AP Text--Coon and Mitterer

The textbook recommendation below comes with some background.  I have taught Psychology since 1987 and A.P. Psychology since 1992 (second year of course).  During that time, I have used a variety of texts, including Exploring Psychology, Psychology and You, Exploring Psychology, multiple editions of the Myers Psychology text, Ludy Benjamin's intro text from the mid-90s and the second edition of the Wade and Tavris text.  I currently use the Dennis Coon text Psychology: A Journey as my regular psychology text and his college text for my current AP course.

A few weeks ago, I asked the readers of this blog for info on their favorite textbooks, but neglected to share my own views about my favorite and current AP Psychology text, Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and Behavior by Coon and Mitterer, 11th Edition.  The publisher is Thomson/Wadsworth.  The book has 700 pages including an appendix on statistics.

While there are a few concepts that the book omits, it has really cut down on my handouts--so many things that I used to use as supplements, I now have within the text itself--it's almost as though the authors got inside my head and asked me what I wanted within the text.  The arrangement of and coverage of the content is pretty similar to most texts with the text finishing with a chapter on applied psychology.

The level of the text is at a semi-difficult level for my students.  My kids range from the college-bound top-ten student to the community college student without the grades to get into a four-year university.  Some use it with ease, and others have to work pretty hard to understand it-I have a large range of abilities.

The teacher's ancillaries are weak compared to Myers, but everything is on a few CDs and I can edit at will on the handouts, objectives, vocabulary, etc.  The test bank has 200-700 multiple choice questions per chapter, which allows me many options-the test generator is ExamView, which I've grown quite fond of over the years. 

I would recommend the text as a reference text for a new teacher, but with the lack of extras, such as the "Bold Manual" that comes with the Myers books, I would say that this is a book for veterans rather than newbies to teaching AP Psych.  That said though, I really, really like the book.