. I hope that all of you teachers and students who are doing some last minute reviewing this weekend will take a few minutes to enjoy his new song, this time complete with some awesome drawings and an MP3 remix!

--posted by Steve Jones

AP Psychology Summer Institutes (APSI)

2011-04-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

As our thoughts turn from preparing for the AP Psychology Exam to the end of the school year, many teachers start thinking about AP Summer Institutes (APSI). These week long adventures designed for both the beginning and seasoned AP teacher, provide valuable insights into the teaching of any AP Psychology course. I've heard many a teacher say the APSI is probably the one best thing that has helped their teaching of AP Psychology with the possible exception of being an AP reader.

This summer, AP Psychology Advanced Placement Summer Institutes (APSI)are offered at over 50 locations throughout the country. Almost all are designed for both experienced and new AP teachers, while a few are exclusively for new teachers. APSI's usually last four or five days and are run by endorsed consultants of the College Board.

I (Kent) have had the good fortune to facilitate AP Psychology Summer Institutes over the past seven years. This year I am scheduled to be in MN, WV, PA and KN. I am always impressed with the professionalism and willingness to share by all the participants. I can confidently say, I always walk away from the weeks with many new ideas for my classes.

To provide a little insight into a typical AP Summer Institutes I facilitate, I have posted a brief overview of the week on my website (http://www.germantownschools.org/faculty/kkorek/Advanced_Placement_Psychology_Summer_Institutes.cfm). Please be aware, every institute varies based on the facilitator, needs of the participants, sponsoring organization's requirements, as well as a host of other factors, but most APSIs contain many of the same basic elements. Other APSI consultants are invited to post comments, information, website links, or other items of interest in the comments section of this posting.

To learn more about summer institutes, go to the Institutes and Workshop section of AP Central at http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/Pageflows/InstitutesAndWorkshops/InstitutesAndWorkshopsController.jpf The site includes a search engine where you can find an APSI in your part of the country. You can search by topic, date, and/or location.

News from TOPSS/APA

2011-04-26T11:02:00.000-07:00

The following is from Emily Leary, Assistant Director of the APA Office of Precollege and Undergraduate Programs, regarding items of interest from the APA and TOPSS (Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools) to all high school psychology teachers. If you would like to be included on Emily's email listing, please contact her at the address below.

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 $250. Funds can be used to offset costs of travel, conference registration, and housing accommodations. Applications to attend the APA Convention (August 4-7, 2011, Washington, DC; www.apa.org/convention) are encouraged. $2,500 is available for funding. These grants are made possible through a generous gift from Dr. Lee Gurel.

The application deadline has been extended until May 1, 2011; for details on how to apply, visit http://www.apa.org/apf/funding/professional-topss.aspx.

APF High School Psychology Teacher Network Grants

The purpose of these grants 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 is particularly interested in proposals for professional development opportunities for teachers that could lead to the formation of a new regional network of psychology teachers. APF will award $1,500 in grants in 2011. These grants are made possible through a generous gift from Dr. Lee Gurel.

The application deadline is May 1, 2011; for details on how to apply, visit http://www.apa.org/apf/funding/psychology-teacher-network.aspx.

APA TOPSS Poster Competition for High School Psychology Students

TOPSS is pleased to announce the 2011 APA TOPSS Poster Competition for High School Psychology Students. There will be four winners, each of whom will receive a $250 award.

Topic: Although psychology has historical roots in the discipline of philosophy, a contemporary definition of psychology states it is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. The American Psychological Association (APA) recognizes psychology as a diverse scientific discipline with nearly boundless applications in everyday life. In this competition, students will design an original visual poster on the theme “Psychology is a Science,” and also submit a written explanation of the poster and theme.

The submission deadline is June 1, 2011; please visit http://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/topss/poster-competition.aspx for competition details, rules, scoring rubric, and submission information.

Call for Nominations: 2011 TOPSS Committee Elections

The mission of TOPSS is to promote introductory and advanced high school psychology, meet curricular and professional needs of secondary school teachers; and provide opportunities for high school students to be recognized and rewarded for their academic excellence. If you would like to become more involved in TOPSS, and are interested in gaining leadership experience and positively impacting the teaching of high school psychology, we encourage you to consider serving on the TOPSS Committee. TOPSS is especially interested in encouraging individuals from diverse backgrounds (including diversity in race/ethnicity, gender, ability/disability, sexual orientation, age, and religion) to consider running for TOPSS Office. In 2011, the following three elected positions will be filled: Chair (three-year term), Member-at-Large (two-year term), and Membership Coordinator (two-year term).

Nominations are due by July 1, 2011. Visit http://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/topss/call-for-nominations.aspx for additional information.

APA Annual Convention

All high school psychology teachers are encouraged to consider attending the APA Annual Convention (www.apa.org/convention), being held August 4-7, 2011, in Washington, DC. TOPSS is pleased to announce the 2011 TOPSS Invited Addresses; the following sessions will be held Friday, August 5, and Saturday, August 6, 2011:

Barney Beins, PhD, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY; Psychology: Gateway to Critical Thinking and Scientific Literacy

April Bleske-Rechek, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Eau Claire, WI; The Lee Gurel Lecture: A Primer on Evolutionary Psychology: Foundational Ideas, Exemplary Research, and Criticisms

Jessica Henderson Daniel, PhD, Boston Children’s Hospital, Cambridge, MA; Teaching Adolescents about Adolescents: Using Mirrors that Focus on Race, Ethnicity and Gender
Gil Einstein, PhD, Furman University, Greenville, SC; Remembering to Perform Actions in the Future: Can Intentions Pop into Mind?

Regan Gurung, PhD, University of Wisconsin Green Bay, Green Bay, WI; Maureen McCarthy, PhD, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA; Katherine Minter, Westwood High School, Austin, TX; and Steve Behnke, PhD, JD, APA Ethics Office, Discussant; Ethical Issues in the Introductory Psychology Course

Also, please join TOPSS for a reception on Saturday, August 6, from 5:00 – 5:50 PM, at the Grand Hyatt Washington Hotel (Burnham Room).

Membership

The TOPSS Website is http://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/topss/index.aspx. For only $40 a year, high school psychology teachers can join APA as affiliate members and become a member of TOPSS. To join TOPSS, visit http://www.apa.org/membership/hs-teacher/index.aspx. Benefits include access to 19 Unit Lesson Plans, subscriptions to the monthly APA Monitor magazine and quarterly Psychology Teacher Network newsletter, and more!

Please contact Emily Leary by e-mail (eleary@apa.org) or at (202) 572-3013 if you have any questions.

Emily Leary | Assistant Director, Office of Precollege and Undergraduate Programs
Education Directorate
American Psychological Association
750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242
Tel: (202) 572-3013 | Fax: (202) 336-5962
email: eleary@apa.org | www.apa.org

Movies and Psychology

2011-04-26T00:00:00.001-07:00

When I attended a day-long seminar in the early 90s about critical thinking in the social sciences, I was instructed never to show an entire film during class time-that time was too valuable. I abide by that advice to this day. In class, I show film clips, but prefer documentaries. I do have AP Psych Movie Nights outside of class time.

However, the time after the AP exam often presents us with lots of time and low interest by our hard-working advanced students. Given that reality, many of us will be showing films. Following a recent thread on the AP-PSYCH listserv, I did a couple quick searches and rediscovered these gems.

APA Division 2's page with two resources

PsychMovies dot com (I posted about this site back in late 2009)
http://www.psychmovies.com/
Exceptional descriptions and overviews with ratings

APS guide to using film in teaching psychology
This is an excellent resource including steps to use in using film, solving ethical issues within the film, following copyright, and more. Thank you Dr. Raymond J. Green.

Regardless of your views on the pedagogy of showing films, these are some excellent resources.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Big Bang Theory - Conditioning Penny

2011-04-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

As fans of the Big Bang Theory TV Show (most notably my wife and oldest daughter) are no doubt aware, within the "The Gothowitz Deviation" episode (Season 3: Episode 3), there is a short segment where Sheldon tries to train Penny using Operant Conditioning.

There are a number of different versions of the clip at YouTube and other video sites. In my mind (Kent) the best version for a high school class can be found at http://blogs.cornell.edu/gp08ha1115/files/2010/04/Big-Bang-Theory-OB-21.mp4

AP Psychology Exam - Last Minute Items

2011-04-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

With the AP Psychology Exam just one week away, many of us are reaching the end to a long journey that started last fall. Below are some of the "last minute" items I (Kent) tell my students. Note: This listing is basically the same as previous years, with the exception of the guessing adjustment.

General Information:

Monday May 02, 2011 in the afternoon
Bring pencils with erasers and blue or black pens
Bring a watch that does not beep
Do not wear any psychology related clothing
Do not bring anything else: books, papers, calculators, cell phones, etc.

Multiple Choice Section:

100 multiple choice questions
70 minutes
2/3 of the overall grade
A-E Answers
Names, charts, graphs, drawings are all possible
There is no 1/4 point adjustment for guessing, if you are not sure about a question, take your best educated guess after using process of elimination

Free Response Section:

2 required Free Response (essay) Questions
50 minutes
1/3 of the overall grade - 1/6 of grade for each question
Points are given for correct responses not taken away for incorrect material
Points can only be removed if one part of an answer contradicts another part
Read through both questions before doing anything else
Think through the answer before starting to write
Write an outline or notes in the test question booklet
Don’t be afraid to cross something out, if needed
Write in sentences - DO NOT OUTLINE OR BULLET YOUR ANSWER.
Be as complete as possible, but keep to the point.
Watch the time. Don’t get caught short on essay #2
Structure the answer following the structure of the question

Test Security:

Do not discuss the multiple-choice section with anyone
Do not discuss the free response questions for 48 hours. The general rule of thumb is wait until the questions have been posted on the College Board website
Do NOT post, text, email etc. anything about the exam on the Internet, especially on Facebook, Twitter or other social networks
Do not come and visit me between the multiple choice section and free response section

If you have any questions on the above items, please contact me at kkorek@germantown.k12.wi.us. Please feel free to leave any other ideas in the comments section below. Best of luck to everyone.

Understanding Autism course - from Yale University

2011-04-24T12:43:00.000-07:00

Did you know that Yale offers an online course on autism? I didn't, but I just stumbled upon it and wanted to share. The course is offered to undergraduate students and the school decided to make it more widely available:

The Yale Seminar on Autism and Related Disorders is the United States' first undergraduate course of its kind. Our goal for this website is to make all of the lecture content and supporting materials available online for free for anyone who desires to learn about Autism Spectrum Disorders.

The course is divided into 11 sections and each section has links to video (like the one above), audio, PowerPoint and PDF files, and readings. This looks like an amazing resource and I hope that if you know more about it or delve into the course you will share it us at THSP.

--posted by Steve Jones

Resources for the AP Psychology Exam

2011-04-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

With the 2011 AP Psychology Exam just around the corner, I (Kent) thought it might be helpful to list some of the many resources available on AP Central. Best of luck to all on the 2011 AP Psychology Exam.

General Information on AP Psychology

AP Psychology Home Page

AP Psychology Course Description Book (Acorn Book)

AP Psychology Exam Information
This site includes basic information on the AP Psychology Exam and access to all the Free Response Questions, rubrics, sample responses, etc. since 1999.

Released AP Psychology Exams

Occasionally, the College Board releases the actual AP Psychology Exam students have taken. To date, the 1994, 1999, 2004 and 2007 AP Psychology exams have been released. The 1994 and 1999 released exams can be found on the AP Central website. The 2004 and 2007 released exams can be purchased at the College Board Store. Due to the changes in scoring for the multiple choice section starting in 2011 (see below), revised scoring worksheets have been published for all the released exams except for 1994.

1994 AP Psychology Released Exam

Please Note: There are no revised scoring worksheets for the 1999 AP Psychology Released Exam

1999 AP Psychology Released Exam

Revised Scoring Worksheet for the 1999 AP Psychology Released Exam

2004 AP Psychology Released Exam
The 2004 AP Psychology Released Exam can be purchased from the College Board Store

Revised Scoring Worksheet for the 2004 AP Psychology Released Exam

2007 AP Psychology Released Exam
The 2007 AP Psychology Released Exam can be purchased from the College Board Store

Revised Scoring Worksheet for the 2007 AP Psychology Released Exam

AP Psychology Practice Exam

In 2008, the College Board released an AP Psychology Practice Exam free to authorized teachers. The practice exam, which mirrors a typical AP Psychology Exam, is available only to AP Psychology teachers who have passed the AP Audit. A major difference between the practice exam and the released exams is that students have access to the released exams, but not the practice exam.

Before using the AP Psychology Practice Exam, please read through the "Usage Guidelines". The practice exam should NOT be published on a website or in any other electronic format. Many teachers give the practice exam to their students for a grade in their AP Psychology course. Please do not violate the confidentiality of the practice exam by posting it on a website where any enterprising student can find it.

Information and access to the AP Psychology Practice Exam can be found at
http://www.collegeboard.com/html/apcourseaudit/practice_exams.html

Changes in Scoring for Advanced Placement Exams

Beginning in 2011, the scoring for the multiple choice section of AP exams will change. Below is a quote from the AP Central Website explaining the change.

"Beginning with the May 2011 AP Exam administration, there will be a change to the way AP Exams are scored. Total scores on the multiple-choice section will be based on the number of questions answered correctly. Points will no longer be deducted for incorrect answers and, as always, no points will be awarded for unanswered questions." (http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/212187.html)

Again, best of luck to all. Just think, on May 3rd we can start counting down to Monday May 7, 2012.

Images from The Beautiful Brain

2011-04-21T04:39:00.000-07:00

The terrific site The Beautiful Brain ("the art and science of the human mind") has a great new feature on the work of artist Elizabeth Jameson, a civil rights lawyer who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1991. As TBB explains,

Jameson felt a hunger to step beyond her career as a lawyer and reinterpret this medical imagery, adding an artistic treatment to her brain scans in what has become a unique form of portraiture. Jameson writes that her MS inspires her “to create images that provide new insights into the brain and, at the same time, makes medical imaging and its representative humanity more accessible to both medical professionals and others who view these revealing pictures.”

Check out the online gallery of Jameson's work and the accompanying interview with her, as well as another gallery of her work from 2010.

--posted by Steve Jones

Freud's couch featured on The Amazing Race

2011-04-15T10:56:00.000-07:00

If you are a fan of the CBS show The Amazing Race like I am you probably already know this, but if not, here's some news: this Sunday's episode has the teams traveling to Vienna, Austria.As in every episode, the duos will be required to do tasks that are unique to that locale, and this episode features Sigmund Freud! As you can see from the preview above (or if it does not load, go here) the teams are required to carry a couch like Freud's down the street and at least suffers a "Freudian slip"!

--posted by Steve
(who was probably the only person in the US jumping up and down in his living room last week at the end of the previous episode, when they showed "scenes from next week," yelling "they're carrying Freud's couch!")

Brain Atlas = Done!

2011-04-14T06:23:00.000-07:00

Chuck posted on this blog back in February about the Brain Atlas that the Paul Allen Institute for Brain Science was working on. Recently, WIRED magazine wrote a nice post announcing the COMPLETION of the Brain Atlas!

The reporter's description of dissection might make for good, entertaining, out-loud reading in class: "He takes a thin, sterilized knife and slices into the tissue with disconcerting ease. I’m reminded of Jell-O and guillotines and the meat counter at the supermarket. He saws repeatedly until the brain is reduced to a series of thin slabs, which are then photographed and rushed to a freezer. All that remains is a pool of blood, like the scene of a crime."

The picture in the upper right of this post represents a "3-D snapshot of all the locations in the brain where the Prozac’s biochemical target is expressed."

Its not clear to me whether this atlas is useable by high school students (might be WAY too technical?) but its still a great example of researchers trying to get a comprehensive database/picture of the brain, and students might be interested in the effort.

posted by Rob McEntarffer

TV Alert: "Human Planet" on Discovery Channel

2011-04-10T09:25:00.000-07:00

The Discover Channel has what appears to be a human version of their incredible Life series called, "Human Planet." Granted, it may be more for a Sociology course, but what humans do and how they do has always fascinated me (I was fortunate enough to teach sociology for 14 of my teaching years).

The site describes the series as:

Human Planet is a majestic portrait of people's incredible ability to survive and thrive in our planet's most extreme environments. From oceans to jungles to deserts, Human Planet tells the story of the complex, profound and sometimes challenging relationship between humankind and nature.

In terms of usage, one could take clips of the show and examine problem-solving--seeing how different cultures, faced with challenging survival tasks, adapt to their environment and make it work for their group. One could also use the series to examine value systems of groups, examining how the circumstances of nature "force" groups into particular kinds of beliefs, valuing more that which is necessary, but rare in the region. Teachers could also use clips to gauge student reactions, showing how the students exhibit ethnocentrism, a personal-culture bias. I have used "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema" to great effect over the years for a more academic, word-based version of the experience.

In perusing the photos, I ran across one of my favorite groups, the Woodabe. From the caption:

A painted Wodaabe dancer wears his brightest smile at a courtship dance in Niger, west Africa. Called the Gerewol, it's one of the most extraordinary gatherings of fertility and flirtation in world. Three winners will be chosen out of dozens of male competitors, and each will win a new lover — even someone else's wife. The Gerewol is signaled by the coming of the desert rains.

I'm looking forward to the series in all its high-definition glory. The six-part series begins tonight--see local listings for details.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Announcement: June workshop for psychology teachers at NC State

2011-04-07T11:00:00.000-07:00

North Carolina State University is offering a one day workshop for high school psychology teachers on June 25, 2011. The workshop offerings will include:

Cross-cultural research
Careers available for psychology majors
Fun classroom demonstrations
Myths and misconceptions in psychology
Research methods and ethics
Resources to implement in the classroom

Attendees will receive Continuing Education credits + 3 hours of reading credits. For more information and to register, visit http://psychology.chass.ncsu.edu/workshop.php.

--posted by Steve Jones