Survey

In class on Thursday (A-Day) or Friday (B-Day) we will begin to explore the various research methods used in modern psychological science, including surveys.

When prompted by your instructor, please take a moment to complete the survey below. Your responses will remain anonymous and participation is voluntary.

NOTE: Because responses are limited to CFHS students, you must be signed in to your .chipfalls.org Google account to access the form. If you are having trouble accessing the form, try using this link.

Worried about Keeping up in AP? Join Team ASAP!

Feeling behind after only two days back at school? Wondering how you'll keep up with your AP coursework? Not sure you really know how to study, even though all your teachers keep telling you to do more of it?

Join Team ASAP and learn how to thrive in your challenging AP courses!

Team ASAP is a new club for AP Students of all types. We will be meeting on Thursdays during Lunch B in rm 136. Your input will help determine club activities and agendas, but tentative plans include:

• Learning about organizational strategies to help stay on track
• Combating procrastination using tips from cognitive science
• Learning about and practicing effective study strategies
• Hearing from successful former AP Students
• Stress management techniques

Hey, maybe we'll even get T-shirts?!

Our first meeting will be Thursday, September 7th. We'll be sharing strategies for staying organized, so bring your course syllabi and your planner (or whatever organizational strategy you use). For those new to time management strategies, we'll take some time to plug in test and project deadlines so you can practice.

Strive for 5's Have Arrived!

If you ordered your own (personal) copy of the  Strive for a 5 workbook during textbook pick-up, it has now arrived at school! Just in time, too, as I was beginning to worry about the status of our order. 

I'll be happy to help you get your workbook tomorrow before school, during lunch, or after school. (Note: My apologies, but because our classes are shortened and we'll be very busy with planned group activities, I won't be able to write receipts and such during class time tomorrow.) 

When picking up your purchased copy, please kindly keep the following in mind:

• If you were issued a rental (school) copy of the Strive for a 5 workbook, please bring it with you so we can swap it out. That way I can remove the item from your list of issued class materials and you won't end up having to locate it again at the end of the year. That would be no fun.
• If you have not yet paid for the copy you ordered, please bring payment with you. Cash or checks (made payable to Chippewa Falls Senior HS) are accepted, and the cost is $30.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me.  Looking forward to seeing you soon!

Mrs. Welle - AP Psychology Teacher

So I Picked Up My Textbook...Now What?

By picking up your textbook and materials during Registration Week, you’ve already taken the first steps toward experiencing a year of success in AP Psych. Congratulations! Let’s keep it rolling over the next few weeks and into the school year. We will have a TON of fun learning about psychology this year, and you can ensure that you will get the most enjoyment out of this class by staying on track with your reading and studies (since it’s no fun to feel behind and overwhelmed).

By completing the following tasks, you can help ease yourself into the workload for this course and start the year strong:

1. Decide if you would like to purchase your own copy of Strive for a 5 (i.e., one that you could write in) for $30. If you want me to order it for you, please contact me no later than Friday, August 18th. Alternatively, you could purchase your own through Amazon.
2. If you haven't already, be sure to obtain a 3-ring binder in which to store your course materials. Bring this to class with you on Sept. 1, and every day thereafter!
3. Read through the Course Syllabus. Make a note of any questions you have so that you can ask them during the first few days of class. You will notice when you get into Canvas that one of the required activities in the “Getting Started in AP Psych” Module is a “quiz” on the important information your syllabus, so go ahead and take that when you are ready. You won’t be able to complete other quizzes/reading until that module is done.
4. Begin reading Units I & II in your text, using the Strive for a 5 book to guide your study. Take notes in any way you feel comfortable, since you can use them while taking your reading quizzes in Canvas. Once you’ve completed the “Getting Started in AP Psych” module in Canvas, you may begin taking the reading quizzes for this first unit. You may complete as many of the Reading Quizzes as you would like, based on your comfort level. None of them are due on Day 1, but as your Pacing Guide reflects, deadlines will start appearing soon after. So, you can buy yourself some precious time by getting a bit done now.

UPDATE: After speaking with the Tech Dept., I've learned that the Canvas course should be able to launch sometime Monday, August 21st! We had hoped for an earlier date, but given all the roster/schedule changes happening during registration this week, it will be easier for them to accurately load my rosters at that time. Once that happens, you should be able to get in and begin work on the activities mentioned above.

Textbook Pick-Up for 2017-18 AP Psych Students

Yesterday I dropped in the mail 101 postcards destined for the homes of next year's AP Psychology students! In case yours went missing, here is the gist of the message it contained:

I know you are probably in the midst of enjoying a beautiful summer, and the fall may be (understandably) far from your mind, but the beginning of AP Psychology is just around the corner!

AP Psychology students do not have a “summer assignment” like some other AP courses, but we do have early textbook pick-up in August. At that time, you’ll get your AP Psych textbook, course materials, and directions for your first reading assignment. You also get to meet me in person, and start talking about the great adventure that is AP Psych!

This year, I was able to schedule textbook pick-up dates and times concurrently with registration week at the high school. I’m hoping this will be convenient for students and their families, since you’ll probably be making a trip to the high school that week anyway. I’ll be meeting students and handing out textbooks in rm 136 (my classroom) during the following times:

Monday, August 14; 9 AM - 5 PM

Tuesday, August 15; 9 AM - 5 PM

Wednesday, August 16; 11 AM - 5 PM

Thursday, August 17; 9 AM - 4 PM

If, for whatever reason, you will not be available to come in during those times, please feel free to contact me via email to arrange some other time to meet.

Have a great summer, and see you soon!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Welle

Congrats to the AP Psych Class of 2017!

My work- and vacation-related travels this summer meant that I had limited access to wifi during the week when students' AP Exam results were released. I was able to log in and check scores briefly... long enough to know that you guys rocked it...but not long enough to compose a summary and congratulatory post. So, here it is: CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

This year's class holds two distinct honors that are very difficult to attain simultaneously:

1. At 116 total examinees, this was the largest group of students taking the AP Psych exam in CFHS history. What a wonderful thing that so many students are learning about psychology and challenging themselves to pursue college-level work!
2. More impressive, this group attained the highest average score for which I have records, a 4.303! I began teaching this course in 2005-06, and have examinee records as far back as 2002-03, so that's saying something. 

These results are the product of a tremendous amount of hard work on your part, students. We all know this class was far from easy at points, and you likely sacrificed some sleep and had to forgo more immediately gratifying activities in order to study throughout the year (especially in April). You should be proud of your scores, not just because of the college credit they will earn you, but because of the hard-earned mastery and psychology knowledge that they represent. 

Overall, our group of test-takers compared quite favorably to national averages, as the chart below suggests.

This chart from the Instructional Planning Report illustrates the percentage of CFHS students and the global sample scoring at various ranges on the national exam. CFHS AP Psych students (represented by the blue bars) substantially outperformed the global sample (represented by the green bars). 

It is important to know, students, that EVERY score on this chart reflects hard work, even if your personal score fell short of the goals you had set for yourself. You grew as a student and you gained psychology knowledge and skills that will help you navigate future challenges, even if the final number was lower than you had hoped. I am proud of each and every one of you. 

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