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Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Psych in college...

This is a photo from a former student that is taking Psychology in college at Sam Houston University. :)

A little different from our cramped quarters in 1207, isn't it? A couple of those students might be out of dress code. :)

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Survey Says, "Please fill out the student info form."

Isn't life just one big experiment?
In an effort to get to know you a little better and to assist me in helping you pass the AP Test (On Monday May 5, 2014 at Noon!), I'd like to get some information from you.

Please fill out this form by Friday. Doing so will earn you your first grade and a simple 100. A great way to start out the semester.

Student Information Survey Form

Looking forward to working with all of you this year.

Friday, August 23, 2013

Textbook Message

If you still have not gotten a textbook...  
The textbook room will be open every day after school for the first week for those students that did not attend Flight School.  We will open at 2:50 and close at 3:15.
 
If a student has early release then they must see Ms. Burton before school to fill out a textbook request form and we will have them pick them up the next morning.
 
Any student that has any lost textbook(s) from the previous year will not be allowed to check out textbooks until the books have been paid for.
Of course you could always purchase a book if you wished. 

I had several students do that last year. The book:
Textbook: Weiten, Wayne. Psychology: Themes & Variations. Wadsworth Thomson Learning; Fifth Edition, 2001.

However if you purchase newer versions you will be fine. The text isn't substantially different and I rarely even refer to the page numbers in our text. It is essential to do the reading because it gives you a baseline of understanding. Teamed with our notes and class work, you will be fine. We also use a healthy dose of PsycTrek 3.0 in class. That is a digital learning tool from the textbook. It's pretty awesome.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Greetings New Students (and former students who I will have the pleasure of seeing again)

Hope summer has treated you well. Flight school is this week and many students have been getting their schedules. I have heard from a few of you and your parents already. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about the course.

AP Psychology is really going to be a great class this year and I have been working all summer to make it better than ever. If you happen to have the course in the fall, do not despair. The AP Test will be in the spring, however my students typically perform the same whether they have taken the class in the fall or spring. The only difference is that in the past there have been less students who took the exam from the fall semester. Percentage wise scores were almost identical.

This year I am putting into place a new system that will make review for the exam even easier. So it is not a bad thing to have the course in the fall. You can do it. I have two AP Psychology classes in the fall and two in the spring. So it's even.

We will start learning Unit 1 which is the first two chapters PLUS chapter 14. The calendar on this site already has the Tests, Quizzes, and assignments pretty well up to date. So you can check ahead to see where that stands. (Obviously things can change and will change, especially when our administrators start changing the bell schedule around, but it is a schedule I plan to stick to as closely as possible.)

The first two chapters are introductory and set the stage for the rest of the course. The first is the History/Evolution of Psychology as a subject. The second chapter covers Research Methods, which is vital for the AP test and also the techniques used (even a little math!) will be helpful throughout the course. New this fall, I am adding Chapter 14 - Personality to the mix. The reason? In the past it has been a 'take home' test. I want to focus more on it this year. It is a small part of the AP test, but deals with some of the most interesting and fun discussions. Freud and Psycho-dynamic theory will be the focus there.

Looking forward to seeing some old faces of those of you who have had World History with me in the past. And I am really looking forward to meeting the new students. I am lucky and privileged to get to know you all.

Enjoy your last bit of summer. When Monday comes to start school, we'll be getting after it straight away.

DFTBA