Smithsonian Magazine-Memory and More

I've been reading from Smithsonian magazine for a number of years, but had never thought to visit their website due to the relatively few directly psych-related articles in the paper-version.  In their most recent issue (May 2010) there is an excellent article on memory and how memory works.

 As I perused the online version of the article, I noticed that they had several other sections with articles of note.


Articles on the Brain
Articles on Psychological Issues/Topics
Thought Innovation & Behavior--which could have some articles of interest


Overall, if you like to read quality writing on any topic, I recommend the magazine/website.  Great stuff there.

Posted by Chuck Schallhorn

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Enhancing the Teaching of Psychology Conference - UW Green Bay

The 10th annual Enhancing the Teaching of Psychology Conference will be held on May 19, 2010 at UW-Green Bay. The scheduled talks include:

Helping Students Distinguish Science from Pseudoscience

- Scott Lilienfeld (Emory University)

Threshold Concepts in Psychology

- Jeff Henriques (UW-Madison)

U-Pace Instruction: Enabling a Diversity of Students to Succeed

- Diane Reddy, Raymond Fleming, Katie Ports, & Rodney Swain (UW-Milwaukee)

Teaching sensitive/controversial/resistance-prone subjects

- Cyndi Kernihan (UW-River Falls)

Learning from Disasters

- Elizabeth Yost Hammer (Xavier University)

DSM_V: Some answers, opinions, and the story so far

- Scott Lilienfeld (Emory University)

How much Feedback is Good feedback: Developing Writing

- Illene Noppe - (UW-Green Bay)

Teaching with Technology

- Tanya Joosten (UW-Milwaukee)

Early Bird Fee (prior to April 29 deadline):
$30 per person
$25 per person departmental rate (4 or more registrants per school – registration and payment must be sent together)
$15 High School Teacher or Society for Teaching of Psychology member
$10 Teaching of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS) member)

After April 29th - add $5 per person. Last day to register is Wednesday, May 12, 2010

For more information go to http://www.uwgb.edu/gurungr/teachpsych.htm or contact Regan Gurung at gurungr@uwgb.edu or 920-465-5679. I would be more than happy to email the Conference Program and/or Registration form to anyone interested. Simply contact me at kkorek@germantown.k12.wi.us

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AP Psychology Exam Review Books

There are a host of products students can purchase to help them prepare for the AP Psychology Exam. Review books currently on the market include:

• Barron's AP Psychology Barron's Book with CD ROM (Allison Weseley & Rob McEntarffer)
• Cliffs AP Psychology(Lori Harris et. al.)
• D&S Marketing AP Psychology (Michael Sullivan)
  
• Holt McDougal Fast Track to a Five: Preparing for the AP Psychology Examination (William James & Michael McLane)
• Kaplan AP Psychology (Chris Hakala)
  
• McGraw-Hill 5 Steps to a 5 AP Psychology (Laura Maitland & Pam Hannah)
• Princeton Review Cracking the AP Psychology Exam (Princeton Review)
  
• REA AP Psychology (Don Sharpstenn, Karen Brown & Tia Patrick)
  
• Spark Notes AP Power Pack for AP Psychology (Spark Publishing)
  

For more information, simply click on the book's title. Please feel free to leave a comment regarding any of the above books. In April of 2009 this blog did a survey on the various review books. Go to http://teachinghighschoolpsychology.blogspot.com/2009/04/ap-psychology-exam-review-books_01.html to see that survey. Written by Kent Korek

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Summer programs in psychology for students

I started doing research for Kent's post about summer opportunities in psychology for high school students and realized that it would be easier to create a new post that put this in a comment.

Hello student! Thanks for writing. I found a slew of summer programs that are related to psychology through some “aggressive Googling” and most of them I don’t know a thing about, but I did want to pass them on.

One summer program I know about is called TIP (Talent Identification Program) and while it is part of Duke University, they also host camps at many other campuses around the world. It's an excellent program! Unfortunately the deadline is passed for this summer, but you can learn more here. They do teach several related courses such as Psychology and The Brain, Intelligence and Creativity.

Something I just learned is that TIP now has summer courses online. This summer they are offering Abnormal Psychology (which is taught by two instructors I know, David and Lindy Norman, and they're great!), Neuroscience: Biology of the Brain, and Social Psychology. Deadline to apply is May 7, so hurry!

I found a link at a local high school of dozens of similar summer programs - check them out! (PDF)

Here are several other summer programs I found that offer psychology courses:

• Stanford
• Columbia
• Illinois Institute of Technology
• Boston University
• Cornell
• Arizona State (psychology and music)
• Xavier
• Hofstra
• Susquehanna

This should keep you busy for a while (as it did me). Good luck!
--Steve

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A Request for Help

I received the following email from a student in Florida. While I know of a number of opportunities for undergraduates, I am not aware of anything for high school students. Please leave any possible ideas in the comments section below.

Hi Mr. Korek,

I'm a high school student in Florida and I am profoundly interested in the field of psychology. I've been reading your blog for a while, as I find many of your posts very interesting, even though some are geared toward teachers.

Anyhow, I anticipate going to college to be able to pursue my interest in psychology, and I'd like to do something psychology-related while still in high school to help me stand out from the thousands of other college applicants that will be applying at the same time as me. (I'm only a sophomore, so I've got time... but it's never too early to start planning).

So I was wondering if you could come up with a blog post or article detailing some opportunities that could give high school students hands-on experience in the psychology industry or a sub-field, such as summer internships, summer camps, or anything really. I think a post offering such insight would not only benefit me, but hundreds of other students across the nation who are interested in the amazing science of psychology.

Thanks for any insight.
Regards,

Eager psychology student.

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TV alert: 60 Minutes on smart drugs

On 60 Minutes this Sunday Katie Couric looks at the use on college campuses of "smart drugs" -- apparently, though, she's just referring to the use of prescription drugs for ADHD (like Adderall and Ritalin) which are being used by people who don't have the disorder to "boost their brain power." An excerpt is below:



Watch CBS News Videos Online




Posted by Steve

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Jure Robic: Edurance through Delusion?

This New York Times profile of endurance athlete Jure Robic describes his amazing athletic feats and his (and his supporters) claim that his "madness" during races help him continue and often win. Mr. Robic was also featured on a recent episode of Radio Lab about "Limits", and both the article and the podcast do a great job explaining the "central governor theory": the idea that our brain holds some energy/resources in reserve for emergencies, and some athletes may trick the brain into releasing these resources. The Radio Lab podcast includes interviews with Mr. Robic and other endurance athletes. Athletes in your class may be very interested to hear about how these people push and break their own "limits."

(The other stories on this same podcast about the "Limits of the Mind" and the "Limits of Science" are also fascinating - listen to the researchers talk about their "Erequa machine" and prepare to have your mind blown . . .)


Posted by Rob McEntarffer

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Guessing on the AP Psychology Exam

With the AP Psychology Exam just around the corner, my (Kent) thought was to conduct a quick survey about guessing strategies on the AP exam. With the quarter-point adjustment for incorrect answers, teachers/students have developed a variety of philosophies on when to and when not to guess on a multiple choice question. In the past, I have found this to be one of the more debatable topics regarding the exam.

The current results of the survey will be revealed once you have cast your vote. Thank you for your participation.

Online Surveys & Market Research

N=148 as of 01/27/12.


Thanks to all those who have participated. Please feel free to further explain your strategy in the comments section below.

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Mind Over Money--Behavioral Economics

The new big thing in the field of psychology and its natural connection to other sciences is in the field of behavioral economics.  I will do some posts on some recommended books later, but for now, you can get your feet wet with an episode of NOVA on PBS called Mind Over Money.  I've collaborated with my economics colleagues and have gained some fascinating insights into human behavior as a result of learning more about this field of decision making and money.  It also will give you additional examples of any aspect of cognitive psychology.

The show first airs on April 27 and is viewable online on April 28, 2010.

Chuck Schallhorn

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Was the Prison Experiment an Experiment?

Michael Britt (hi Michael!) just emailed an excellent question to the Society for Teaching of Psychology listserve, and I thought the Teaching High School Psychology blog community might like to think about his question too. Michael asked: Is Zimbardo's prison study an experiment? Does it meet the criteria for experiments? I often discussed the ethical issues involved in the study but I think its interesting to think specifically about the methodology, and it might be a good exercise for students to think about what criteria a study needs to meet to "qualify" as an experiment, then examine the Prison study to see if it meets those criteria.


Posted by Rob McEntarffer

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