Breaking: Ludy Benjamin resigns from the APA

The Advances in the History of Psychology blog is breaking the news this evening that Texas A&M professor Dr. Ludy T. Benjamin, Jr. has resigned from the APA. In an e-mail to the listserv of the Society for the History of Psychology, Benjamin indicated that his concerns with APA began when the APA Council began "passing resolutions on the involvement of psychologists in torture and interrogations that were opposite to positions taken by other national associations" (some background here) but those concerns were intensified during recent discussions to cut funding to the Archives of the History of American Psychology. Benjamin indicated that it was not the decision to cut the funding but the "subterfuge" that involved both the cuts and the debate about the cuts at the APA convention that outraged him. The full AHP story with more details can be found here.

In addition to his work as an outstanding scholar in and professor of the history of psychology, Dr. Benjamin has been one of the most powerful advocates for high school psychology for more than thirty years. He was one of the driving forces behind getting psychology added to the stable of approved courses by ETS/AP and led a number of NSF workshops for high school teachers at College Station in the '80s. His activity books for introductory psychology remain essential for any psych teacher and his drive to keep helping high school psychology teachers (as evident at the recent workshop at Clark) has been unwavering. Regardless of agendas, biases or ideology, Dr. Benjamin's contributions to our field have been enormous, and I hope this does not in any way tarnish his work.

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Today in the History of Psychology

Warren R. Street of Central Washington University in conjunction with the APA, has designed an online database of important historical events in the history of Psychology.

The database can be searched by date or keyword/phrase and is located at http://www.cwu.edu/~warren/today.html

This might be the perfect way to assign a history of psychology activity for your students. Please let me (Kent Korek - kkorek@germantown.k12.wi.us) know if you have developed such a project and would be willing to post it on this blog.

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Streaming Video: Learner.org

For many years, the mainstay of videos in psychology classes were The Brain and The Mind Series as well as the Discovering Psychology with Phil Zimbardo. Anyone teaching psychology through these times is very familiar with Phineas Gage's accident, Vicki the split brain patient, the Stanford quarterback wearing displacement goggles, and much more. When I first started teaching the standard advice given to me, which I have repeated countless times to other new teachers, was you have to get these series for your classes.

All of these series, plus much more, are now available over the internet at www.learner.org . Below I've provided the web addresses for each of the specific series where you can stream any of the episodes into your class.

The Brain Teaching Modules
http://www.learner.org/resources/series142.html

The Mind Teaching Modules
http://www.learner.org/resources/series150.html

Discovering Psychology Series
http://www.learner.org/resources/series138.html
http://www.learner.org/discoveringpsychology/

The World of Abnormal Psychology
http://www.learner.org/resources/series60.html

Seasons of Life
http://www.learner.org/resources/series54.html

Death: A Personal Understanding
http://www.learner.org/resources/series108.html

Growing Old in a New Age
http://www.learner.org/resources/series84.html

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National Governors Association AP Pilot Project

In 2005, the National Governors Association funded a six state initiative at 51 rural and urban high schools to increase minority and low-income participation in Advanced Placement classes. The project spent considerable effort in training teachers to become effective at the AP level. The NGA last week released their report on the project.

While not specific to AP Psychology, the report contains a number of points AP Psychology teachers, especially those looking to expand their programs, might be interested in.

The information on the report can be found at the National Governors Association Education Division website at http://www.nga.org/center/edu or you can go to http://www.nga.org/Files/pdf/0908APREPORT.PDF for a PDF version of the full report.

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Psychology Related Listservs and Electronic Discussion Groups

If you did a survey of high schools offering psychology throughout the country, you will probably find most have only one psychology teacher on staff. In some cases this can lead to a sense of isolation. Many psychology teachers have noted they feel a bit "like an island" with no one to share ideas with. With the advent of the internet and email, this feeling of solitude is not as prevalent as the pre-internet era when peer interaction was primarily limited to conferences and workshops.

Listservs and discussion groups have helped build electronic bridges between psychology teachers around the country. Any teacher joining these groups can send email to a specific address which in turn is distributed to everyone else on the list. By sending one email, a teacher can reach hundreds, in some cases thousands, of other psychology teachers.

There are three groups of interest to high school psychology teachers. They include the AP Psychology Electronic Discussion Group, Psych-News listserv and PsychTeacher electronic group. Each is detailed below.

AP Psychology Electronic Discussion Group is sponsored by the College Board and specific to those teaching AP Psychology. For more information go to http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/homepage/4340.html or to become a member go to http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/homepage/4631.html.

Psych-News is designed primarily for teachers of high school psychology, both the AP Psychology and secondary level psychology. To subscribe, send the email message "subscribe Psych-News Bob Smith" (without the quotes and your full name in place of Bob Smith) to listserv@list- serv.uh.edu

PsychTeacher is a moderated (which means messages are monitored before being distributed to the group) electronic discussion group from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (STP) and meant for all education levels. While discussions tend to deal more with post-secondary education, many postings are from and of interest to high school psychology teachers. To register go to http://list.kennesaw.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=PSYCHTEACHER&A=1

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College Board One-Day AP Psychology Workshops

Now is the time to start planning which AP Psychology workshop you will be attending this year. These one day events are all sponsored by the College Board and run by endorsed consultants.

Below is a listing of the currently scheduled workshops throughout the country for the 2009-2010 school year. Click on the workshop title for more information on that specific workshop. Click on the location for a link to Yahoo maps reading that specific site.

There is an Institutes and Workshop page at AP Central http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/Pageflows/InstitutesAndWorkshops/InstitutesAndWorkshopsController.jpf where you can search for a workshop by topic, date, and location.

Please note: The 11/03/09 workshop at Northview High School is designated for experienced (three years of more of teaching AP Psychology) teachers only. All other workshops listed are for both new and experienced teachers.

Title                                                                Date                  Location
AP Workshop - Psychology                     10/13/2009        La Roche College (Pittsburgh, PA)
AP Workshop - Psychology                     10/16/2009        Baltimore Polytechnic Institute (Baltimore, MD)
AP Workshop - Psychology                     10/20/2009        University of Nebraska - Omaha (Omaha, NE)
AP Workshop - Psychology                     10/21/2009        Episcopal High School (Baton Rouge, LA)
AP Workshop - Psychology                     10/23/2009        Fort Lauderdale Convention Center (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
AP Workshop - Psychology                     10/23/2009        University Center of Lake County (Grayslake, IL)
AP Workshop - Psychology                     10/24/2009        Bingham High School (South Jordan, UT)
AP Workshop - Psychology                     10/26/2009        Riverside High School (Durham, NC)
AP Workshop - Psychology                     10/26/2009        Ed White Senior High School (Jacksonville, FL)
AP Workshop - Psychology                     10/30/2009        Spoto High School (Riverview, FL)
AP Workshop - Psychology
 - Experienced Teachers                            11/03/2009         Norview High School (Norfolk, VA)
AP Workshop - Psychology                     11/07/2009        Washington Middle School (Jamestown, NY)
AP Workshop - Psychology                     11/13/2009        Eastern Michigan University - Livonia (Livonia, MI)
AP Workshop - Psychology                     11/14/2009        Abraham Lincoln High School (Denver, CO)
AP Workshop - Psychology                     11/21/2009        John P. Stevens High School (Edison, NJ)
AP Workshop - Psychology                     11/24/2009        Butler University (Indianapolis, IN)
AP Workshop - Psychology                     12/01/2009        University of Wisconsin - Madison - Pyle Center (Madison, WI)
AP Workshop - Psychology                     12/02/2009        Carleton College (Northfield, MN)
AP Workshop - Psychology                     12/05/2009        Sachem North High School (Lake Ronkonkoma, NY)
AP Workshop - Psychology                     12/12/2009        Elkton High School (Elkton, MD)
AP Workshop - Psychology                     01/04/2010        Georgia Perimeter College (Dunwoody, GA)
AP Workshop - Psychology                     01/04/2010        Shades Valley High School (Birmingham, AL)
AP Workshop - Psychology                     01/29/2010        Omni San Antonio Hotel (San Antonio, TX)
AP Workshop - Psychology                     02/06/2010        Eagle Rock High School (Los Angeles, CA)
AP Workshop - Psychology                     02/06/2010        Burton High School (San Francisco, CA)
AP Workshop - Psychology                     03/06/2010        Vineland High School South (Vineland, NJ)
AP Workshop - Psychology                     03/13/2010        Thomas S. Wootton High School (Rockville, MD)
AP Workshop - Psychology                     03/17/2010        Triton College (River Grove, IL)

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Syllabi Collection - AP Psychology

We would like to create a collection of online course syllabi/content outlines for AP Psychology classes. Below you will find a listing of AP Psychology teachers with hyperlinks to their course syllabus/content outline.

Please be aware, inclusion of a syllabus and/or content outline on this page does not constitute an endorsement of the document(s). The information has NOT been reviewed and is presented for informational purposes only.

If you would like to have your AP Psychology syllabus/content outline included in this collection, please email the following information (please include every point) to (Kent Korek - kkorek@germantown.k12.wi.us) We are only including syllabi which can be found online. Please do not send your syllabus or outline as an attachment to your email.

• your name, school, school location (i.e. Tim Smith, Washington High School, Germantown, WI 53022)
• the exact web address where your syllabus can be found online (i.e. www.myschool.edu/~psychology/syllabus.pdf)
• the exact web address where your content outline can be found online (if different than your syllabus)
  
• time frame of your course (year long, semester, two trimesters, etc.)
• how often your class normally meets (daily, three times a week, every other day, etc.)
• what textbook do you use for this course (Name, edition, and author(s))
  
• how long your class normally meets (50 minute period, 100 minute block, etc.)

Syllabi Collection - AP Psychology

Kent Korek - Germantown High School, Germantown, WI 53022
>>full year - daily - 50 minute period - Psychology 8e by David Myers

• Syllabus
• Content Outline

Nate Naughton - Arlington Catholic High School, Arlington, MA 02474
>>full year - meets 5 of every 7 days - 65 minute period - Psychology 9e David Myers

• Syllabus/Content Outline (login as guest)
  

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Syllabi Collection - High School Psychology

We would like to create a collection of online course syllabi/content outlines for High School Psychology classes. Below you will find a listing of High School Psychology teachers with hyperlinks to their course syllabus/content outline.

Please be aware, inclusion of a syllabus and/or content outline on this page does not constitute an endorsement of the document(s). The information has NOT been reviewed and is presented for informational purposes only.

If you would like to have your High School Psychology syllabus/content outline included in this collection, please email the following information (please include every point) to (Kent Korek - kkorek@germantown.k12.wi.us) We are only including syllabi which can be found online. Please do not send your syllabus or outline as an attachment to your email.

• your name, school, school location (i.e. Tim Smith, Washington High School, Germantown, WI 53022)
• the exact web address where your syllabus can be found online (i.e. www.myschool.edu/~psychology/syllabus.pdf)
• the exact web address where your content outline can be found online (if different than your syllabus)
  
• time frame of your course (year long, semester, two trimesters, etc.)
• how often your class normally meets (daily, three times a week, every other day, etc.)
• what textbook do you use for this course (Name, edition, and author(s))
• how long your class normally meets (50 minute period, 100 minute block, etc.)

Syllabi Collection - High School Psychology

Teacher's name - Germantown High School, Germantown, WI 53022
>>full year - daily - 50 minute period - Thinking About Psychology 1e by Blair-Broeker and Ernst

• Syllabus
  (please be aware, this link are not valid)
• Content Outline(please be aware, this link are not valid)

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The Midnight Postings

This coming school year I would like to write a series of blog postings that follow a "typical" (if such a thing even exists) schedule of units within a year long AP Psychology or High School Psychology course. While I realize all of us schedule our units in various ways and blogs, by their nature, tend to be a hodgepodge of thoughts and ideas, my hope is to create a small sense of continuity.

Starting today, you will find a new posting every weekday following the schedule below. Each will be released at 12:00 AM, hence the name "Midnight Postings".

Please be rest assured, there will be postings on this blog in addition to the Midnight Postings. Think of the Midnight Postings as an addition to the blog, not a substitute for what we have been doing in the past.

If you have an idea for a posting or would like to comment, positive or negative, about the Midnight Postings please send an email to (Kent Korek - kkorek@germantown.k12.wi.us)


First Semester Schedule of Midnight Postings

• 08/10 - 08/14 General Course Planning
• 08/17 - 08/28 Introduction, History, and Scientific Method
• 08/31 - 09/15 Biological Influences on Behavior
• 09/16 - 10/02 Sensation and Perception
• 10/05 - 10/09 States of Consciousness
• 10/12 - 10/27 Learning
• 10/28 - 11/06 Memory
• 11/09 - 11/20 Cognition
• 11/23 - 12/01 Intelligence
• 12/02 - 12/23 Developmental Psychology

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Twitter!

As an experiment I've created a Twitter account to accompany this blog. Instead of posting brief links every few days under the "Psych in the news" heading I'm sending those 1-2 times per day via Twitter. To read these updates, you can either read them as the pop up in the left side column of this blog or if you are on Twitter you can subscribe to these updates directly by following me.

A quick intro to Twitter: Twitter is a medium for sending messages that are 140 characters long or less. Because URLs tend to be quite long, if you include one in your message, they are shortened by using a common URL-shortening site (bit.ly, is.gd, et al.). You can either keep your "tweets" (as the messages are known) public as I'm doing or you can keep them private so that a person has to have a password to access them. If a tweet has the two letters RT at the beginning followed by an @ symbol, that means this tweet has been forwarded (or ReTweeted) from the person who orginally wrote it (and whose name follows the @). And finally, Twitter isn't just twitter.com -- there are many other sites and browser add-ons for people to send and receive messages (TweetDeck, Twitterfeed, EasyTweets, TwitterFox, et al.).

I have found Twitter to be a great site when a current event breaks so you can get real-time updates from all over the world. The election protests in Iran is the best recent example I can think of. And yes, there is also tons to chaff to sort through at times.

What are the bests sites to follow if you're interested in what people are saying about psychology? One way is to go to twitter.com and type in psychology and see what comes up. You may or may not find anything helpful here. You can also trying searching for what's called a hashtag -- #psychology -- where people will deliberately add this tag to their tweet to let you know that it's specifically about psychology, not just mentioning it in passing (like some kid posting his AP Psychology scores). And finally, you can go to psychology-specific Twittering types -- MindHacks compiled a good list a while back.

Whether you are into Twitter or not, this isn't something that's going away anytime soon. It's used widely all around the globe, especially by the younger generations, and as a teacher your students will come in to your classroom knowing about this and perhaps using Twitter themselves. So try it out! Go to twitter.com, look around, and maybe create an your own account. If you do, be sure to follow highschoolpsych so you can keep up with the latest psych-related news! And if you've tried it, leave a comment below about what you think of Twitter. Are there good applications for the classroom?

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