ADVANCED PLACEMENT PSYCHOLOGY SYLLABUS NCHS Instructor - Melanie Shelnutt Work email- melanie.shelnutt@cobbk12.org (this is the quickest and easiest way to communicate with me – it is also the address for me when you register on-line for all AP Psy Textbook Internet assignments) BLOG: http://northcobbhs.blogs.com/shelnutt/ Home#770-529-0733 (emergency calls only – not after 10pm ) Personal email: melanie.shelnutt@gmail.com (use this if you ever need to email attached word documents Our school email box is too small to handle the volume! ) Office hours – 7:15AM– 8:15AM p.m Room 212 EXCEPT… 1st and 3rd Fridays – “Heart to Heart” club meets in Rm #212 Textbook: Psychology, 8th Edition, by David Myers – REGISTER TONIGHT at http://bcs.worthpublishers.com/myers8e Welcome to AP Psychology! You are to be commended for taking the opportunity to complete college level studies during your high school career The rationale of the AP program along with other pertinent information will be offered here to heighten your awareness of what will transpire in this rigorous introduction to Psychology For many of you, this is your first AP experience – and while challenging, it is my hope that it will be a rewarding one as well THE AP PROGRAM Each May, The AP examinations are administered at NCHS and at other participating schools throughout the world The National College Board Psych Exam lasts for two hours and is a blend of 100 multiple choice questions and two free response exams – writings - (FREs) specifically designed to measure the full range and depth of the student’s knowledge All students enrolled in my AP Psychology course are expected and encouraged to take the examination Remember, colleges and universities award advanced placement credit, not the College Board Be sure and study your college’s catalog for a detailed description of their AP policies and what score constitutes credit earned YOUR INSTRUCTOR’S PREPARATION AND WORK HISTORY In the summer of 1999 I was granted the opportunity to attend the instructor’s training at Western Kentucky University Along with 25 other teachers from the southeastern states, I studied the AP curriculum, helped in developing various instructional strategies and practiced testing and scoring the exams It was a wonderful professional experience for me I have since attended 14 additional workshops, facilitated an AP Psychology workshop for teachers in the Henry County School System, and mentored other Cobb and Bartow Co Teachers beginning their programs After graduating in 1975 from South Cobb High School, my undergraduate Associate’s Degree in Education was earned at Young Harris College in the beautiful North Georgia Mountains I completed my Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Social and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Georgia – GO DAWGS! My Master’s Degree in Secondary Social Science Education was completed at West Georgia College I also have acquired postgraduate training in multi-cultural education, teacher support strategies, AVID instruction, AP Psychology and instructing gifted students My entire 37 years of teaching have taken place at North Cobb High School I am blessed to call this school my home… and all of you – mine! Topics of Study Following is a list of the major content areas covered by the AP Psychology Exam, boldface %’s are used for standards based grading in MY AP class, the % in parentheses are the weights used for the College Board Exam Unit – ROOTS – RESEARCH – NEUROSCIENCE -12% Prologue - History and Approaches (2%) Research Methods (6%) Brain Structure & Functions (10%) Human Nature and Diversity (2%) Unit – BIOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR -12% Developmental Psy (10%) Sensation (4%) Perception (4%) States of Consciousness (2%) Unit – LEARNING & COGNITION -12% 10 Learning (5%) Memory (5%) Thinking/Language (5%) Intelligence/Testing (5%) Unit – PERSONALITY- -12% 11 12 13 14 Motivation and Work (6%) Emotion (6%) Stress (2%) Personality (6%) Unit - INDIVIDUAL & GROUP VARIANCES -12% 15 Abnormal Psychology (7%) 16 Treatment of Psychological Disorders (5%) 17 Social Psychology (8%) Unit - COMPREHENSIVE EXAMs/FINAL PROJECT AND FRE PORTFOLIOS -30% SLO in AP Psychology 10% Shelnutt’s Six Strategies For Success Interactive Reading – This textbook is one of the best David Myers really has insight into how college students process information Powerpoints will be made available on my blog for each unit covered You are encouraged to print the power point PDF worksheets (with the blank spaces to the side for your own explanations and examples) There will NOT be time given in classroom discussions for you to write them down – and I NOT use all of them, even though you ARE required to know all information in the text In class, I hit the “high-points” Bring any questions you may have from the reading to class, and they will be discussed with the whole class – THANK YOU!!! Interactive Vocabulary Notebook (IV) will be required this semester For every chapter in the Myers text, you will develop and produce a depth of understanding and application of all concepts covered Required for every concept/term is #1 - the text definition in its entirety, #2 - a brief “in your own words” definition (less than words – think “thesaurus”) and MOST IMPORTANTLY #3 - a real world example of the concept ALL WORK IS TO BE HANDWRITTEN (unless physically unable to so) Applying the psychological concept is the #1 skill necessary for successful performance on tests I will show you examples of how IV can be done A complete and timely IV notebook will earn you 5, 10, 15 bonus points on the 6, 12, 18 week comps, respectively! Take advantage of the opportunity for tutorials, FRE rewrites and “test correction” points after the unit tests Let’s say on the Unit exam you score 58% - that is 42 points shy of 100% Tutorials with test corrections can add ½ of those “distant points” back (21) with the new grade recorded being 79% Test corrections are in my room (7:15- 8:15 a.m) – and MUST be completed before the next 6, 12, or 18 week comprehensive exam You will be required to write one FRE every weeks w/ a minimum of peer reviews for each At the end of every weeks, you will turn in your portfolio w/ all FRE’s, peer reviews and rewrites included If any are missing, the portfolio is incomplete and you will receive a zero for that part of the comprehensive exam The instructor graded FRE/completed portfolio will count 1/3 of each week comprehensive exam grade with the objective test accounting for the remaining 2/3 NO TEST CORRECTIONS points may be earned on the 6/12/18 week comprehensive exams Form a study group and meet regularly – NO EXCUSES!!! Not only is this a great social outlet, it is the BEST way of discussing and thoroughly understanding each and every concept in the textbook The best way to learn anything is to teach it to someone else If are in your group, divide it this way and rotate the roles weekly: interactive vocab review, web quizzes (1&2) review, Psy Sim review, important people/ research review, and charts/graphs review Expectations of Student Maintain good attendance Assume responsibility for learning Prepare for class daily/ check my blog at least 2-3 x’s a week! Participate fully in instructional activities Make-up missed assignments and tests promptly Seek all available tutorial help when necessary Participate in the April review sessions AND take the AP exam on May 2nd – high noon! (Students on Free and Reduced lunch will receive a reduction in the test fee Students in need of financial assistance need to speak with Ms Epps in Admn 1, Coach Stephenson OR Ms Goodwin.) Expectations of Instructor High instructional standards Student-focused instruction Weekly review of work and assignments Learner support beyond regular class meetings Timely disclosure of make-up work GRADING Since my objective is to prepare you for the national AP Exam in May, your grade for this semester’s work will consist of summative college level multiple choice exams, freeresponse exams, and formative assessments (listed below) There is no opportunity in college for “extra credit” – same goes for my class Everything you matters and counts! Do it well the first time, every time, starting now! You’ll be glad you did! ***UNIT GRADES = 60% of class grade*** Formative assessments = 40% of unit grade These will include psychological vocabulary definitions and all assigned internet activities, reading assignments with analysis, in class labs/experiments with analysis, on-line web quizzes and psychological simulations (PsychSims) All internet work will be submitted to me through the textbook website Cut-off entry time is midnight on Fridays Grades are sent to me on Saturday mornings For credit to be earned, all on-line assignments must be completed until 100% mastery I suggest you print out and keep every web quiz – makes a great study guide for my comps and the College Board Exam Summative assessments = 60% of unit grade This will include a 50 item multiple choice exam Test corrections and FRE rewrites are allowed BEFORE the next week comp is given ***COMPREHENSIVE GRADES = 30% of class grade*** 6/12/18 week Comprehensive Exams = These are weighted to mirror the College Board Examination Each will consist of 100 multiple choice questions (2/3 of grade) and the student’s FRE Portfolio (1/3 of grade) ***SLO Exam (Student Learning Objectives) = 10% 0f class grade *** 2016 NATIONAL AP PSYCHOLOGY DATE: Monday, May 2, 2016 ***ALWAYS keep this syllabus in notebook for future reference*** AP Psychology Review Dates NCHS Media Center 1st question read at 4:00PM – last read at 5:45PM Monday – April 18, 2016 (released exam – groups of w/ I-Respond system) Wednesday – April 20, 2016 (released exam – groups of w/ I respond system) Friday – April 22, 2016 (released exam – groups of w/ I-Respond System) *Monday – April 25, 2016 (AP Practice Exam – solo w/ paper, pencil, self-graded) Wednesday – April 27, 2016 (FRE workshop/review) No tests are repeated – you are encouraged to come to every one because they are ALL different! *gives the truest indication of individual abilities since it is a “solo” effort – make sure you come to this one!