Psychology Related Updates from the College Board

As an AP Psychology teacher, I regularly receive updates from the College Board with pertinent information about AP testing, credit policies, commissioned reports, and the like. This past week I got a couple of messages with information that may be useful to current AP Psych students, so I'd like to pass it along.

The first significant update concerns an issue that students should be very excited about: accessing AP score reports online! Previously, in order to find out their scores, students had to wait for printed score reports to arrive via snail mail in July OR fork over $8 to use a clunky, automated phone system to hear their scores earlier. Scores still are likely to be unavailable until July 1 or later, since the Free-Response Questions are scored by readers throughout most of the month of June and student reports probably cannot be compiled any faster than they already are. However, students will be able to view their scores online for free starting this summer. Though more information is likely to be forthcoming, the College Board has launched this website to help students set up their accounts and get ready to use the online system.

The second item concerns the physical layout of the Free-Response sections of the AP exams. As last year's students discovered, the College Board changed the layout of this section of most exams, for reasons having to do with test security and ease of test administration. However, some students reported being confused by the new format, since all the Free-Response questions now appear in one booklet with multiple pages (and with each question being repeated "for convenience" multiple times). In order to reduce confusion, the College Board has made available Free-Response booklet maps so that students can preview the layout of that section of the test. In general, I'll be telling my students in AP Psych that, despite the look at first glance there really are still two FRQs, so when you are done answering the first, you may have to go a couple of pages to find the next one. Pay attention to numbers (they should be prominently labled "Question 1" and "Question 2") and you should be fine. However, this map should be helpful, especially for students more used to the old format of that section of AP tests.

Schizophrenia - Videos and Info

Tomorrow in class we'll be discussing what is arguably the most severe psychiatric illness known to clincians: schizophrenia. After discussing key symptoms and subtypes, we'll be viewing this 2005 documentary from the folks at Frontline: The New Asylums. The film depicts the serious challenges faced by correctional facilities, which have over the past several decades been tasked with accommodating the needs of increasing numbers of chronically mentally ill inmates. Many of the inmates shown have schizophrenia or other serious psychiatric conditions.

Those of you who will be absent tomorrow for French camp should follow the links to "watch the full version online." Just so you are aware, as a timing issue, I doubt we'll finish the video in class on Friday. Likely, there will be a portion we will need to finish after the quiz (Ch. 16 & 17) on Monday.

A final word of caution, although there is nothing indecent about the video, you should be aware that the behavior of these patients/inmates reflects the serious symptoms of their illnesses. For some, that includes emotional disturbances that lead them to have poor judgment and impulse control. Many of them curse or engage in disburbing behaviors (the swearing is "bleeped" out, but sometimes imperfectly, and nudity/exposure is "blurred"). So, for example, it may be best not to view the video if you have a very young sibling present who would not understand that behavior or find it alarming.

Personality Unit Study Helps

Update - 7:24 PM 

I hope I've now fixed the problems with the link to Friday's notes. You won't be able to view them in Powerpoint, but I think this should work for those who were requesting them.

As for remaining study tools for this evening, I'd highly recommend checking out this unit's Quizlet to make sure you've got all of the Personality vocabulary nailed down.

Need some more practice multiple choice questions to test out your understanding? Try these.

Big Five Inventory

On Wednesday our class discussion will focus primarily on the trait theory of personality. In preparation for that discussion, students will be completing an online personality inventory that relies on one of the more popular trait models out there: the Big Five.

To complete the activity, take the Big Five Personality inventory and record your results using this form. You may also wish to print out your results for your own contemplation, but that is up to you. Bring your completed form with you to class on Wednesday, February 13th.

Have fun!

Note: If you do not wish to complete this inventory for yourself, you may opt to use it to rate someone else (a friend or relative). The site allows you to do that. Simply use the results from that (anonymous) other person when completing the form.

Michael Shermer to Speak at UWEC

Next week on February 6th, student have an opportunity to see nationally known speaker and supporter of scientific inquiry present as part of the UWEC forum series. Michael Shermer is the author of several books on how people form beliefs (rational and irrational), including most recently The Believing Brain: From Ghosts, Gods and Aliens to Conspiracies, Economics, and Politics--How the Brain Constructs Beliefs and Reinforces them as Truths. Shermer is a staunch advocate of the use of scientific reasonsing to answer life's most important questions, and I have used some of his videos before in class, including this one where he describes science as the best "baloney detection kit" around.

During our Psych Club meeting on Friday, I'll collect ticket money from anyone interested in attending and place a group order for tickets, which are AMAZINGLY CHEAP for students at $2 a piece ($8 for general public).

Shermer takes the stage at 7:30 PM for an hour-long lecture, followed by a 1/2 hour question and answer session. For a preview of what to expect, check out his TED Talk below. :)

Descriptive Statistics

It's everybody's favorite time of year: the time in AP Psychology class where we closely examine how descriptive statistics (particularly, standard deviation and z-scores) help us make sense of test data.

To help with practice on basic descriptive statistics, students should complete this PsychSim Module on Descriptive Stats. Lost the worksheet you got in class? You can print another one here. Just note that it is two pages, so be sure to complete/print both sides.

Still lost when it comes to normal distributions, z-scores, and percentile ranks? You might wish to review this video from a fellow AP Psych teacher, who has posted it to help you with your review.

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:

• 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.

Great things to keep in mind as we prepare for our last unit test (on Memory) and the final exam!