Teaching High School Psychology

AP Psychology exam results 2013

2013-06-17T15:44:00.003-07:00

Today the College Board's Trevor Packer tweeted the following information about how students did on a whole on the 2013 AP Psychology exam. Remember that individual scores can be viewed in July by students (as early as the 5th) and teachers (10th and 11th) in early July.

AP Psychology results are in -- with slight increases in the % of 3s, 4s, and 5s compared to last year.
— Trevor Packer (@AP_Trevor) June 17, 2013

AP Psychology scores, 2013: 5: 21.2%; 4: 26.7%. 3: 19.6%. 2: 13%. 1: 19.5%. These may shift slightly as late exams are scored.
— Trevor Packer (@AP_Trevor) June 17, 2013

AP Psychology multiple-choice: students performed very well across the full section, but esp. on the "Abnormal Behavior" questions.
— Trevor Packer (@AP_Trevor) June 17, 2013

AP Psychology: it's really the free-response section where students struggle. Multiple-choice scores are excellent, free-response are low.
— Trevor Packer (@AP_Trevor) June 17, 2013

AP Psychology free-response questions: students generally performed somewhat better on Q2 than on Q1: http://t.co/lE0UNm0grc
— Trevor Packer (@AP_Trevor) June 17, 2013

2 students earned every point possible (150 out of 150) on the AP Psychology Exam, administered (coincidentally?) on Freud's b-day.
— Trevor Packer (@AP_Trevor) June 17, 2013

--posted by Steve

Music, the Brain, and Learning: An Infographic

2013-06-10T10:12:00.000-07:00

DailyInfographic does it again. This psych-related graphic is about music and learning. Here is the link to the original post: http://dailyinfographic.com/how-to-control-your-dreams-infographic. I am curious about the science behind the conclusions--perhaps students could research what data is out there.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

From the Marathon of the AP reading in Kansas City

2013-06-07T17:06:00.003-07:00

... approaching the statistical equivalent of mile 18!

Bringing together hundreds of teachers/professors deeply involved in the teaching of Introductory Psychology to meet, connect, eat, and work and toward a common goal of grading over 1/4 MILLION AP exams taken this year, here we are in Kansas City, MO.

Virginia Welle, Catherine Jaquith, Michael Ray

After rubric development, the extensive training and reliability checks ensure the grading of exams is "spot on," the work environment is extremely focused so that each test is assessed with dilligence and professionalism. Not seen the 2013 Questions? Steve and I were both assigned to Question 2, with focus on research methods. Also in the room was Kristin Whitlock who was instrumental in the development and implementation of the rubric, which will be posted on the College Board website in the next few months. [Note from Steve: THSP's Kent Korek is on Q1.] ETS' primary goal for the reader/graders is that the exams are graded efficiently and effectively. In doing so, there's a lot more that happens in the process.... the social activities!

Maria Vita and Barney Beins

The after work activities organized have with something for everyone ranging from KC Royals Baseball, They Might Be Giants in concert, the show Spamalot, tennis, jogging trails, many museums, shopping, and the Power and Light District (restaraunts/bars) energizes people for following day's work. The roommate I was randomly assigned to has become a great friend and colleague and introduced me extensive network of friends.

A formal professional night, a Worth Publisher hosted cocktail/book party, and other amazing less formal presentations such as Sue Frantz (the link is her website) on educational technology begin additional conversations and provide opportunity developing personal and professional relationships.

Janie Wilson, Nancy Diehl, Karl Honma

Spending nine days together, each year... year, after year? This has become and extended family. Why so much music history? Who claims title of "The Queen?" Sign up and find out, or come again. There is a concerted effort to help new people be successful and find new friends and colleagues.

Consider... next year in Kansas City.

posted by Nancy (text) and Steve (pix)

Lucid Dreaming: An Infographic

2013-06-06T09:58:00.000-07:00

Another psych find from our friends at http://dailyinfographic.com/. Their original post can be found here:
http://dailyinfographic.com/how-to-control-your-dreams-infographic

Download or open the graphic in a new window to view it in detail. This one has a nice sleep stage diagram. One question I would have is not about lucid dreaming, but about the foods and implications of lucid dreaming. I have had them on occasion, but have not made a habit of it. I suspect that this would be a great attention grabber for students.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Infographic: Brain Injury Explained

2013-06-05T09:55:00.002-07:00

From our friends over at DailyInfographic, we have an overview of brain injuries in the U.K. Their original post can be found at this link: http://dailyinfographic.com/brain-injury-explained-infographic

Infographics can be a great way to share information with students or have them create the infographic themselves.

Open the graphic in a new window or download to see all the details.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Changes in the new AP Psych course description

2013-05-27T07:18:00.000-07:00

The College Board has just released the 2013 revised course description for AP Psychology. Also known as "the Acorn Book," this is the official overview of the course that is regularly revised, with the previous version being released in 2010.

I went through the 2010 and 2013 versions and have listed below the changes that I noted. Please note that this is not an official list of differences, just the ones I noticed - so please share in the comments below if you find I have made any errors or omissions. The one major thing I will say is that the changes are very minor. There are no changes in the fourteen content areas and no changes in the percentages of questions in each area; there are minor changes in the objectives and outline.

Changes in the Topics and Learning Objectives section:

I. History and Approaches (2–4%)

• Recognize how philosophical and physiological perspectives shaped the development of psychological thought.

• Describe and compare different theoretical approaches in explaining behavior:

evolutionary, biological, cognitive and biopsychosocial as more contemporary approaches.

III. Biological Bases of Behavior (8–10%)

Discuss the influence of drugs on neurotransmitters (e .g ., reuptake mechanisms, agonists, antagonists).

Discuss the role of neuroplasticity in traumatic brain injury.

V. States of Consciousness (2–4%)

Understanding consciousness and what it encompasses is critical to an appreciation of what is meant by a given state of consciousness. The study of variations in consciousness includes an examination of the sleep cycle, dreams, hypnosis, circadian rhythms and the effects of psychoactive drugs.

VI. Learning (7–9%)

• Predict the effects of operant conditioning (e.g., positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, punishment, ~~schedules of reinforcement~~). (NOTE: schedules of reinforcement ARE still in content area VI – just not in the above sentence!)

IX. Developmental Psychology (7–9%)

Explain how parenting styles influence development.

X. Personality (5–7%)

• Compare and contrast the major theories and approaches to explaining personality: (e.g., psychoanalytic, humanist, cognitive, trait, social cognition, behavioral)

Changes in the Content Outline

I. History and Approaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–4%

A. History of Psychology

B. Approaches

8. Biopsychosocial

C. Subfields in Psychology

III. Biological Bases of Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8–10%

E. Neuroplasticity

IX . DevelopmentalPsychology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7–9%

F. Sex and Gender Development

Other changes

There are 25 new multiple choice questions - I found some of them to be difficult and surprising.

There are two sample free response questions taken from previous AP exams: the 2008 question on Asch's conformity study, and the 2009 question on the dancers Linda and Dmitri.

There is also a nice new section on page 24, AP Psychology Free-Response Question Writing Expectations, which I think will be a terrific guide for both new and veteran teachers on how students should approach answering the Free Response questions.

Again, please add your thoughts in the comments about other changes you saw that I missed, or what you thought about those multiple choice questions.

--posted by Steve

Online AP Scores for Students

2013-05-22T12:27:00.001-07:00

Below you should find a posting from the College Board concerning a new program. Starting this year, students will obtain their AP scores via the internet using password protected accounts rather than having the scores mailed via the US Postal Service. Please make sure all your students are aware of this change and have signed up for an account.

Kent

Now Available: AP^® Score Access Schedule for Students

With AP Exams less than a week away, we want to remind you that students will receive their AP scores online this year. Students' online score reports will contain scores for all AP Exams they have taken. Paper score reports will no longer be mailed.

When Your Students Can Access Their Scores

All students will be able to view scores as of 5 a.m. EDT on Monday, July 8. However, to allow for those students who need to send scores to colleges by July 15, there will be early access to view and send scores at scheduled times from July 5 to July 7, based on a student's location. Students will receive an email shortly before early access begins with reminders about how and when to access their scores.

Click the link below to find out the window during which students in your area can gain early access to log in and view their AP scores. Students will have early access to their scores only during the scheduled date and times for their location. Once the window for a particular location has passed, students in that area will be able to log in again on July 8.

View the Early Access Schedule for Students

Look up your location and share the date and time with your students. (Stay tuned for more information about your own access to scores: We'll email you in late May with the access schedule for educators.)

How to Help Students Prepare to Get Their Scores

As a reminder, students MUST have a College Board account and either their AP number or their student ID number to retrieve scores. Here are some ways you can help ensure students are ready to get their scores:

Take some time during class to talk about it.

Write apscore.org on the board and read this statement to your students:
To get your AP scores this year, you'll need to go to apscore.org and create a free online account with the College Board. You will be able to log in for early access to your scores for a 24-hour period starting on [your state/country's date] at [your state/country's time].

Give your students a homework assignment of creating a College Board account.

Download an AP scores poster here and post it where students will see it.

We understand that some students may not have access to a computer or the Internet during the summer. Please encourage them to plan ahead by finding a local resource now (e.g., a public library). If your students expect to have severe difficulty finding such a resource, let them know that we will provide information about an alternative score reporting process on apscore.org in the coming weeks.

We appreciate your help in keeping students informed about this transition. Stay tuned for more updates via email and on our website.

THSP is a Ranked Education Blog

2013-05-22T09:59:00.000-07:00

I recently submitted our THSP blog to the Teach.com blog ranking site to see if it would be accepted and, if so, how we would rank. As it turns out, we are pretty highly ranked. Stephan Maldonado wrote this about our blog, "Congratulations! We love the work you're doing, and we're thrilled to include you."

That kind of validation of the work and resources we share is important to those of us who write and post blog entries.

The link to our particular page on the Teach.com Blog is here:

http://teach.com/teach100/blogs/348-Teaching-High-School-Psychology

The main blog at teach.com to find other great education blogs is here:

http://teach.com/teach100

Main site for teach.com:

http://teach.com/

Rankings change on a daily basis and this is our rank as of today (5/22/2013) out of 320 blogs. All in all, I'd say this is a pretty good thing.

Thank you to everyone who reads and comments on our blog. We need you in order to make this whole enterprise worthwhile.

You are less beautiful than you think!

2013-05-21T11:53:00.003-07:00

Hello Everyone!

Many of you may have seen the recent, and popular, Dove commercial called " “Dove Real Beauty Sketches.” In this video a forensic artist stretches a drawing of a woman as she describes herself to him. A stranger also describes the woman to the artist. When the drawings are revealed, the drawing based on the stranger's description is more beautiful than the other based on the person's description. The message is that "you are more beautiful than you think." If you haven't seen it yet, you can watch the video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpaOjMXyJGk&safe=active

But is this true? A recent article in Scientific American reviews the psychological research and finds that the opposite appears to be true. For example, Nicholas Epley of the University of Chicago and Erin Whitchurch of the University of Virginia have demonstrated that we tend to see ourselves as more attractive than we actually are. Researchers digitally altered images of participants. These images were either made to be more or less attractive than the real picture. When asked to select the unaltered image, participants chose the attractive one.

Read more about this interesting research at:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=you-are-less-beautiful-than-you-think&WT.mc_id=SA_DD_20130521

Kristin H. Whitlock

Interesting Situation--Change in Teaching Assignments

2013-05-13T17:39:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

When I was younger, I was idealistic and thought politics did not exist in education. Yes, I was

delusional and naive. But I find myself in an interesting situation.

I have been teaching AP Psychology since 1992, the second year of the course's existence. I have been teaching the course successfully since then and have been an AP reader twice. As you can imagine, my passion for the subject is quite strong given my involvement with this blog and other activities.

So after making a decision, my school has decided to give the AP program I have created to another teacher. I still get to teach regular psychology, but the AP numbers have not grown to the satisfaction of the deciders, so AP was given to an English teacher who recently got a doctorate in counseling psych. As I sit here and write this, I am torn between laughing at the absurdity of the situation and doing something with the rage that I am feeling. Numbers--that was the sole reason. Let's give this a try and see what happens was the rationale. The words arbitrary and capricious come to mind.

So here is my question. Are there any schools out there looking for AP Psychology teachers? Preferably California--SF Bay Area to avoid licensing hassles, but I would consider most places. I still have a job, but am now actively seeking another position where I can teach AP Psych.

Sorry for using this blog for a personal platform, but I just wanted to inquire. If you would like to see my CV, please email me at psydways@gmail.com. Thanks for any advice or insight you may have.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Child Abuse Ad--Secret Message Only For Children

2013-05-07T14:12:00.002-07:00

I was reading through my email today and found this phrase, "Spanish ad has a secret message only kids can see (video)." That took me to the page on Marketplace Radio show (NPR).
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/business/numbers/spanish-ad-has-secret-message-only-kids-can-see-video

The article and video describe the technology that makes adults see one image and kids younger than age ten see a different image. Powerful material directed at kids who may be abused.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Set your DVR's! New "Brain Games"!

2013-05-06T15:11:00.002-07:00

Hi All,

The National Geographic Channel has produced new episdoes of the Brain Games. I've already missed 4 of them! Here is a teaser from tonight's episode, called "The Power of Persuasion."

"By exposing us to specific stimuli, Jason Silva can prime our brains to respond in certain ways. See how identical twins interview for the same job, in the same clothes, with the same resume. They even give the exact same answers—but the order of the words in their answers is slightly different. The result? One twin comes off negative, and the other gets the job. Would you believe that Texas seceded from the U.S. if a crazy-looking guy told you? Probably not, but what if a news reporter with a microphone did? This episode unveils the subtle tactics that advertisers, marketers and con men can use to get you to do what they want, without you noticing."

There are online games, clips, and information to support each episode. To find all of these resources, go to: http://braingames.nationalgeographic.com/

The episodes air on Monday's at 9:00 pm.

Happy viewing!
Kristin

Videos for AP Psych Content Review

2013-04-28T09:50:00.001-07:00

Beginning last year, I have created some review videos for AP Psych students with the assumption that they already learned the material and needed some brushing up or clarifying. My YouTube channel can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/user/SchallhornAPPsych

My seven newest videos are on psychologists (there are way more than you'd think when you put them in a PPT slide show). There are nearly 80 psychologists in the AP Psych outline, so each one has a page with a picture and a few key ideas for review. I hope you and your students find these videos useful.

Here are a couple of my most popular videos from the past year:

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

AP Psychology Exam - Last Minute Items - 2013

2013-04-25T07:58:00.000-07:00

This blog post is a slightly edited version from what Kent has posted in the past. Just a few minor updates/edits.
===================================================================
With the AP Psychology Exam only a week and a half away, many of us are reaching the end to a long journey that started last fall. Below are some of the "last minute" items I (Kent) tell my students. Note: This listing is basically the same as previous years, with the exception of the guessing adjustment.

General Information:

Monday May 06, 2013 in the afternoon
Bring pencils with erasers and blue or black pens
Bring a watch that does not beep
Do not wear any psychology related clothing
Do not bring anything else: books, papers, calculators, cell phones, etc.

Multiple Choice Section:

100 multiple choice questions
70 minutes
2/3 of the overall grade
A-E Answers
Names, charts, graphs, drawings are all possible
There is no 1/4 point adjustment for guessing, if you are not sure about a question, take your best educated guess after using process of elimination

Free Response Section:

2 required Free Response (essay) Questions
50 minutes
1/3 of the overall grade - 1/6 of grade for each question
Points are given for correct responses not taken away for incorrect material
Points can only be removed if one part of an answer contradicts another part
Read through both questions before doing anything else
Think through the answer before starting to write
Write an outline or notes in the test question booklet
Don’t be afraid to cross something out, if needed
Write in sentences - DO NOT OUTLINE OR BULLET YOUR ANSWER.
Be as complete as possible, but keep to the point.
Watch the time. Don’t get caught short on essay #2
Structure the answer following the structure of the question

Test Security:

Do not discuss the multiple-choice section with anyone
Do not discuss the free response questions for 48 hours. The general rule of thumb is wait until the questions have been posted on the College Board website
Do NOT post, text, email etc. anything about the exam on the Internet, especially on Facebook, Twitter or other social networks
Do not come and visit me between the multiple choice section and free response section

Please feel free to leave any other ideas in the comments section below. Best of luck to everyone.
=====================================

Updated posted by Chuck Schallhorn

2013-04-20T07:23:00.000-07:00

Free on-line HIGH QUALITY Video Lectures

What sets this apart from other free on-line lectures?

First, the engaging video micro-lectures that reinforce topics taught in a typical AP class. Second, the level of specificity makes it incredibly easy to review a specific topic. Clips are about 5 minutes long, but each topic is clearly labeled so teachers and/or students can easily target attention to a specific area.

Third, transcripts are a click away for those who prefer reading. Finally, there are quizzes for each section.

http://education-portal.com/academy/course/ap-psychology.html

Other courses are available, so looking around the site might prove useful for teachers of other topics. The Education Portal is committed to a no cost model of on-line education.

Please feel free to make a comment about your impressions or post how/if you will use this resource.

Thanks Sara I. for bringing this to my attention.
posted by Nancy Diehl

AP Review, Self-Diagnostics, and Metacognition

2013-04-16T04:00:00.000-07:00

When it comes to all my courses, I am a huge fan of students figuring out what they know and what they do not know. Most of my students come to my class not knowing this meta-cognitive process so I attempt to aid them in learning how to do this.

Some key questions in metacognition in learning are:
(from McTighe and Wiggins [2013] in Essential Questions: Opening Doors to Student Understanding)

What do I know and what do I need to know?
Where should I start? When should I change course? How will I know when I am done?
What's working? What's not? What adjustments should I make?
Is there a more efficient way to do this? Is there a more effective way to do this? How should I balance efficiency and effectiveness?
How will I know when I am done?
What should I do when I get stuck?
How can I overcome my fear of making mistakes?
What have I learned? What insights have I gained?
How can I improve my performance?
What will I do differently next time?

The first part is when we examine, in class, the most missed exam questions from the most recent exam. I either create a handout or project them onto the screen. We go over the questions examining:

what kind of question it was (definitional, conceptual, application, or analysis)
what vocabulary and non-vocabulary words in the stem and options were difficult
examining the WHY of the correct answer (often making subtle distinctions between the correct answer and the next most correct answer)

I also offer "test corrections." This is a process where a student must come in before or after school to examine which questions they missed and fix them. This is a link to the form I am currently using. The form asks "why did I miss this question?"

I did not understand what the question was asking.
One or more words were new to me.
I did not have the vocabulary term(s) in my notes
I did not ask a question about this topic in class.
Other:

In reviewing for the Advanced Placement Psych Exam, I give them an outline of the college board's course description (linked here) posted on my web page of documents for teachers of psych and soc.

I give them the outline and ask them to use a notation to identify which concepts and ideas they:

know well
kind of know
say to themselves, "huh?"

We use that as a beginning of a self-diagnostic of whether or not they know the material to use as a guide for their own studying.

I also use the released exams in the same way. As the students become practiced in this series of steps, their self-reflections become more sophisticated and their understanding of the concepts becomes reinforced. This also increases the quality of their study habits for those who avail themselves of this option.

We use all these materials as fodder for review when I host the Saturday and Sunday review sessions in my classroom the month leading up to the exam.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

AP Review Resources--2013 Version

2013-04-14T07:51:00.001-07:00

The AP Psychology exam is now less than a month away and by now most of us have gotten to the point of finishing our curriculum and are prepping our students for the upcoming exam. Below are some resources to help students review on their own. While updating this list today, I've discovered that some old resources that were excellent are no longer available. Thanks to Steve Jones for some of these links in previous years.

Videos

AP Psych Review Videos from Chuck Schallhorn
YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/SchallhornAPPsych

Video Review from the UK
http://www.psychexchange.co.uk/videos/

The PsychFiles by Michael Britt-Video Review Series
http://www.thepsychfiles.com/?s=%22ap+psychology%22

Shared by Charleen Gribbon (I had forgotten this one)
http://education-portal.com/academy/course/psychology-101.html

Online and Apps
The Genes to Cognition Website for the Original 3D Brain and Other Great Bio-based Resources
http://www.g2conline.org/

AP Review on Twitter--Steve Jones Link from previous post
http://teachinghighschoolpsychology.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-return-of-ap-psych-review.html

For Brain Review--the 3D Brain App
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/3d-brain/id331399332?mt=8

Brain Tutor 3D--App
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/brain-tutor-3d/id301362928?mt=8

Apps - 5 Steps to a 5, Brainscape, PsycTest Hero

Vocabulary Sites

Quizlet exam review flash cards - 394 terms, 771 terms, famous psychologists

AP Psych Study Sets--Vocabulary
http://quizlet.com/subject/ap-psychology/

Teacher sites - these have an assortment of various links to review sites.

APPsychology.Com Study Site from a former AP student
http://appsychology.com/HowPass/howpasshome.htm

Course Notes for AP Psych--Most material taken from previous site
http://www.course-notes.org/Psychology

Psychology Review Notes from Intro Psych Classes
http://www.alleydog.com/101notes.php#.UWq5gSusbnw

Online Psychology Intro Course at National Repository of Online Courses
http://www.montereyinstitute.org/courses/Psychology/nroc%20prototype%20files/coursestartc.html

Review Books

If you have additional resources and ideas, please add them in the comments.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

2013-04-06T07:47:00.000-07:00

FREE!! Join the world of Massive Open Online Course- MOOCs

Millions of users from around the world have signed up for an ever-expanding menu of courses offered for free from over 70 leading colleges and universities. Coursera and EdX are the two of the most popular.

Weekly lectures are available in short clips of 10-20 minutes, additional reading is specified, and how much you participate or not is up to you. There are all kinds of optional supplements for additional learning. The breadth of topics is tremendous with several psychology related classes on offer.

Above is a screen shot of my current status on Coursera. Behavioral economist (most content is directly related to psychology) Dan Ariely teaches the first course, and Scott Plous of the Social Psychology Network, which has fantastic teaching resources, will be teaching Social Psychology.

Happy free learning!
(This weeks lecture was, in part, about the special case of "free" and how that impacts consumer behavior. Note learning is applied in the title of the post.)

posted by Nancy Diehl

2013-04-05T18:34:00.004-07:00

Bipolar Disorder with delusions as the topic of a rock musical?
Lyrics/music as a teaching tool

Winning the Tony Award for best score and Pulitzer Prize for drama (2010), the rock musical, Next to Normal presents insight into how the lives of a family can be impacted by mental illness.

Of particular interest are parts of the songs:
1. "I miss the mountains" demonstrating the impact of how medications can take away an individual's sense of self as well as issues related to medication compliance.

2. "My psychopharmacolgist and I" touches on the inexact science of prescription, challenges regarding side effects, differing goals of the therapist and client AND even a nice demonstration of transference along with humor.

The links above are to the lyrics, the songs are available in the usual places (itunes, youtube, etc). The show is really interesting and well done, and the impact of mom's illness on Diana's husband and daughter feel very authentic. Wikipedia has a lengthy synopsis.

Even better, take a fieldtrip and see a production. (Be aware of adult language in certain scenes). Here (click on upcoming) is a link to the traveling productions page.

Happy spring!
Nancy Diehl

Can You Handle More on Phineas?

2013-03-28T15:06:00.000-07:00

Most of us have seen and seen again so much about our "poster boy" of brain damage, Phineas Gage--we've even included a few posts about him in our blog:
http://teachinghighschoolpsychology.blogspot.com/2009/09/phineas-gage-newly-discovered-picture.html
http://teachinghighschoolpsychology.blogspot.com/2010/05/phineas-gage-news.html
http://teachinghighschoolpsychology.blogspot.com/2012/08/another-modern-day-phineas-gage.html

Recently, the folks at Mind Hacks did another followup linked here:
http://mindhacks.com/2013/03/23/the-postmortem-portraits-of-phineas-gage/

In the comments, I found these links from Vermont and their claim to Phineas:
The Phineas Gage Info Page
http://www.uakron.edu/gage/

The 150th Anniversary Page
http://www.uakron.edu/gage/anniversary.dot

The Phineas Gage Memorial
http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/phineas-gage-memorial

The Rutland, Vermont Newspaper Story
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20100520/NEWS02/5200388

More links:
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/10858
http://scienceblogs.com/neuronculture/2010/05/20/see-exactly-where-phineas-gage/

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Psychology of Magic

2013-03-26T14:18:00.002-07:00

For AP teachers, this probably falls in the category of "something to do after the exam," but I think it could be fascinating: I'm reading more and more lately about partnerships between psychological researchers and magicians/illusionists and how these collaborations are producing some unexpected findings in the areas of selective attention and sensation & perception. A few examples (not an exhaustive list!)

The Nova special "Magic and the Brain" is a great place to start - introduction to some of the neuroscience-based collaborations, and great visuals.
One of my favorite magicians is Teller (of Penn and Teller) and this WIRED magazine article is a fairly in-depth examination of some of what drives his artistic/magic/performance pieces along with some psychological connections.
This slightly more academic Scientific American article details some of the cognitive psychology work into concepts like misdirection (those same authors maintain this summary "psychology of magic" website)
This list of presentations from the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness is a good overview of some of the "hot topics" (Teller presented here too! He's all over. Also presenting: The Amazing Randi, one of my heroes.)
This Psychology Today blog post describes some simple "tricks" we can all do to demonstrate principles of experimental methodology, memory, and classical conditioning

It's very possible that you have some kiddos in your classes who are/were interested in magic as a hobby, and/or a local amateur magician who wouldn't mind demonstrating some tricks for your class. If anyone uses any of this, please let me know - I'm thinking this might be our first psychology club activity next year!

image source: http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/magazine/17-05/ff_neuroscienceofmagic?currentPage=all

posted by Rob McEntarffer

The return of AP Psych review

2013-03-23T15:30:00.002-07:00

It's back! Last year there was a wonderful global experiment called #appsychreview and it's coming back again in 2013. I would like to officially get it started again this Monday, March 25 and continue through May 6.

What is this? The idea is to offer students anywhere the chance to get some help reviewing for the AP Psych exam.
How will students get help? They can simply post their questions on Twitter, adding #appsychreview as a hashtag (#) at the end of their question.
Who will answer the questions? I will - and as I discovered last year - so will more than a dozen other AP Psych teachers.

ONE PLEA FROM ME: I beg you NOT to tell your students to post ALL of their questions this way. Last year a teacher misunderstood and gave extra credit to his students for asking a question, which resulted in dozens of questions being posted in just a few minutes. Also, if the student has a question like "Who is Piaget" we're probably going to refer them to their textbook or to Wikipedia, as opposed to a student who asks something like "How can I remember the difference between proactive and retroactive interference?"

If you want to follow the madness or jump in and answer questions, feel free to visit this link https://twitter.com/search/realtime?q=%23appsychreview - we'd love to have you!

--posted by Steve

THSP is a Top Psychology Blog

2013-03-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

Our Teaching High School Psychology blog has been named a "Top 30 Psychology Blog for 2012" by the Website "OnlinePsychologyDegree.info." We are in very good company along with Mind Hacks, Psychology Today and the British Psychological Society.

The rest of our esteemed colleagues can be found at this link: http://www.onlinepsychologydegree.info/top-30-psychology-blogs-of-2012/

We thank the editors of that site for this honor.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Guide to the Brain--Scientific American Mind

2013-03-17T12:16:00.000-07:00

I recently rediscovered these two links and videos that will likely be helpful for AP review. Check them out and enjoy.

Social Cues in the Brain [Interactive]

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=social-cues-in-brain

Memory in the Brain [Interactive]
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=memory-brain-tour-video

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Brain Awareness Week March 11-17, 2013

2013-03-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here are a few links for celebrating this year's Brain Awareness Week

DANA.org
http://www.dana.org/brainweek/

BrainFacts.org
http://www.sfn.org/baw/

Neuroscience for Kids
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/baw.html

Brain Awareness on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/BrainAwarenessWeek

The Brain Institute at University of Utah
http://brain.utah.edu/communities/sfn-intermountain/brain-awareness-week.php

Aspen Brain Forum
http://aspenbrainforum.com/brain-awareness-week.html
This last site has many links to other sites and activities

Enjoy your brain awareness week whether you honor brains this week or another time during your respective school years.

Posted by Chuck Schallhorn