In class on Tuesday you will receive a sample of letters of advice from last year's AP Psychology students. Those students have much wisdom to share, given their outstanding performance on the AP Psychology Exam. Your task is to read through the information they are providing for you and generate a "Top Ten List" of tips for success in this class.
Of course, I only selected a small sample of student letters to print for you so I could avoid murdering entire forests. If you would like to review the entire pack of advice letters from 2014-15 AP Psych students, feel free to do so. They are sorted alphabetically by last name, so if you wish to find words of inspiration from a particular friend or acquaintance, just scroll to the appropriate point in the alphabet.
Showing posts with label study resources. Show all posts
Showing posts with label study resources. Show all posts
Friday, August 28, 2015
Monday, August 10, 2015
Getting Started on Your First Reading Assignment in AP Psych
Wheeee!!! It's time for your very first reading assignment in AP Psychology!
Even if you are not as thrilled as I am about this, you are likely to have the most energy and enthusiasm for digging into your textbook at this point in the year. Everything is fresh, you're not sleep deprived (yet), and the year seems to be full of possibility. I would strongly encourage you to take advantage of that peak motivation and use this opportunity to shine up your reading and note-taking strategies.
If you are like many of my students, you might not have had to read your textbooks very carefully in the past. The number of assigned pages was small, and the amount of detail you were expected to recall and use may have been limited. You may have even been provided a worksheet or guide that pointed you directly to all the important information, so you barely had to read at all!
You'll find things are different in AP Psychology. Your first reading quiz will cover pages 1-70 in your textbook! But that doesn't mean you need to freak out. If you are looking for tips on how to approach what feels like a massive task, look no further.
5 Active Reading Strategies for Textbook Assignments
Even if you are not as thrilled as I am about this, you are likely to have the most energy and enthusiasm for digging into your textbook at this point in the year. Everything is fresh, you're not sleep deprived (yet), and the year seems to be full of possibility. I would strongly encourage you to take advantage of that peak motivation and use this opportunity to shine up your reading and note-taking strategies.
If you are like many of my students, you might not have had to read your textbooks very carefully in the past. The number of assigned pages was small, and the amount of detail you were expected to recall and use may have been limited. You may have even been provided a worksheet or guide that pointed you directly to all the important information, so you barely had to read at all!
You'll find things are different in AP Psychology. Your first reading quiz will cover pages 1-70 in your textbook! But that doesn't mean you need to freak out. If you are looking for tips on how to approach what feels like a massive task, look no further.
- First, check out this handout on tips for your first reading assignment. You should have received one of these when you picked up your textbook.
- Next, consider watching one or both of the videos I've embedded below. I really like Thomas Frank's YouTube channel, CollegeInfoGeek, as he provides great, well-researched tips for college students (like yourself!) who want to be successful in their courses. If you've never had to keep up with college-level reading and study schedules before, he provides concrete, usable advice (but no magic fixes, because there are none.)
- You may also find this video from your textbook author helpful, as it walks you through some basic, research-based tips for more efficient study.
- Finally, don't forget that you have that Strive for a 5 to use as a resource. If you feel lost at sea without reading guides and worksheets to direct your reading, this is a great way to provide yourself with some supports. Sure, it takes a while, but READING YOUR TEXTBOOK CAREFULLY ALWAYS TAKES TIME! So, pace yourself, and dig in!
How To Read Your Textbooks More Efficiently
5 Active Reading Strategies for Textbook Assignments
Friday, September 27, 2013
Study Resources for Your History & Methods Test
Whew! That unit flew by...and now students are preparing for their test on History/Approaches & Research Methods, which will happen on Monday, Sept. 30th. If you like, you are welcome to join us on Sunday, Sept. 29th at 5 PM, for organized review.
In addition, I've compiled some online study tools for you below.
Flashcard sets (2) for this unit are also embedded below! :) Happy studying!
In addition, I've compiled some online study tools for you below.
- An online multiple choice quiz on Schools of Psychology.
- An online multiple choice quiz on Research Methods.
- A 5-minute video reviewing Correlational Methods & Stats
- A video on experimental methods.
- A review of basic psych statistics (descriptive & inferential)
- A video review of the difference between random assignment & random selection.
Flashcard sets (2) for this unit are also embedded below! :) Happy studying!
Monday, September 16, 2013
Letters to the AP Psych Class of 2014
It was a pleasure meeting all of my students face-to-face, together, for the first time today. I very much appreciate your patience and cooperation in approaching the transition from one teacher to another. In order to help you get to know me (and my quirks), my students from last year have prepared letters of "advice" for you. Hopefully, their words will help you succeed throughout the rest of the class. Many of you are in the process of examining how you might change your study habits to master the material and earn the grades you want on tests, so this might give you some ideas.
You'll organize the advice you found into this Top 10 List, with the most emphasized piece of advice in the #1 spot. You were provided with a sampling of student responses in class, but if you would like to see ALL of the responses from the AP Psych class of 2013, you can find them here (organized alphabetically by last name).
We will be using your lists for an activity in class tomorrow, so put some thought into it! Also, you'll want to begin reading the Prologue and Ch. 1, as your reading quiz for that unit will come up fast (Monday, Sept. 23)!
Thanks for the great start today.
You'll organize the advice you found into this Top 10 List, with the most emphasized piece of advice in the #1 spot. You were provided with a sampling of student responses in class, but if you would like to see ALL of the responses from the AP Psych class of 2013, you can find them here (organized alphabetically by last name).
We will be using your lists for an activity in class tomorrow, so put some thought into it! Also, you'll want to begin reading the Prologue and Ch. 1, as your reading quiz for that unit will come up fast (Monday, Sept. 23)!
Thanks for the great start today.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Using Cognitive Science to Improve Your Study Strategies
If not today, soon you will be getting an assignment from your instructor that requires you to access this video series by Dr. Chew of Samford University. Due on Monday, this assignment requires you to view five short videos and to think about what research says about human memory and learning. Of course, you'll also be prompted to apply it to your own study habits.
I won't try to steal the show from Dr. Chew by describing everything in the videos here. However, I will tell you that, as an AP Psych teacher, I see students making the EXACT SAME mistakes that Dr. Chew describes in the video and suffering for them as well (in terms of grades, that is). The strategies that he proposes as alternatives are the same ones I would recommend to students, as they are research-supported. I hope by viewing the videos now you can put these into place before your first test, rather than waiting until afterwards to try to figure out what went wrong. Of course, as Dr. Chew points out, even if the first test doesn't turn out the best, there are good strategies you can harness to recover and improve from that point onward (but there are also ways to set yourself up for continued hardship...avoid those)!
Happy studying! - Mrs. Welle
I won't try to steal the show from Dr. Chew by describing everything in the videos here. However, I will tell you that, as an AP Psych teacher, I see students making the EXACT SAME mistakes that Dr. Chew describes in the video and suffering for them as well (in terms of grades, that is). The strategies that he proposes as alternatives are the same ones I would recommend to students, as they are research-supported. I hope by viewing the videos now you can put these into place before your first test, rather than waiting until afterwards to try to figure out what went wrong. Of course, as Dr. Chew points out, even if the first test doesn't turn out the best, there are good strategies you can harness to recover and improve from that point onward (but there are also ways to set yourself up for continued hardship...avoid those)!
Happy studying! - Mrs. Welle
Monday, January 7, 2013
Using Memory Research to Enhance your Study
In my view, one of the most helpful things students can glean from an introductory psychology course is techniques for improving their own study habits. Not only does the wealth of research on human memory inform us as to why certain things are remembered better than others, but it suggests ways that we can use that knowledge to better encode, store, and retrieve information that we are trying to learn. Meaning, you can use this to improve your test performances!
I was just alerted to a GREAT website created by Dr. Stephan Linn Chew, professor of psychology of at Samford University. He presents a video series on How to Get the Most Out of Studying that incorporates many aspects of the memory research we've been studying in class. For example, in the video embedded below, students should recognize the Levels of Processing Model (deep vs. shallow processing) that we learned about in class today. Other videos include:
I was just alerted to a GREAT website created by Dr. Stephan Linn Chew, professor of psychology of at Samford University. He presents a video series on How to Get the Most Out of Studying that incorporates many aspects of the memory research we've been studying in class. For example, in the video embedded below, students should recognize the Levels of Processing Model (deep vs. shallow processing) that we learned about in class today. Other videos include:
- Beliefs that make you fail...or Succeed
- Cognitive Principles for Optimizing Learning
- Putting Principles that Optimize Learning Into Practice
- And..."I blew the exam, now what?" for when things don't go as planned.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Boatload of Neuroscience Study Tools
It is that time of the year! The time for all good AP Psychology students to review their neuroscience. To that end, I'm including here a TON of great study helps: some video, some online quizzes, and some flashcards.
First up, if you made it through the study guide that you received in class and would like some more ways to put your knowledge of neuroscience and the brain to the test, have I got the practice for you! Below I'm posting links to two online multiple choice tests that will give you feedback on your mastery of this unit's content.
If you're not feeling quite fluent in the operations of the nervous system in general, below you'll find an excellent "crash course" video on the operations of the nervous system. This 12 minute video captures a great deal of the "big ideas" from this unit. If you would like to use more of these types of videos, check out the great biopsych collection at Education Portal Academy's Psych 101 Course. There are individual videos on virtually every topic we covered this unit.
And, last but not least, there's our old friend Quizlet. Embedded below are the flashcards for the 79 terms for this unit. As always, remember that it is not likely sufficient to JUST know these terms and their definitions, since you will have to know how to apply them in new and dynamic ways to demonstrate understanding on the test. However, no one does well in AP Psych WITHOUT mastering their vocabulary, so this is a great place to start.
And, don't forget that you also have the chance to study with other real live human beings (including your teacher) on Tuesday evening from 5-7 PM. Best of luck, everyone!
First up, if you made it through the study guide that you received in class and would like some more ways to put your knowledge of neuroscience and the brain to the test, have I got the practice for you! Below I'm posting links to two online multiple choice tests that will give you feedback on your mastery of this unit's content.
If you're not feeling quite fluent in the operations of the nervous system in general, below you'll find an excellent "crash course" video on the operations of the nervous system. This 12 minute video captures a great deal of the "big ideas" from this unit. If you would like to use more of these types of videos, check out the great biopsych collection at Education Portal Academy's Psych 101 Course. There are individual videos on virtually every topic we covered this unit.
And, last but not least, there's our old friend Quizlet. Embedded below are the flashcards for the 79 terms for this unit. As always, remember that it is not likely sufficient to JUST know these terms and their definitions, since you will have to know how to apply them in new and dynamic ways to demonstrate understanding on the test. However, no one does well in AP Psych WITHOUT mastering their vocabulary, so this is a great place to start.
And, don't forget that you also have the chance to study with other real live human beings (including your teacher) on Tuesday evening from 5-7 PM. Best of luck, everyone!
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Getting Off to a Great Start in AP Psych
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Greetings, AP Psychology Students and Parents!
We are now just a couple of weeks away from the start of the school year, and I hope you are all getting ready for a fantastic experience in AP Psychology! I know I am.
We will have many exciting adventures together in psych class starting September 4, but there are a few things students can take care of before classes begin in order to get off to a smooth start in AP Psychology.
Students should:
1.) Plan to stop by the classroom (rm 136) and pick up your textbook during one of the times listed below. You will get directions on your first reading assignment (in preparation for your first quiz, which comes up quickly). Many students, whether they have taken an AP course before or not, need time to adjust to the pace and density of the reading load in AP Psych, so getting started before classes begin will help you ease into the process. And, you get to meet me, which is reward in and of itself.
Monday, August 20: 8AM – Noon & 1–3PM
Tuesday, August 21: 8AM – Noon & 1–3PM
Wednesday, August 22: 3-5 PM
Thursday, August 23: 8AM – Noon & 1–3PM
Please note that I will generally not be available to check out textbooks during the “Staff Work Days” August 28-31, as I will likely be in planning and training meetings most of those days, so don’t put this off assuming I will be around. If you absolutely cannot make it during any of the times listed above, email me at wellevk@chipfalls.k12.wi.us to set up a time so you don’t arrive to find a dark room & locked door.
2.) As you complete your back-to-school shopping, be sure to obtain a 3-ring binder for use during this class. You’ll need this because exams are cumulative and you will need to save most materials for studying for the AP exam in May. All former AP Psych students can attest to the necessity of the 3-ring binder! I’d recommend looking for one that is sturdy and at least 1½ -2 inches wide. (Three inches is excessive, though, and just takes up space in your backpack.)You will likely fill it up by May, which is the point. This may seem obvious, but I’ll mention it anyway: you’ll also need a notebook or loose-leaf paper (your choice) to go in the binder. This is where you’ll keep your notes.
3.)You've now accomplished #3, visiting the course website. Be sure to sign up for email updates (via the box on the top left of the page), if desired. If you regularly access your email, this will be a great way to stay on top of what is happening in class, as you will receive email notifications each time the blog is updated with links, assignments, or class news. Many parents have found this a helpful resource in the past.
4.)“Like” us on Facebook if you are a regular Facebook user, or “Follow” us on Twitter if you Tweet. Links are available on the left side of this page. I post reminders about upcoming quizzes, deadlines, course links, and fun video links through these mechanisms. However, I will not have access to your personal FB page (nor will you have access to mine) so we both preserve our privacy.*
5.) Consider ordering the textbook companion study guide. This is an OPTIONAL, paperback study guide that helps students focus their text readings, so the school does not provide copies. You can purchase them for ULTRA CHEAP on used book sites like half.com. Many students have found these very helpful; others develop their own reading strategies and do just fine without one. I’ll be happy to answer questions about the study guide (and have copies for display) when you pick up your textbook. The reason I mention it now is that it generally takes a while to ship, and the wait can be frustrating if you’re counting on using it to prepare for an important test.
Welcome to AP Psychology! I’m sure reading through this has got you thinking about what this class will be like, so please, bring any questions you have when you come to pick up your book. I hope to meet each of you soon and am looking forward to it!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Welle
AP Psychology Teacher
Chippewa Falls Senior HS
*FYI: Please don’t take it personally, but as a general rule I don’t accept personal friend requests on FB from current Chi-Hi students or parents. Once you graduate, if you want to stay in contact, you are more than welcome to send a request to Mrs. Welle. Before then, it’s probably best to maintain some teacher-student (or teacher-parent) boundaries.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Fun with Video
Today I took a course on how to use screen capture and video tools to create quick presentations for viewing outside of class. I'll be incorporating some of these into lessons in the coming year. The one you see below is an overview of how to use Quizlet flashcards for vocabulary review, a study resource that many AP Psych students use extensively.
Sorry for the background noise...a bunch of us were working in the same lab at the same time.
Sorry for the background noise...a bunch of us were working in the same lab at the same time.
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