Iowa Teachers of Psychology Conference April 5, 2019

The Iowa Teachers of Psychology will be holding their annual teaching conference on April 5, 2019 at Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo. The legendary Sue Frantz will be their keynote speaker.

For more information, go to their website.

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Professional Development Options for High School Psychology Teachers Part 2

One of the best experiences for professional development is the APA/Clark Workshop. Ask any of the hundreds of "graduates" from the workshop and they will tell you it was one of the most professionally rewarding experiences they have had.

This year, Amy Ramponi and Brad Wray will be the primary Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools TOPSS presenters. Below is the photo from 2018.

I encourage anyone who is the sole psychology teacher in their school to apply. This is especially true if you are from a traditionally underrepresented community. One of the goals for the APA in general, and TOPSS more specifically is to bring in more people to increase ethnic, socioeconomic, gender, age, geographic, disability/ability, sexual orientation, and belief system diversity.

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New APA Resources--The Canvas Course

AMAZING NEW RESOURCE--Thank you to Brad Wray and the Tech Strand at the Psychology Summit!!!!

TOPSS High School Psychology Course Template available in Canvas – From the technology and online learning strand. A giant thanks to Brad Wray in particular for creating and filming the linked video on the site, and for all his work editing and uploading the course. Feel free to watch the video and download the course – feedback is welcome!

“This teaching resource for high school psychology teachers includes many content specific, peer-reviewed resources, videos and formative assessments organized by the National Standards for High School Psychology Curricula. The entire course template is shareable and customizable and can be used in on-line or in-person psychology classes.”


posted by Chuck Schallhorn

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2018 TOPSS Committee Call for Nominations

2018 TOPSS Committee Call for Nominations 

If you would like to become more involved with the APA Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (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 in all locations and from diverse backgrounds (including diversity in race/ethnicity, gender, ability/disability, sexual orientation, age and religion) to consider running for TOPSS office. In 2018, the following elected positions will be filled: Chair-elect and Member-at-large. Both are three-year positions.

The TOPSS Committee meets at least once a year in Washington, DC. The APA covers travel and accommodation expenses. Please consider nominating a colleague who you feel would make a positive impact. Self-nominations are also welcomed.

Each term of office begins in January and continues for the succeeding 12 months. For details, please visit http://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/topss/committee-nominations.aspx.

 Nominations are due July 1, 2018.

Author note--I am in my second year in serving on the TOPSS board. There is at least one meeting in Washington, D.C. each year, with a second one sometimes occurring. We have conference calls monthly with each member having a particular focus and projects to be a point person on. One year later, we are still working on the amazing ideas and programs that the Psychology Summit created. Our newest project is deciding what to do with the one million dollars David G. Myers gave to the foundation for TOPSS to use. We are in an incredible time to be working within TOPSS and the teaching of psychology. I highly recommend giving it a shot.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

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

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

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

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

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





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



posted by Chuck Schallhorn

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American Psychological Foundation (APF) Professional Development Awards for High School Psychology Teachers

American Psychological Foundation (APF) Professional Development Awards for High School Psychology Teachers 

APF has made $2,500 available to help fund high school psychology teachers’ travel and attendance to the 2018 American Psychological Association (APA) Annual Convention, being held in San Francisco, California, Aug. 9-12, 2018.

Funds can be used to offset costs of travel, conference registration, and housing accommodations. The deadline to apply is April 15, 2018. 

For details visit: http://www.apa.org/apf/funding/professional-topss.aspx

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APF Money for Creating/Supporting Regional Networks

American Psychological Foundation (APF) High School Psychology Outreach Grants 

APF has made $5,000 available in 2018 to fund innovative programs that support networking, professional development and educational outreach opportunities for high school psychology teachers and students. These grants support regional teaching networks for high school psychology teachers.

The deadline to apply is April 15, 2018. 

For details visit: http://www.apa.org/apf/funding/psychology-teacher-network.aspx

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APA/Clark University Workshop for High School Teachers--Amazing PD

APA/Clark University Workshop for High School Teachers

 The 14th annual APA/Clark University Workshop for High School Teachers will be held June 27-29, 2018, at Clark University in Worcester, MA.

 All interested high school psychology teachers are invited to apply; the workshop will be open to 25 teachers.

Workshop presenters will include Jessica Flitter, of West Bend High School (West Bend, Wisconsin), and Scott Reed, of Hamilton High School (Chandler, Arizona). Regan Gurung, PhD, of the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay will give the keynote address.

The deadline to apply is April 15, 2018. For details visit: http://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/topss/clark-university-workshop.aspx

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2018 TOPSS Competition for High School Psychology Students

2018 TOPSS Competition for High School Psychology Students 

High school psychology students are invited to participate in a video competition to demonstrate how psychology can benefit society at a local, regional, or global level.

Each submission must include a 2-5 minute video, supported by a written statement of 750-1,000 words. Four winners will be selected for this year’s competition, each of whom will receive a $400 award.

The deadline for submission is April 15, 2018. 

For complete competition details, rules and guidelines, visit: http://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/topss/student-competition.aspx

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APA TOPSS Charles T. Blair-Broeker Excellence in Teaching Awards

Back in 1997, I met this quiet and humorous gentleman from Iowa named Charlie. He was one of the instructors at the Nebraska Wesleyan Psychology Teacher Institute. Little did I realize the impact he would have on my teaching career and the entire world of high school psychology. I now get to call him a friend.

Prior to October 2014, this award was named “APA TOPSS Excellence in Teaching Awards.” It is now called, the "APA TOPSS Charles T. Blair-Broeker Excellence in Teaching Award." You may not know Charlie, but you have likely been influenced by his approach to teaching, the activities he created or popularized, or may even use his textbook. In any case, there is this excellence in teaching award that is named after him.

There are a few items needed to apply, so get started now. No matter where you are in your career if you can get the materials together because you are an excellent psychology teacher, make the time and apply. This award is one of the high marks in anyone's teaching psychology career.

Make the time for this one--you won't regret it.

Details can be found here:
http://www.apa.org/about/awards/teaching-excellence.aspx


posted by Chuck Schallhorn

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Professional Development Resources and Regional Networks

Where can you get some quality professional for your psychology background? Look no further than what we have put together at the American Psychological Association/TOPSS.

If there is nothing in your state, find the link to create your own group and make something happen! The APA/TOPSS has some excellent resources to get you started.

Teaching Toolkit from APA/TOPSS

Check it out!

http://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/topss/state-local-groups.aspx

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APA/TOPSS Membership-Teaching of Psychology in Secondary Schools

The Teaching of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS) is an amazing organization that is a part of the American Psychological Association. Member benefits include connections to other psychology teachers around the world, the national standards, lesson plans for all the psychology units, professional development resources, and so much more.

The photo taken this past summer was of the participants of the APA Psychology Summit designed to examine the current state of affairs of teaching high school psychology and making choices about which directions we wanted the field to go into the future. Hint: the science of psychology was a huge portion.

In any case, join us in making the future of psychology even better by joining TOPSS. You can access everything at the link below. Join now and you get three extra months of membership.

http://www.apa.org/membership/hs-teacher/index.aspx

There are also many opportunities for leadership for those interested.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

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Psychology of Racism resources from the APA

The fabulous Emily Leary (she's the assistant director of the APA office of Precollege and Undergraduate Education who does a lot of work for/with with TOPSS, and all high school teachers over her a debt, even if we don't realize it!) sent the following resources that might be useful for any high school psychology teacher who wants to discuss the events in Charlottesville with students:

• A letter from the APA to the mayor of Charlottesville offering any help they need
• A list of national experts on the psychology of racism
• A reference list of articles/research on the psychology of racism
• Great Psychology Today blog post from Dana Dunn (another friend of high school psychology) 
• Advice from Valerie Strauss at the Washingon Post - how to teach about Charlottesville

posted by Rob McEntarffer

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TOPSS and the APA Convention

This message is from Emily Chesnes at the APA. If you are already going to the APA Annual Convention, fantastic. If you are within a few hours' drive, make plans and go!

We hope to see many of you this week at the APA Convention in Washington, DC.  The TOPSS-invited sessions are listed below; please note that the location of the Friday, August 4, TOPSS reception at the APA Convention has changed.  The reception will be held this Friday from 5:00-6:30 PM at Fado Irish Pub at 808 7th Street N.W., Washington, DC, (202) 789-0066.

For more convention sessions for psychology teachers, see this recent Psychology Learning Curve post on convention highlights, this Division 2 chart of convention programming, or this listing of educational programming.  For registration information and to see more on programming, visit the APA Convention website.

TOPSS-invited speakers:

Friday, Aug. 4

1-1:50 p.m. | Convention Center Room 143B
Randal M. Ernst Lecture: High School Psychology: A Discussion on the 2017 APA Summit
Chair:  R. Scott Reed, Hamilton High School, Ariz.
Participants:  Randal M. Ernst, EdD, Nebraska Wesleyan University; Amy Fineburg, PhD, Jefferson Public Schools, Ala.; other summit participants.

2-2:50 p.m. | Convention Center Room 144A
In the Light of a Star: An Introduction to the Life and Works of William Stern (1871-1938)
James T. Lamiell, PhD, Georgetown University
Chair: R. Scott Reed, Hamilton High School, Ariz.

3-3:50 p.m. | Convention Center Room 143B
The Lee Gurel Lecture: The Power of Persuasion
Robert Cialdini, PhD, Arizona State University
Chair: R. Scott Reed, Hamilton High School, Ariz.

5-6:30 p.m.
Please join us for a TOPSS Reception
Fado Irish Pub
808 7th Street N.W., Washington, DC
(202) 789-0066).

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NorCalTOPSS Psychology Teaching Conference August 5, 2017

Hey, Psychology Teachers!

Are you in 

Northern California 

Central Coast

The Bay Area

Central Valley

Sacramento

or Reno, NV?

On August 5, Eric Castro and Chuck Schallhorn are organizing the Northern California TOPSS meeting. We last met two years ago in San Francisco at St. Ignatius where Eric teaches. This year, we moving to the East Bay to make it more accessible to more people--Mountain House HS in Mountain House, CA, just a few miles east of Livermore just off the Altamont Pass near the 580/205 exchange.

Our agenda includes:

• debriefing the APA Summit for High School Psychology
• debriefing the Stanford ONE conference
• participants sharing out activities that work for them
• how to turn activities into lab experiences
• the scientific nature of psychology
• technology tools useful for teaching psychology
• examining blended learning
• discovering online resources for teachers of psychology
• participant Q/A and discussion about teaching psychology
• plus lots of free textbooks and review books as well as three Flipgrid premium accounts

Go to http://norcaltopss.com for registration details.

If you cannot make it, send or refer a colleague from your school/district/area. Send any questions to cschallhorn@lammersvilleusd.net


posted by Chuck Schallhorn

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APA Psychology Summit Day 4

What day is it? Wait, Wednesday? I thought it was Tuesday. Time has no meaning here except when it is meal time.

Today was an early day with lots of work. Deadlines loom as we are presenting our strand's "deliverable's" tomorrow.

At breakfast, we had a presentation and workshop led by Dr. Karen Studwell and Alexandra Ginsberg of the APA Education Directorate Government Relations Office. They shared with us what the APA does in Washington, D.C. in terms of trying to influence policymaking in Congress. They shared strategies that we can use back in our own schools, districts, and states. There is a guide to advocacy that they shared that can be found at this link.

After working the rest of the morning in our strands, we had lunch and then shared out our personal next steps as to what we could do to advocate and work for psychology. Ideas included contacting local, state, and national officials about the importance of education and psychology education; contacting our state department of education to advocate for including the Psychology National Standards for the psychology courses. Several people discussed working with local universities to attempt to create partnerships. Others talked about reaching out to younger teachers and bringing them into the fold to work together to present at conferences, run for office and extend beyond their classes and districts. There were many other ideas shared that will be compiled and shared with people within the TOPSS group. One of our goals in TOPSS is to bring in more members to improve the field of teaching psychology at the high school level. Only through communication and awareness.

We had a short meeting in the afternoon prior to going on a brief excursion. The majority of participants live in the flatlands and wanted to see mountains. They went to Ogden Valley that included Snowbasin Ski Resort, Shooting Star Saloon, and Oaks Restaurant. I am told the town was a one-street town. They had an excellent host whose name I do not know.

My group was led by Dr. Carla Trentelman, a sociologist who has lived in the region for many years. She gave us many insights about the Salt Lake Basin/region that I took notes on and will bullet point below. Our trip was to Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake that lies several miles off the coast of central Utah near Ogden. We were able to drive there via a causeway. At one time, the water was so high that for about ten years, people could not drive to the island, but had to take boats. For the record, we did see one bison and a small herd of antelope.

When we returned from our excursions, we had a working dinner. Most groups worked until past 8:30.

Facts about Utah and the Great Salt Lake

• this region is considered high desert
• the Great Salt Lake (GSL) is a saline lake and a terminal lake--there are rivers than run into it, but goes nowhere else--when the water evaporates, it leaves behind salt and other minerals leaving a bathtub ring-like deposit--over time the salt builds up
• the water is too salty for fish
• brine shrimp can live in the salt--you may know them by a brand name, "Sea Monkeys"
• this buildup of deposits can be blown by unpredictable storms similar to dust storms
• the lake depth averages between 20 and 45 feet deep
• the lake's area has ranged from 950 square miles at its lowest/smallest to 2300 square miles with an average of 1700 square miles--it is huge--smaller in North America only to the Great Lakes 
• the lake keeps the areas East of the lake cooler
• the GSL has a large population of migratory birds who feed on the brine shrimp and the brine shrimp flies
• if you drive by Salt Lake City on I-80 to the south or drive north on I-15, you will notice and odiferous stench emanating from the lake. Truth is that it is not the lake--it is the treated wastewater that comes from the three large counties nearby emptying in the southeast portion of the lake called Farmington Bay.

Below are some pictures from today by me, and several others.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

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APA Summit on High School Psychology Education

APA Summit 

on 

High School Psychology Education 

The American Psychological Association and Weber State University, with generous support from many contributing sponsors, are pleased to host the first-ever APA Summit on High School Psychology Education in Ogden, Utah, July 9-14, 2017. The mission of the summit is to create the best future for high school psychology education. Please visit the Summit website to read about the goals, objectives, and plans for this landmark event.

The keynote addresses for the summit will be live-streamed through the summit website and we encourage anyone interested in learning more about high school psychology to join us online for these talks. Talk details are listed below. 

Recordings of the keynotes will be available online following the summit if you cannot join us live. High school psychology courses are the start of the pipeline into the discipline and help educate the public about psychological science.

High school psychology is a popular course and enrollment in Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate psychology courses, in particular, have increased over the past two decades. The summit steering committee believes that all of APA should have a vested interest in ensuring that the teaching of high school psychology is of high-quality and effective. Outcomes, deliverables, and action plans will be widely shared following the summit.

Details of live streamed talks:

Sunday, July 9, 2017, 7:00 p.m. ET 
Opening Remarks
Randy Ernst, Ed.D., and Amy Fineburg, Ph.D., Steering Committee Co-Chairs
Arthur C. Evans, Jr., Ph.D., CEO, APA
Jim Diaz-Granados, Ph.D., Executive Director, APA Education Directorate
Antonio Puente, Ph.D., University of North Carolina Wilmington, APA President

Sunday, July 9, 2017, 8:30 p.m. ET 
Charlie Blair-Broeker, MAT, Hawkeye Community College
"High School Psychology: A Long and Winding Road"

Thursday, July 13, 7:30 p.m. ET 
David Myers, Ph.D., Hope College
"Teaching Psychological Science in a Post-Truth Age"

Due to unforeseen circumstances, a third keynote address on "Introducing Diverse Perspectives in High School Psychology: Sources and Content" scheduled for Monday, July 10, may not be live streamed but we hope to record the talk to post online following the summit. Please contact eleary@apa.org with any questions.




posted by Chuck Schallhorn

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APA Convention and Workshop

The information about this year's APA convention is detailed below. There are several opportunities for high school teachers to see the experts and learn more about psychology.

The annual American Psychological Association (APA) Convention will be held August 3-6, 2017, in Washington, DC.  Here are three important reasons to consider attending APA:

                                                                                          

1.       Full Day Pre-Convention Workshop for Psychology Teachers

On Wednesday, August 2, the APA Education Directorate is hosting a full day workshop for psychology teachers on hard to teach topics and enhancing the teaching of introductory psychology.  The cost of this workshop is $40 to attend for TOPSS members; breakfast, lunch, and materials will be provided. Presenters are Dana S. Dunn, Ph.D., of Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA, Nancy Fenton of Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, IL, and Jessica Flitter of West Bend High School in West Bend, WI.  For details and to register, please visit http://on.apa.org/2kCAOhl.  The registration deadline is July 1.  The workshop will be held at Trinity Washington University in the Payden Academic Center.  We hope you will register soon. 

2.       TOPSS Invited Speakers and Reception

                                                                                 

The APA Committee of Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS) is pleased to announce the TOPSS invited speakers at Convention.  These sessions will all be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Friday, August 4:

• Robert Cialdini, Ph.D., Arizona State University: The Lee Gurel Lecture: The Power of Persuasion 

• James T. Lamiell, Ph.D., Georgetown University: In the Light of a Star: An Introduction to the Life and Works of William Stern (1871-1938)

• Randal M. Ernst Lecture: High School Psychology: A Discussion on the 2017 APA Summit, with Randal M. Ernst, EdD, Nebraska Wesleyan University; Amy Fineburg, Ph.D., Jefferson Public Schools; and other summit participants

There will also be a reception for high school psychology teachers at RFD Washington (810 7^th Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20001), from 5:00-6:30 PM on Friday, August 4.  We hope you can join us for complimentary drinks and appetizers. 

3.       The APA Convention is an Outstanding Opportunity to Learn about Psychology and Network with Teachers and Psychologists

You can choose from hundreds of sessions on psychology, including numerous plenary addresses on cutting-edge research in the field at APA.  Many sessions are aimed at educators; you can also read about additional convention sessions for teachers through the Society for the Teaching of Psychology website at http://teachpsych.org/conferences/apa/index.php.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

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APA/TOPSS Clark Workshop-Important Update

This update is from Emily Leary-Chesnes from the APA. She explains the problem and encourages teachers to re-apply.
The deadline to apply has been extended to April 22, 2017. 

---

We regret sharing that applications for the APA/Clark Workshop, that were submitted before April 6, 2017, were not captured in the system due to a database error. The online system has been corrected and we have extended the workshop application deadline to April 22, 2017. If you applied to the workshop before April 6th, please resubmit your application here: http://apacustomout.apa.org/ClarkWorkShop/default.aspx.

If you have any questions please email Yvonne Hill at yhill@apa.org. Again, we sincerely regret this error and we look forward to receiving your application. All interested high school psychology teachers are encouraged to apply to participate in the workshop; details are provided below:

APA/Clark University Workshop for High School Teachers The 13th annual APA/Clark University Workshop for High School Teachers will be held June 28-30, 2017, at Clark University in Worcester, MA. The workshop will be open to 25 teachers.

The 2017 workshop presenters will include Clark University psychology faculty, Nancy Diehl, PhD, of Hong Kong International School and Southside Family Health Centre (Hong Kong), and Joseph Swope, PhD, of Northwest High School (Germantown, Md.). APA President Antonio Puente, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, will deliver a keynote address titled "125 Years of Teaching of Psychology: Where does high school psychology fit in?"

Housing in the Clark campus dorms and materials will be provided for all participants. There is no registration fee. Participants will receive travel stipends of $150. For teachers in need of extra travel support, a limited number of travel scholarships of $250 will be available.

The deadline to apply has been extended to April 22, 2017.

This workshop is sponsored by the American Psychological Foundation, Clark University and APA, with generous support from Lee Gurel, PhD. For more information or to apply, please visit http://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/topss/clark-university-workshop.aspx.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

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APA Top 20 Principles Badges--New Program

For those of you not familiar, for several years, the American Psychological Association has had a series of principles that are most important in education. What is new is that the APA Center for Psychology in Schools and Education (CPSE) is recognizing schools that successfully promote the 20 principles with a "badging" program. The program allows schools to demonstrate programs that illustrate one or more domains of the Top 20 principles and then can "Badge" their website.



Schools apply online with a written statement and specific samples of evidence showing how their chosen “Top 20” Badge category and its respective set of principles are reflected in their classrooms school-wide. In order to assist applicants, examples of successful use of evidence are provided in the application. All complete submissions are evaluated by members of the Coalition for Psychology in Schools and Education, and in addition to a badge, participating schools receive written feedback from the coalition, including suggestions for improvement.

These "Top 20 Principles" can be found here and are in the graphic below.

The principles focus on several domains:
1) thinking and learning
2) motivation
3) social-emotional learning
4) classroom management
5) assessment

In short, this is an excellent way to bring psychology not just to your classes, but to your entire school. To check out the process and to learn more to convince your principals to participate, click here.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

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