National Council for the Social Studies Psychology Community

I got to meet Daria Schaffeld, chair of the National Council for the Social Studies Psychology Community, last year at NCSS. She helped run a great meeting for psych. teachers at NCSS, and I mentioned that I could post something about her group here on this blog. Here's Daria's message - please join this group!

"NCSS Communities are groups of NCSS members formed around a similar interest, subject, or job area and vehicles for NCSS members to discuss current topics, seek advice, share their knowledge and connect with other members with similar interests. Our goal is very simple - to help Psychology teachers!

Each year at the National Conference, my co-chairs and I present many wonderful sessions filled with lesson ideas and best practices. We also write 3 newsletters a year and send them to our members.

I am very dedicated to showing NCSS that Psychology is a valuable elective within the Social Studies Curriculum. It is vital that we have a voice.

I truly believe that if you are looking for some inspiration, networking, or assistance becoming part of our organization would be a great move. Membership information can be found on our website.

http://communities.socialstudies.org/

Online membership is free. I ask that you take a moment to join us. The higher numbers we show the more support NCSS gives our science."





posted by Rob McEntarffer

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TV alert: Secrets of Your Mind

 A belated thanks to Nancy F for finding this one: ABC's Nightline is in the middle of a four-part series called Secrets of Your Mind airing Thursdays at 10pm ET/9pm CT. Last week's focus was Love, this week's is Violence, and the next two weeks are Trauma and Hunger. While they don't appear to offer the entire episodes online, it looks like you can view a number of clips from each episode.

If you have seen this program or can watch this week, please offer a review in the comments!
-- posted by Steve

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"Egotist Rex: Are a Dictator's Defiant Statements Indicative of Self-Delusion?"

Here's an article examining the mental state of Muammar Qadhafi. It is an article from Scientific American, written by John Matson, based on an interview with Jerrold Post. Jerrold Post in a Professor of Psychiatry, political psychology and international affairs, and Director of the Political Psychology Program at George Washington University.

D. Post analyzes the long-time leader of Libya by providing evidence for narcissistic and borderline personality features in Qadhafi's statements and behaviors. It is an interesting examination of a very complex individual.

For teachers wishing to bring current events into the classroom, this article might provide an interesting way to discuss the definitions of "abnormality," the difficulty of diagnosis, and/or the characteristics of various personality disorders.

Kristin H. Whitlock

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No Arms, No Legs, No Worries

 From Nick Vujocic's website:

Imagine being born without arms. No arms to wrap around someone, no hands to experience touch, or to hold another hand with. Or what about being born without legs? Having no ability to dance, walk, run, or even stand on two feet. Now put both of those scenarios together: no arms and no legs. What would you do? How would that effect your everyday life?

Of course, there are other links on this page to more of his work.


Posted by Chuck Schallhorn

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Back to School Motivation-A Must-See Video

Yesterday, I was sitting in my in-service meetings.  My Principal showed us this video by Dalton Sherman, a young man who is well on his way to doing great things.  Please take the time to watch.  It is very much worth it.  By all means, share it with your colleagues as well.  These days with classes of more than 40 students, we need to be reminded of what our roles are. 



Posted by Chuck Schallhorn

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Das Experiment [The Experiment]

Das Experiment is a German film that fictionalizes (but has the standard disclaimer that the film was not based upon real events or people) the Zimbardo Prison Study.  The film focuses upon on subject in the film (Number 77) going from his seeing the newspaper ad for the research study, the preliminary testing, the entrance into the simulation, and the subsequent events (most of which we've all read about or even seen). 




Because the film is fictionalized, they've been able to add a love story and added some events that did not occur in the original (such as the love story and computerized surveillance of the prisoners.  In addition to many elements of social cognition, bigotry, social isolation, conformity, obedience, intentional disobedience, role playing, and other overt and subtle psychological principles, they've added some ethical issues that Zimbardo did not face.  Without spoiling anything, the primary antagonist plays the sadistic guard with particular glee.
Because of the language, nudity and sexuality, it is unlikely that any of us could/would use the film in our classes, it is an excellent one for us to view.  There are some wonderful dynamics among the prisoners and among the guards and between the two groups that those of us in psych would appreciate more than the lay person.

The trailer of the film can be seen here.  For those of you on Netlflix, the film is available on both DVD and via streaming.

Posted by Chuck Schallhorn

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Teaching psychology for the first time? Start here!

If you or someone you know will be teaching high school psychology for the first time and don't know where to begin, THIS is the place! Below is a list of steps (modified from a post I (Steve) made to the AP Psych e-mail list earlier this year) that you want to take NOW so that you are ready to come out swinging when your school year begins:

Welcome new psychology teacher! Congratulate yourself on finding/stumbling on/being forced to teach the best class in high school!

There is an abundance of materials out there so you don't have to reinvent the wheel your first year (although you should feel free to after that). Here are some of the best resources to start with:

1) TOPSS which stands for Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools and is part of the American Psychological Association. Join TOPSS and you become an affiliate member of the APA at a fraction of the cost that other professionals pay, only $40 per year. TOPSS has lesson plans for every unit of the high school psych course and is in the process of revising older units so that the lesson plans remain vital and useful. They're created by high school teachers and are edited by psych professors. There's also a quarterly newsletter, the Psychology Teachers Network, and an annual conference for high school teachers at Clark University. Finally, and maybe most importantly, the APA and TOPSS have created the National Standards for High School Psychology. The first version of standards was created in 2005 and the newest version of the standards are being revised and should be out soon. (Full disclosure: I'm currently a member-at-large for the TOPSS Board.)

2) The College Board. Even if you don't teach AP Psychology this is a great resource -- and if you do, it's terrific! Here are some pages to start with.
a) The AP Psych home page
b) The course description (aka the Acorn Book, in PDF)
c) The AP Psych teachers guide -- written by Kristin Whitlock, this thing is a beauty and a GREAT place to get started if you're new to the course (also in PDF)
d) Old AP Psych exam questions
e) AP Psych store - you'll want to buy the 2004 and 2007 released exam multiple choice questions at some point

3) Teaching psychology activity books. These were compiled by Ludy Benjmin et al. and have a wide variety of activities for intro psych courses. Some are hits and some are misses (in my opinion) so you might want to buy one and see what you think. Here are several to try.

4) Forty Studies that Changed Psychology. An excellent overview that will be invaluable to you if you're just getting started, and is often used by many AP Psych teachers during the year or as a summer assignment.

5) The publisher of your textbook. Find out what book you'll be using, then contact the publisher and get in touch with the high school representative for psychology. They are usually very helpful and can give you an idea of what might be available for you for free. A great tip from Michael Donner on the AP Psych list is to contact a publisher of another psychology textbook and see if you can get an exam copy of that book (or even find a used copy online). A second book can be very helpful for helping you come up with alternate examples or explanations for your students.

6) The National Council for the Social Studies Psychology Community. This group is part of NCSS and helps psychology teachers in many ways, including annual presentations at the NCSS conference, newsletters and more. You can e-mail chair Daria Schaffeld at daria.schaffeld AT d214.org to get a copy of the latest newsletter.

7) Your fellow teachers! If you know others in your district or region who teach psych, contact them and ask for help. Most psychology teachers are still the only ones in their school, so getting in touch with folks who are nearby and are willing to share can be immensely helpful. Or join an e-mail list for psychology teachers such as Psych-News, TIPS or PsychTeacher (see a full list here) and make connections all over the world!

8) A final rec and plug: this Teaching High School Psychology blog which is run by Kent Korek, Chuck Schallhorn, Rob McEntarffer, Trevor Tusow and myself. It's a site for us to just share with our fellow teachers the things that we like, find interesting, have questions about, etc. Follow us via e-mail so you are notified every time we post something new, in your RSS reader or just bookmark us and visit when you can. You can also follow me (Steve) on Twitter at @highschoolpsych.


One final bit of advice: Psychology is a science. It doesn't matter what your background is as long as you're willing to embrace the scientific perspective and run with it. Have fun and enjoy teaching psychology!

  --posted by Steve

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The Human Brain Book by Rita Carter

I've been able to purchase and read several books this past spring and summer.  I will be posting about several of them.  The first summer review is The Human Brain Book by Rita Carter (the subtitle is "An illustrated guide to its structure, function, and disorders).  The book makes for not just a great coffee table book (it's over sized), but also includes a DVD that has some additional features one can use in class. The publisher is D/K, the wonderful publishers whose books are among my favorites.



Oh, how I wish I had a book like this when I began teaching psychology.  From a visual learner's point of view, this book hits the jackpot. It begins with a history of studying the brain, landmarks in neuroscience and photos of a series of brain scans.  You know all those pesky little questions that your students ask, but you're not sure of the answer because your neuroscience course was 20+ years ago and the images (I mean drawings) were in black and white?  This book has those answers.  There are 70+ pages of pictures and explanations of brain anatomy (all the parts, not just the ones in our texts), brain zones, neurons, and research to satisfy the best of us. 

This book has a chapter on the senses, one on movement and control, emotions and feelings, the social brain, language and communication, memory, thinking, consciousness, the individual brain, development and aging, and concludes with diseases and disorders.

Although I have not read every word on every page, just for the illustrations, I am giving this book my highest recommendation.  It is a must for every psychology class.  Order by clicking below.  You will not be disappointed.





Posted by Chuck Schallhorn

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Time Magazine Two-fer

Time magazine (July 19, 2010 issue) came out today with a cover story about the "Myth of Only Children."  The article goes over the claims by G. Stanley Hall in the early work of developmental psychology.  The fight of research conclusions attempting to go against popular thought is explored along with the research citations.  Current stats along with various quotes from only children and an examination of families and their decision making process are included.

There is some good background/history of psychology research discussed as well as the social/economic context for having larger families and the current changes many couples are dealing with.

A second article on hoarding and the emotional attachment to things follows the cover story article.  Check it out here at "Cleaning House."  In addition to the disorder, the article examines the television imitations to "Hoarders" on A and E television.


Posted by Chuck Schallhorn

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You Are Not So Smart

For me, this blog falls under the category of "Why didn't I find this before?" David Mcraney (who describes himself as a a journalist who loves psychology, technology and the internet") writes a provocative blog called You Are Not So Smart where he posts thoughtful musings about common "misconceptions", such as:

• Most opinions are the result of years of rational, objective analysis.
• In romance, opposites attract.
• After you learn something new, you remember how you were once ignorant or wrong.

These ideas probably seem familiar to most of us psychology teacher-types - we talk about them (often in the research methods or social psych. chapters) and often they start lively, important discussions in the classroom.

I've always wanted to have a psychological version of the great "Bad Astronomy" webpage, and this blog comes darn close, in a way.

(personal note: I found out about this blog through a great friend, Jim Hanna. Thanks Jim!)


posted by Rob McEntarffer

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