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Advanced Placement Psychology Mr. Randolph 2015 – 2016 Jeffrey Randolph 6 Email: [email protected] Office: 205-C Office periods: 3 & Phone: 206.275.5006 The broad purpose of the AP Psychology course is to introduce students to the systematic and scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of human beings. Students will learn psychological facts, principles, and phenomena associated with each of the major subfields within psychology. They will also learn about the ethics and methods psychologists use in their science and practice. Objectives AP Psychology students will do the following in and as a result of the course: Study the core concepts and major theories of psychology and assess some of the differing approaches adopted by psychologists, including the biological, behavioral, cognitive, humanistic, psychodynamic, and sociocultural perspectives. Define key terms and use them in their everyday vocabulary. Learn the basic principles of psychological research. Devise simple research projects, interpret and generalize from results, and evaluate the validity of research reports. Apply psychological concepts to their own lives and recognize psychological principles when they are encountered in everyday situations. Develop critical thinking skills and become aware of the danger of blindly accepting or rejecting arguments without careful, objective evaluation. Build their reading, writing, and discussion skills. Take the Advanced Placement Examination in Psychology and score a “3” or higher. Learn about psychology as a profession and become aware of the educational requirements which must be met to pursue such careers. Students will learn about the ethical standards governing the work of psychologists. Textbook Myers, David G. Psychology. Holland, Michigan: Worth Publishers, 8th ed. 2007. Materials Something on which to record and store class notes. Composition notebook dedicated to Psychology. Please note that composition books must be of the bound, nonspiraled variety. The required text(s). Outside reading text, including: o Hock, Roger. Forty Studies that Changed Psychology: Explorations into the History of Psychological Research. New York: Prentice Hall, 5th ed. 2004. o Self-selected outside reading book Grading Philosophy Statement and Proportions Description Summative Assessments: Major Projects, Unit Tests, AP Multiple-Choice Tests, Free-Response Questions, and Expository, Argumentative, and Narrative essays Formative Assessments: AP Psych Notebook, Daily Assignments, Participation and Discussion, AP Practice / Diagnostic Tests, and Pop-Reading Quizzes % of Grade 80 20 Mr. Randolph believes that the primary purpose of assessing student work and assigning grades is to enable you to monitor your academic progress and performance in this class. I realize that there are many competing theories about how and why grades should be determined, and I have attempted to synthesize assessment rubrics and practices into a system that is both fair and clear while providing meaningful performance indicators to students, their guardians, and future academic institutions. My main goal in organizing the AP Psychology curriculum is to have students learn about the major core concepts and theories of psychology and assess some of the differing approaches adopted by psychologists, including the biological, behavioral, cognitive, humanistic, psychodynamic, and sociocultural perspectives. The best way to do this is to have students read and write about a broad range of complex texts and participate in relevant, thought-provoking demonstrations. Homework assignments and journal responses are generally intended to help students synthesize key information and to prepare for upcoming classroom discussions. Essays and tests are designed to have students think more analytically about complex topics and to practice and improve on the organizational and writing skills vital to AP and most future university success. Most class periods are spent discussing and demonstrating concepts from the previous night’s reading to aid comprehension and to facilitate greater depth and understanding about given concepts. While I wish all students would complete all readings and tasks for the sheer love of learning, I believe that providing grade marks for assignments, quizzes, tests, and active classroom participation gives the majority of my students at MIHS increased incentive to stay engaged with daily coursework. Late Work Policy Major assignments submitted one day late will be docked one letter grade (10%). Assignments submitted two days late will be docked 20 percent (and so on). Major assignments submitted more than one week late will receive a maximum grade of 50% but can always be completed through the end of the semester. Late homework and journal assignments may be submitted one day late with a 50% grade reduction. If homework, tests, or quizzes are not completed on the due date because of an excused absence, you will have two days to make up the missed work for full credit. Assignments Homework: Homework will be given most every night. Reading will be of 10-15 pages a night. Written homework assignments will always be checked and occasionally collected. You should plan on approximately an hour every night and more when essays or projects due dates are on the horizon. If absent, assume you missed work. It is your responsibility to check with the weekly assignment schedule or our class website for missing work. Research projects and papers: You will write two research-based / theory application papers each semester. The papers should be MLA (or APA) formatted, typed, double-spaced and 12-point Times New Roman font. Forms will be handed to you giving you more detailed instruction. AP Psychology Notebook: The journal (or notebook) will be a place to reflect and respond to a topic or question. Prompted entries must be dated and have a title. If you are absent, it is up to you to find out (from your classmates or our website) what you missed. Journals can be used on pop reading quizzes, will be occasionally checked, and will prove useful to generating polished reflections for grades. Physical composition notebooks will be used so that they can easily be collected and so that students can practice writing longhand in anticipation of the AP FRQ test questions. Unit Tests, AP Multiple-Choice Tests, Free-Response Questions: Unit test will consist of approximately 30 multiplechoice questions and 1 free-response question. There will be a cumulative midterm and final at the end of each semester. Other formative opportunities: “Be on the look out!” In order to recover participation points lost due to tardies and biobreaks, you can keep an eye out for anything around you that relates to what we have learned about psychology. Whenever you notice a concept of psychology ANYWHERE in your daily life, you may write up a one paragraph summary of what you saw and how it relates to the field of psychology and our class. For example, you may see a movie where one or more characters exhibit a personality disorder; you may see a television commercial for a pain medication that illustrates how neurotransmitters work; or, you may notice yourself exhibiting a defense mechanism. During the last weeks of the second semester, students will work on a research-based controlled experiment of varying types and topics, culminating in a 15-minute presentation near the end of the semester. After designing their study, students will collect data to answer their research question and test their hypotheses. After analyzing the data, students will figure out how to present the data, using tables and graphs. The project must get IRB approval, and must incorporate a review of literature (e.g., American Psychologist and Journal of Social Issues), discussion of method, evaluation of results, and a conclusion. In preparation for the research project, students will read relevant sections of Forty Studies that Changed Psychology: Explorations into the History of Psychological Research, 5th ed. (New York: Prentice Hall, 2004) to practice identifying research methods. Each student will complete a 15minute observation of a human participant in a naturalistic setting. The purpose is to familiarize students with this method, to improve their powers of observation, and to help them distinguish between subjective and objective records. The AP Exam in Psychology: May 2, 2016 The AP Psychology Exam is approximately 2 hours long and includes both a 70-minute multiple-choice section (100 questions, 66.6%) and a 50-minute free-response section (2 essay questions, 33.3%). The test is scored on a 5-point scale. What Can You Do to Help Yourself Be Successful? 1. Don’t hesitate to ask for help if you do not understand something. How can you get help? a. Ask a classmate. b. See me before school or during my office hours (2nd, 4th). c. Email me. d. Visit the class website. 2. Stay on task! Set a schedule and be disciplined enough to stick to it, so you don’t fall behind. Reading the textbook is crucial because not all concepts that will appear on the exam will be covered in class. Reading the textbook is the greatest predictor of AP success. I do not know who will take the exam and who will not, so it is only fair that I teach the class as if all students were taking the exam. 3. Take complete, dated class notes. Put them in your own words. Don’t write something you don’t understand without asking about it. Leave some blank space on each page to make additions and clarifications. It is very important to review your class notes each day while they are fresh in your mind. Expand them, clarify them, and add examples so they will make sense when you go back to study them later. Note anything that doesn’t make sense and ask questions the following day. 4. Learn to read more effectively. It is impossible to cover all the material in class; therefore, it is critical that you keep up with your reading and assignments in order to be prepared for each test and the AP exam. a. Read actively. Don’t just look at the words. Effectively reading a college-level text requires a great deal more effort and concentration than leisure novels. b. Preview a chapter before you begin to read. Review frequently as you read. Pause at the end of each paragraph and summarize mentally in your own words. c. Do not try to read an entire chapter at once. It is divided for a reason! d. Do not ignore pictures, diagrams, tables, and sidebars in your book. These features serve to make the text more interesting and often contain important information. e. Take notes as you read. (You will learn the format that will be required.) 5. Form a study group. Online forums, Facebook pages, wiki-pages, there are a host of ways to work together, and no reason not to learn from one another away from school. Use those resources, and from time-to-time meet up as group! Miscellaneous Rules and Expectations Homework, essays, and independent projects should be ready for submission at the beginning of the period in which they are due. This means that your work should be printed out and stapled before you arrive in class. Points will be deducted from students who use class time for readying assignments for submission. Do not expect extra credit to raise your grade at the end of a term. Mr. Randolph will occasionally offer Homework / Reading Quiz passes to students who attend and reflect on relevant out-of school events or review sessions. Individual requests for additional work that is not available to the entire class will be denied. You will receive no credit or make-up opportunities for a missed quiz if your absence is unexcused. Mr. Randolph offers quarterly make-up quizzes for students whose absences have been excused and students with perfect attendance who wish to replace an existing quiz. On the first day of each week, you will receive a Weekly Assignment Schedule. This sheet will indicate the daily activities, readings, and assignments for the coming week. Students are expected to always have the current Weekly Assignment Schedule in their Humanities notebook in a place where it can easily be found. If you are absent on the first day of any particular week, you should go to my website to locate and print out this sheet. Feel free to email me at any time with questions, concerns, or comments you have about the course. I will usually respond to you within 24 hours. Do not, however, email me copies of essays or other assigned work without prior permission. If you are not in class the day an assignment is due, simply bring me a hard copy the next time you are in class. In the event that you are late to class, please come in quietly, avoiding disruption. Do obtain a written excuse, but wait until lesson breaks or the end of class to provide me with it. Remember Keep in mind that your level of motivation is much more important than your ability level. If you want to succeed in this course, and if you are willing to put in the necessary effort, YOU WILL SUCCEED! Attitude, study skills, determination, and discipline count far more than intelligence. Remember, the more you put in the more you will get out of it!! Contacting Me The best way to reach me outside of class hours is by email. I am available in my office during 1st and 6th periods, and I am available to meet before and after school if you schedule with me in advance. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2012-13 AP Psychology Syllabus Acknowledgment My signature below shows that I have read and understand the contents and expectations of the AP Psychology syllabus. Sign and return this page only to Mr. Randolph by September 5, 2013. Please keep the course syllabus at the front of your binder for reference throughout the year. Student Name: ___________________________________________________________ Student Signature: ________________________________________________________ Parent/Guardian Name(s): __________________________________________________ Parent/Guardian Signature: _________________________________________________ Content Outline Unit Topics 1 History and Approaches (Prologue) Concepts History of psychology Psychological perspectives Essential Questions 2 Research Methods (Ch. 1) Experimental method Correlational method Naturalistic Observation Case studies Data analysis/Statistics APA Ethical Guidelines 1st Exam 3 Social Psychology (Ch. 18) Attribution Theory/Attitudes vs. behaviors What ways does psychology approach the study of human and animal behavior? How do the different perspectives in psychology compare and contrast? Who were the movers and shakers in the evolution of psychology as a science? How do psychologists use the scientific method to study behavior and mental processes? Which methods of research are appropriate for the study of different behaviors? How do psychologists draw appropriate conclusions about behavior from research? How do psychologists make ethical decisions about researching behavior? How do people explain the behavior of others? How are individuals affected by groups? Approximate percentage of the multiplechoice section devoted to the topic on the AP exam 2-4% Approximate number of class weeks spent on the topic 6-8% 2 7-9% 3 1 4 2ndExam 5 3rd Exam 6 4th Exam 7 Learning (Ch. 8) The Influence of others on an individual’s behavior Attraction Aggression/Altruism Stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination Cross-cultural psychology Classical conditioning Operant conditioning Observational learning How do psychologists define culture? What influence does culture have on individuals and groups? How do psychologists define learning? How do principles of classical, operant, and observational learning work to create learning? 7-9% 2 How do biological processes relate to behavior? How does damage to a biological process affect behavior? 8-10% 3 How do the 5 senses receive and translate signals to the brain for processing? How does each sense affect behavior? How do sensation and perception differ? 7-9% 3.5 In what ways are humans motivated to behave? 7-9% 2.5 Biological Bases of Behavior (Ch. 2 &3) Neuro-anatomy Nervous system Brain Endocrine system Genetics Nature versus nurture debate Sensation and Perception (Ch. 5&6) Thresholds Sensory mechanisms Sensory adaptation Attention Perceptual processes Motivation Emotion Stress Motivation, Emotion & Stress (Ch. 12, 13) Review/Semester Final Exam Outside Reading Project 8 Personality (Ch. 15) 100 multiple choice 2 free-response cumulative Analysis of psychology in everyday life Review psychological perspectives / concepts Psychodynamic theories of personality Trait theories of personality Social-cognitive theories of personality Humanistic theories of personality How can one increase motivation to behave in certain ways? What role do emotions play in behavior? What are the three stages of Hans Seyle’s GAS? How does stress affect the immune system? What are the main coping strategies? How do psychologists define consciousness? What happens during the sleep cycle? How does lack of and REM and NREM sleep affect behavior? 1 On-going/wkly How do psychologists define and study personality? What advantages and limitations exist for each theory’s description of personality? 7-9% 2 9 5th Exam 10 11 States of Consciousness (Ch. 7) Developmental Psychology (Ch. 4) Testing and Individual Differences (Ch. 11) Consciousness Sleep Dreams Hypnosis Drugs Research methods Prenatal Influences/Infancy Adolescence Aging Stage theories Reliability and validity Types of tests Theories of intelligence Intelligence tests How do psychologists define consciousness? What happens during the sleep cycle? How does lack of and REM and NREM sleep affect behavior? 2-4% 1 How do people grow and develop physically, socially and intellectually throughout the lifespan? 6-8% 2.5 How do psychologists define and study intelligence? How did the use of intelligence tests evolve throughout the last two centuries? How do psychologists know whether a test is reliable and/or valid? 5-7% 1 How do humans encode, store, and retrieve information from memory? How do humans think? How do humans acquire language and use it to communicate ideas? 8-10% 3.5 6th Exam 12 7th Exam Cognition (Ch. 9 & 10) Memory Language Thinking 13 14 8th Exam Final Exam AP Testing Final Project News reporting Psychological Disorders (Ch. 16) Treatment of Psychological Disorders (Ch. 17) Defining abnormality Anxiety disorders Somatoform disorders Dissociative disorders Mood of affective disorders Schizophrenic disorders Personality disorders Psychodynamic theory Humanistic therapies Behavioral therapies Cognitive therapies Somatic therapies Guided Course Work How do psychologists measure and define abnormal behavior? How are the various psychological disorders identified and studied? 7-9% 2 What are the treatment options for the various types of psychological disorders? 5-7% 2 4 Analysis of psychology in everyday life Ongoing/wkly