Today during class, I will be asking all of my current students to sign up for a Fall "Check-In" Conference with me. These are required for all students, and as the name implies, they are a chance for us to speak one-on-one about how things are going in the course and how I can help you reach your goals.
Come ready to discuss your progress thus far: What are your goals for the course? What is going well? What do we need to work on?
Please sign up for an available appointment IN THIS DOCUMENT.
Please feel free to SCHEDULE A REMINDER IN YOUR PHONE or somewhere else so that you don't miss your scheduled meeting.
Showing posts with label study habits. Show all posts
Showing posts with label study habits. Show all posts
Monday, September 21, 2015
Friday, August 28, 2015
Tips for Success in AP Psychology
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.
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.
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 19, 2014
How to Get the Most Out of Studying
Greetings, AP Psychology students!
I'm sorry I couldn't be with you today. I'm attending meetings in Washington, D.C. as part of my affiliation with Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS) and the APA. But that doesn't mean your learning will be put on hold!
The unit of study we are beginning today concerns Cognition (i.e., thinking) and Memory. Happily, researchers have learned A LOT about what helps people understand and remember what they have learned, and this information should be immediately useful to students hoping to improve and refine their study strategies (and, by extension, their course grades).
Regardless of how you think yesterday's test went--whether you think it was a face-plant or you feel you knocked it out of the park--today's assignment will give you some helpful ideas about how to study more efficiently and more effectively, AND it will introduce you to some basic memory terminology that we will encounter this unit.
You'll have time in class to view this video series by Dr. Stephen Chew of Samford University, and you should complete this worksheet as you go. The worksheet is due Monday (Sept. 22), so anything that you don't finish in class should be completed over the weekend. Note: since there is sound with this video, please use a pair of headphones when viewing so that you don't disturb others.
Enjoy! Happy Learning!
Mrs. Welle
I'm sorry I couldn't be with you today. I'm attending meetings in Washington, D.C. as part of my affiliation with Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS) and the APA. But that doesn't mean your learning will be put on hold!
The unit of study we are beginning today concerns Cognition (i.e., thinking) and Memory. Happily, researchers have learned A LOT about what helps people understand and remember what they have learned, and this information should be immediately useful to students hoping to improve and refine their study strategies (and, by extension, their course grades).
Regardless of how you think yesterday's test went--whether you think it was a face-plant or you feel you knocked it out of the park--today's assignment will give you some helpful ideas about how to study more efficiently and more effectively, AND it will introduce you to some basic memory terminology that we will encounter this unit.
You'll have time in class to view this video series by Dr. Stephen Chew of Samford University, and you should complete this worksheet as you go. The worksheet is due Monday (Sept. 22), so anything that you don't finish in class should be completed over the weekend. Note: since there is sound with this video, please use a pair of headphones when viewing so that you don't disturb others.
Enjoy! Happy Learning!
Mrs. Welle
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
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