APA Summit on High School Psychology

I was lucky to have spent early July in Utah traveling to and participating in the APA Summit on High School Psychology. While I'm happy to be home again, the experience was invigorating and I'm excited to continue the work that was begun at Weber State University in Ogden, UT.

Participants at APA Summit on High School Psychology

The mission of the Summit was to "create the best future for high school psychology education" by addressing eight core issues that were central to moving psychology forward. I had the opportunity to collaborate most intensively with the working group on "Flourishing" (skills that promote well-being, metacognition, and transfer). We drafted deliverables (documents that can be disseminated to relevant audiences) and recommendations that the APA can now review and, hopefully, implement.

Strand 2: Flourishing

As I adjust back to the lower altitude and higher humidity in Wisconsin, I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to work with such amazing folks: other teachers of high school psychology, college-level faculty, and APA staff. My return means it's time to start focusing on preparing for my own school year, but I will also be working on a long "to-do" list in conjunction with Summit goals.

Appropriately, my husband and I chose to make the travel to the Summit part of our own vacation, so I spent the week prior hiking in the many National Parks in southern Utah. The theme of the Summit was "Psychology Climbing." I think that just might capture the theme of my entire summer, too.

Psychology Climbing (literally); Mrs. Welle at Observation Point in Zion National Park