Download AP Psych Syllabus 2013

AP Psychology Syllabus
Pine-Richland High School
Mr. Matt Roberts
Course Overview
The purpose of the Advanced Placement course in Psychology is to introduce students to the systematic
and scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of human beings and other animals. Students
are exposed to the empirically-supported psychological facts, research findings, terminology, major
figures, principles, and phenomena associated with each of the major subfields within psychology. They
learn about the methods psychologists use in their science and practice. The aim of this course is to
provide the students with a learning experience equivalent to that obtained in most college introductory
psychology courses.
AP Psychology is a highly structured, very demanding course. Students are required to thoroughly read
the college-level text . One of the primary objectives of this course is to expose students to all areas of
information covered on the AP Psychology Examination. This is accomplished through lecture, class
discussion, video clips, select outside readings as appropriate, guest lectures, demonstrations and
projects. These teaching methods are discussed throughout this syllabus. A daily schedule of study is
required to meet the expectations of this course and will typically require 1-2 hours of preparation per
class meeting.
Text: Myers, David., Psychology, Worth Publishing, 2004, 9ed.
Course Planner
Unit One: The Science of Psychology
History and Approaches: (Prologue in Myers)
Philosophical roots, emergence as a science, subfields of psych, current perspectives/approaches.
Reading and Writing in Psychology:
Blackboard assignments and Library Research.
Thinking Critically with Psychological Science: (Chapter 1 in Myers)
Basic and applied research, scientific method, case studies, surveys, naturalistic observation,
correlation, ex-post facto, the experiment, human and animal ethics, APA Guidelines for ethical
experimentation.
Unit Two: Biopsychology
The Biology of the Mind: (Chapter 2)
Neural Communication, the nervous system, brain structures and functions, endocrine system,
genetics, brain imaging techniques.
Sensation & Perception: (Chapter 6)
Thresholds, sensory adaptation, vision, hearing, touch, taste, smell along with perceptual
illusions, perceptual constancies, depth perception, perceptual set, extra sensory perception.
Consciousness & the Two Track Mind: (Chapter 3)
Biorhythms, sleep, sleep disorders, dream theory, hypnosis, drugs, classification and
mechanisms.
Unit Three: Development and Learning
Nature v. Nurture & Developmental Psychology: (Chapters 4 & 5)
Prenatal Development and the newborn, infancy and childhood, Adolescence, adulthood, elder
hood, stage theory – Cognitive (Piaget), Physical, Moral (Kholberg, Gilligan), and Emotional
(Erikson).
Learning: (Chapter 7)
Classical conditioning (Pavlov), Operant Conditioning (Skinner, Thorndike), Observational
learning (Bandura).
Unit Four: Cognition
Memory: (Chapter 8)
Encoding, storing, retrieving, forgetting, constructing, eyewitness reports, Alzheimer’s
Thinking and Language: (Chapter 9)
Concepts and prototypes, heuristics and algorithms, theories, language structure and
development, theories (Chomsky, Whorf), animals and language.
Intelligence: (Chapter 10)
Intelligence Theories (Guilford, Gardner, Thurstone, Spearman, Sternberg), Origins of Intelligence
Testing (Binet), Gifted and retarded populations, types of tests (MMPI, Rorshach, et al.)
Unit Five: Sociocultural Psychology
Social Psychology: (Chapter 16)
Norms/roles, attribution theory, the big four studies (Milgram, Zimbardo, Asch, Rosenhan), Kitty
Genovese, Juries, prejudice and stereotypes, racism.
Unit Six: Individual Variations
Motivation and Emotion: (Chapter 11 and 12)
Emotional theories (James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, Schacter and Singer), hunger, sex, aggression,
affiliation, culture and emotional expression.
Personality: (Chapter 13)
Theories of Psychoanalysts (Freud, Jung, Adler, Horney, Chodorow), Behaviorists (Skinner),
Humanists (Maslow, Rogers), Cognitivists (Kelly), Biologists (Sheldon), Trait theory, Big 5.
Psychological Disorders: (Chapter 14)
Anxiety, somatoform and dissociative disorders, mood/affective disorders, the schizophrenias
and personality disorders, case study labs.
Unit Seven: Applications of Psychological Science
Therapy: (Chapter 15)
Psychotherapy, biomedical treatments.
Appendix A: Careers in Psychology
This unit will include of Final Project.
Methods of Learning & Assessments
In this course we will rely predominantly on formative assessments such as research, writing, and
project based learning. Students will begin by learning the structure of proper scientific research and
how to structure empirical research papers. In this class we will use the APA (American Psychological
Association) style for all papers as this is the industry standard in the field of psychology. Students will
also design and in some cases conduct research of their own. We will also utilize case studies and
research reports to gain a deeper understanding of psychological concepts. Additionally up to three
works of literature will be used to provide cross curricular connections and help students to link their
knowledge of psychology and literature.
Due to the emphasis on in-depth learning (as opposed to breadth of learning) students will be required
to do a large amount of reading outside of class time. Additionally, students will be required to view
videos and lectures online, also outside of class time. The majority of class time will be devoted to
working individually or in groups on projects, research and papers.
There will be periodic summative assessments in the form of unit test and chapter quizzes. Seven unit
tests will be administered throughout the course along with 16 chapter quizzes. No other summative
assessments will be used.
Mastery Learning: All unit tests will be paper pencil scantron some will include short answer and/or
essay. The focus in this class is on learning not testing, therefore all unit tests can be taken up to three
times the highest grade will be reported. Students may retake a test any time before the end of the
current grading period. Test retakes must be completed outside of normal class time. Students will not
be excused from regularly scheduled classroom activities to retake tests.
Cooperative Learning:
Teaching and studying AP Psychology is a daunting experience, as there is so much for students to learn
in so little time. This course employs a cooperative learning method. This method has been used by AP
psychology teachers and college level professors for more than 10 years. Because it focuses on terms
and concepts, it will greatly benefit students of AP Psychology.
First, it is important to define cooperative learning and discuss its virtues, as researched by Johnson,
Johnson, and Smith (1994) at the University of Minnesota. Next, I will discuss how cooperative learning
in this class will be conducted and how this procedure helps students master content.
Cooperative Learning Defined
Johnson, Johnson, and Smith say cooperative learning includes the following qualities: (1) positive
interdependence, (2) face-to-face promotive interaction, (3) individual accountability, (4) social skills
building, and (5) group processing. Positive interdependence means that, while all members of the
group must master the lesson, they take individual assessments and each member must earn a
threshold score in order for the group to earn a reward. In essence, group members sink or swim
together. This encourages students to learn the material before class so that they will not disappoint
other members of their group.
The research of Johnson, Johnson, and Smith shows that cooperative learning leads to:
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higher achievement and increased retention
more frequent higher-level thinking, deeper-level understanding, and critical thinking
more on-task and less disruptive behavior
greater achievement motivation and intrinsic motivation to learn
greater ability to view situations from others¿ perspectives
more positive, accepting, and supportive relationships with peers regardless of differences in
ethnicity, gender, physical or mental ability, or social class
greater social support
more positive attitudes toward teachers and other school personnel
more positive attitudes toward subject area, learning, and school
greater psychological health, adjustment, and well-being
more positive self-esteem based on self-acceptance
greater social competencies
Using Cooperative Learning in the Classroom
Cooperative learning is a method for mastering technical terms. In this classroom, we will start by
assigning students to groups based upon each students’ Individual Learning Style.
Students are assigned to heterogeneous groups of 4 – 5 students each. During the year there will be a
number of assignments that require the students to work together in groups, this is most evident on the
final project. The most significant aspects of cooperative learning though, are the summative
assessments.
References
Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., and Smith, K. A. (1994). Active learning: Cooperation in the
College Classroom. Edina, MN: Interactive Book.
Kagan, S. (1992). Cooperative Learning. San Juan Capistrano, CA: Resources for Teachers.
Special Needs: Any student that requires accommodations of any kind please feel free to approach me
before or after class to keep me informed of your needs. I will make every effort to ensure your needs
are met and ensure that your experience in the class is fulfilling. Additionally I will be reviewing all IEP
and 504 records.
Mr. Roberts’ Schedule:
Period
1
2
3
4
5/6
7/8
9
10
11
Subject
AP Psychology
Teacher Prep period
Mandarin Chinese
AP Psychology
AP Psychology
AP Psychology
Lunch
AP Psychology
Asian Studies
Room #
38
38
209
38
38
38
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38
38