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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St. Louis Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools

Spring 2017 STLTOPSS Workshop

St. Louis Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools

Partially funded by a generous grant from the APA High School Psychology Teacher Network Grant

Wednesday April 19th , 2017

5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Where: Education Plus – (formerly Cooperating School Districts)

1460 Craig Rd

 St Louis, MO 63146

Leadership Room

Bring your Own: Side Dish or Dessert and Best Practices to Share!

Sandwiches and Mostaccioli from Psghetti’s

Share your teaching techniques with your peers

Develop collegial relationships with fellow psychology teachers.

Agenda:

Sharing of Best Practices

Book Club

Vision for next school year

Guest Speaker- Dr. Katie Wilson- Child Psychiatrist

Registration: Please email Jennifer Flores or Melody Barger if you would like to attend

Jennifer Flores – Jennifer.Flores@fhsdschools.org 

Melody Barger – mbarger@parkwayschools.net 

Sign up to bring something at: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4baea72ca5fc1-psychology

posted by Rob McEntarffer

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TOPSS and Mid-April Deadlines; Outreach Grants and Clark Workshop

High School Psychology Outreach Grants 
http://www.apa.org/apf/funding/psychology-teacher-network.aspx 

The purpose of these grants is to support innovative programs that support networking, professional development, and educational outreach opportunities for high school psychology teachers and students. The deadline for submission is April 15, 2017.

APA/Clark University Workshop for High School Teachers 
http://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/topss/clark-university-workshop.aspx 

This premier three-day workshop is open to 25 high school psychology teachers annually. Master teachers and Clark University faculty present on best practices, teaching demonstrations, and cutting-edge research. The 2017 Workshop will be held June 28-30, 2017. The application deadline is April 15, 2017.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

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First Annual Psychology Conference for Michigan High School Psychology Teachers

I am thrilled to share the following announcement for an upcoming conference:

Save the Date

When:  Saturday May 6th 9:30 am to 3:30 pm

What: 1st Annual Psychology Conference for Michigan High School Psychology Teachers 

Where: Hope College, Holland Michigan 

Sponsored by Hope College and Worth Publishers

Keynote Speakers include: 

Dr. David Myers

Dr. Thomas Ludwig

Hope College Faculty and Students

High School Psychology Teachers

Also included: Tour of the Psychology facilities, roundtable discussions, materials, networking, and just minutes from the Annual Holland Tulip Festival 

Cost: NO cost to attend this event (lunch will be provided, courtesy of Worth Publishing)

Registration information available soon
Questions about this conference please contact: mipsychteachers@yahoo.com

--posted by Steve

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What Drugs Do to the Body/BrainThe

I found this article with some nice graphics and wanted to share. The article is called "What 5 Popular Drugs Including Weed and Booze Do to Your Body and Brain." I liked the graphics and the details--nice basics for the intro examination of the subject.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

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KCTOPSS-KC Area Conference in April

Jen Schlicht shared this with us. The Kansas City area TOPSS (KCTOPSS) is having a conference in April. Contact info is at www.southsidepsych.com/KCTOPSS

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

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3rd Annual Conference for the Teaching of Intro Psych in the Northwest

Hello All!


The 3rd Annual Conference for the Teaching of Introductory Psychology in the Northwest will take place at Highline College, in Des Moines WA, on April 7, 2017.  The Conference theme is: The Baby or the Bathwater--Throwing out (some of) Introductory Psychology.  High school teachers are encouraged to attend!  Two, not to be missed presenters, will be there!  The fabulous Sue Frantz' (Highline College) presentation is entitled "This Old Course:  Psych 101 for a New Era."  The amazing Jane Halonen (University of West Florida) will discuss "The Postmodern Intro Course: Making Learning Stick." 

To register, or for more information, visit www.tipnorthwest.org


This is a conference not to be missed!


All my best,


Kristin H. Whitlock

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The Charlie Award

Whether you are a new psychology teacher or a seasoned veteran - the name "Charlie Blair-Broeker" is synonymous with high school psychology and the deadline to apply for the coveted APA TOPSS Charles T. Blair-Broeker Excellence in Teaching Awards is coming up soon (February 15th, 2017). The award features a cash prize of $500, a Worth Publishers credit of $500, and a free 2018 TOPSS membership.

The award was named so in 2015 after Blair-Broeker retired from Cedar Falls High School (Iowa) where Blair-Broeker taught psychology since 1978. Charlie's accomplishments are long and large - including being an AP reader, table leader, rubric master, and Question Leader, a College Board consultant, a past TOPSS chair, an NCSS presenter at various conferences, a winner of many teaching awards, and an all around good-guy.

Charlie in retirement. 

                                         



I caught up with Charlie, on the eve of the awards deadline and post tropical vacation, to ask him a few questions about his teaching, his retirement, and his legacy.

AR: If you had to sum up your career in six words, what would you say?
CBB: I had fun almost every day.

AR: What have you been doing in your retirement?
CBB: Well, I still teach a little at the community college and I'm still doing the AP reading and summer institutes. The biggest difference [between working and retirement] is the freedom to travel, read, sleep in, and go to the store when its not busy.

AR: How did it feel to have the APA TOPSS teaching award named after you?
CBB: The teaching award was a total surprise. I felt awkwardness and appreciation in equal parts.
It is enormously gratifying that people who know me well think so much of my efforts, but I know many excellent teachers have not had the recognition that I have been so fortunate to receive.

AR: What does it take to be a good teacher?
CBB: It would be nice if there was a single trait that made a good teacher, but I don't think there is. Among the most important are knowledge of content, passion for both subject matter and the educational process, the ability to motivate and inspire students, a sense of humor, and tolerance for bureaucratic BS.

And that, people, is why we all love Charlie. 👊

If you're a great psychology teacher, or know one, consider nominating them or apply for this award.

----Posted by Amy Ramponi

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TOPSS News

Hey, everyone! Happy Valentine's Day, Groundhog Day, and Fettuccine Alfredo Day. (That is a real thing, by the way.)

There is A LOT of information out from the APA/TOPSS (Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools) for high school teachers this month. Here's a run down:

Clark Workshop for High School Teachers  Clark Applications are being accepted NOW for the June 28-30th conference at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. Not only is this conference AMAZING, it is FREE to those selected to participate and will feature two spectacular high school psychology teachers, Dr. Joe Swope and Dr. Nancy Diehl. Application information can be found here. I have personally attended the Clark Workshop and it was a great opportunity to learn, network, and talk Psychology. ANYONE can apply and IB, general psychology, and AP Psychology teachers are eligible. If you've been teaching two years or twenty - anyone is welcome! Deadline is March 15th.

High School Outreach Grants - want to start a Psychology Club? An AP Psychology Review Day in your region? Is your state woefully lacking in professional development for high school psych teachers - START. A. TOPSS. GROUP. Seriously, there is $$$MONEY$$$ available for you to do this in your region, state, or city! $5000 is available through the generosity of Dr. Lee Gurel. Deadline is April 15th. 

Standing room only at the Fox Valley Review Day! 

Topss Essay Competition for Students:  Your students can win $250 and serious bragging rights in this essay competition on aging. FOUR winners will be selected. Deadline is March 15th.

APA Convention Pre-Convention Workshop: The APA Convention (in Washington D.C. this year) is a big deal - even BIGGER is the Pre-Convention Workshop that TOPSS hosts! The speakers are usually AMAZING and it is a great way to get into convention-mode.

Have a spectacular February, everyone!

Peace & Vitality,

----Amy Ramponi

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David Myers on Neurocore - let's think about the science

This post from the wonderful David Myers is a good read, and a potentially important one. If you are following the debate about the confirmation hearings for the nominee for Education Secretary, you may already know about her connections to Neurocore. Dr. Myers does a great job, I think, discussing what it might mean for a nominee to have connections to a therapuetic practice that makes claims without evidence.

Neurocore

posted by Rob McEntarffer

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