AP Psychology 2013 2014 Ms. Samuelson Per 6 Contact Ms. S ksamuelson@rocklinacademy.org Wscacademy.org The school s website has a homework tracking system that will send email reminders to students and parents about homework. You will need to subscribe to classes to receive these emails. Anyone can register for an account and subscribe to updates. Course Objectives The AP Psychology course is designed to introduce students to the systematic and scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of human beings. Students learn about some of the explorations and discoveries made by psychologists over the past century. Students assess some of the differing approaches adopted by psychologists, including the biological, behavioral, cognitive, humanistic, psychodynamic, and sociocultural perspectives. Most important, students come to an appreciation of how psychologists think (or at least an appreciation of the kind of critical analysis that psychologists espouse and hope to model in their words and actions). Resources Text: Psychology in Action 10 th Edition, Karen Huffman with instructor s manual and test bank disk. Released AP Exam questions and other resources provided by the College Board All students will need to obtain two notebooks or composition books they can use exclusively in this class. Students are required to bring their notebooks to class every day. AP Psychology Exam All students in this class are expected to take the AP Psychology Exam in the spring. The AP Psychology Exam is scheduled for Monday, May 5, 2014. The fee for each exam is $89. Students may view their AP Exam scores July 5-7 via apscore.org and have scores mailed on July 8 th. For more information about the exam, students and parents may visit https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/apcourse/appsychology?phych
Grading Policy This class adheres to WSCA s grading policy. Students academic mastery grades will consist of 8 assessments and projects per semester along with points for completing journal entries and required notes. Each assessment is worth 11.25% of the semester grade. Journals are worth 10% of the semester grade. Two assessments in quarters 1-3 will be cumulative practice versions of the AP exam. One assessment in quarter 4 will be a cumulative final practice version of the AP exam. Practice exams are created to mimic the structure of the AP exam and will use a combination of test bank questions and released AP test questions. Practice exams will be subject to the same or scaled time limits as the actual exam. Additionally, students will complete regular formative assessments to check progression towards mastery. Academic Mastery Grades will be determined as follows: 90-100% A 80-89% B 70-79% C Below 70% Incomplete Test Retake Policy Students are encouraged to retake tests throughout the course for a higher grade. To ensure that students recapture learning, to be eligible to retake a test, students must correct answers they missed on the original exam. Test corrections must include an explanation of the correct answer (what it is, why it s correct) and where the correct answer was found (textbook, website, teacher). For exam grades below 70%, students must discuss the test corrections with the teacher before they will be allowed to retake the test. All test retakes given will use a different version of the exam. Journal This class will ask students to keep a journal consisting of important notes, reflections and answers to practice free response questions. Most Mondays, the class will prepare for the free response section of the test by responding to sample questions and released AP exam questions in their journals. Classroom Procedures Rules: Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Appropriate Students are expected to follow the behavior policy set by the school, follow safety considerations during labs and come to class on time and prepared. Failure to meet expectations will result in interventions and disciplinary action. Base Groups: During the first week of school, students will work to inventory skills they need for academic success. Students will identify their strengths and goals. We will build base groups using these skills inventories. Base groups will work together to analyze free response questions, for academic support and for most in class activities. Base groups are arranged to be a permanent group for the duration of the school year. The purpose of base groups is to provide ongoing support, collaboration and inter-dependency.
Course Outline Quarter One Topics Introduction to Psychology and Research Methods Chapter One (three weeks) - History of psychology and historical approaches, including Structuralism, Functionalism, and Psychoanalytic approach. - Seven Major Perspectives of Psychology: Psychodynamic, Behavioral, Humanistic, Cognitive, Biological, Evolutionary and Sociocultural. - Science of Psychology: Scientific Method and Ethical Guidelines - Research Methods - Statistics and Psychology Appendix A Assessment: Observational Research Project students will choose a research topic and prepare an observational study using the scientific method and psychological research techniques. Biological Bases of Behavior Chapter 2 (two weeks) - Neural bases of behavior - Nervous System Organization - Endocrine System - Brain Structure - Behavioral Genetics and Evolutionary Psychology Assessment: Brain Model modeling is a scientific activity the aim of which is to make a particular part or feature of the world easier to understand, define, quantify, visualize, or simulate. Students will build or create a model of the brain which includes structures outlined in the rubric. Students must use a creative method for providing detailed descriptions for parts of the brain. Students will present and display their projects. Assessment: AP Practice Exam 1 Stress and Health Psychology Chapter 3 (one week) - Sources and effects of stress - Stress and Illness - Health Psychology and Stress Management Sensation and Perception Chapter 4 (two weeks) - Sensation - Vision - Hearing - Smell and Taste, Body Senses - Perception States of Consciousness Chapter 5 (one week) - Levels of Awareness - Sleep and Dreams - Psychoactive Drugs - Hypnosis Assessment: AP Practice Exam 2
Quarter Two Topics Learning Chapter 6 (two weeks) - Classical Conditioning - Operant Conditioning - Cognitive Social-Learning - Biology of Learning Assessment: Conditioning Essay Students will compose an essay citing examples of learning theories covered in Chapter 6. Students will have to incorporate examples from their life as well as media and popular culture. Students will choose one type of conditioning and apply the concept to condition themselves, a pet or a willing participant. Students must consider ethics and submit conditioning plan for approval. Students will write about their experience in conditioning as part of the essay. Memory Chapter 7 (two weeks) - Memory Models - Sensory Memory, Short Term/Working Memory, Long Term Memory - Forgetting - Biological bases of memory Assessment: AP Practice Exam 3 Thinking, Language and Intelligence Chapter 8 (two weeks) - Thinking and Cognition - Language - Intelligence - Individual Differences in Testing Motivation and Emotion Chapter 12 (two weeks) - Theories of Motivation - Motivation and Behavior - Theories of Emotion Assessment: Motivation Journal Students will compile a journal using theories of motivation to describe the motivation behind meaningful behavior in their lives. Assessment: AP Practice Exam 4
Quarter Three Topics Life Span Development I Chapter 9 (two weeks) - Theories of Development - Physical Development - Cognitive Development - Social-Emotional Development Life Span Development II Chapter 10 (two weeks) - Moral Development - Personality Development - Grief and Death Assessment: Application of Developmental Psychology students will research a topic pertaining to developmental psychology and suggest how psychological theories can be applied to real world examples and programs. Gender and Human Sexuality Chapter 11 (one week) - Human Sexuality - Sex and Gender - Sexual Behavior and Problems Personality Chapter 13 (two weeks) - Trait Theories - Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic Theories - Humanistic Theories - Social-Cognitive Theories - Biological Theories - Personality Assessment Assessment: AP Practice Exam 5 Psychological Disorders Chapter 14 (two weeks) - Anxiety Disorders - Mood Disorders - Schizophrenia - Substance related disorders - Dissociative Disorders - Personality Disorders Assessment: Case Study Project students will write four case studies describing a person (real or fictional) with a specific disorder. Students will research one case study example from popular culture. Students will present one of their case studies for the class. Therapy Chapter 15 (two weeks) - Insight Therapies - Behavior Therapies - Biomedical Therapies Assessment: AP Practice Exam 6
Quarter Four Topics Social Psychology Chapter 16 (two weeks) - Attributions and Attitudes - Prejudice and Discrimination - Interpersonal Attraction - Social Influence - Group Processes - Aggression - Altruism Assessment: Applications of Social Psychology - students will apply a topic a from a journal article related to social psychology to a film/movie of their choice. Students may choose any topic related to social psychology and must reference the film, article and relevant information from the textbook and class in their essay. Test Prep (two weeks) Assessment: Final Practice AP Exam ***Testing Week*** Psychology at Work in the Global Economy Chapter 18 (one week) - Communication - Persuasion - Conflict Assessment: Community Service Project students will apply what they ve learned throughout the course to design a community service project to carry out for the rest of the school during standardized testing weeks or final exams. Students may work in groups, but will be graded on individual efforts including a short essay explaining the project and how it benefits their peers. Assessment: Psych Fair/Final Project students will choose a topic from the course to explore in depth and prepare a project relating to that topic. Projects will be showcased the final weeks of school. This project is open so that students can show their creativity and depth of mastery gained during the year. *Syllabus is subject to change