Fall Post from TOPSS

The following message was sent out by Emily Leary from the APA/TOPSS.

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The American Psychological Association (APA) Committee of Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS) met in late September to discuss ongoing plans and priorities to support the teaching of high school psychology.  Please see below for recent and ongoing information from APA and TOPSS:

FALL MEMBERSHIP BLITZ: TOPSS reminds all high school psychology teachers that new members who join TOPSS NOW through December 31 will receive bonus months of membership for no extra cost!  For just $40, new affiliates can join TOPSS NOW and be members through December 2011.  An application is available online at http://www.apa.org/membership/hs-teacher/index.aspx.  TOPSS is aiming to reach 2,000 current members by December 31, 2010, please help us reach our goal by forwarding this note to any psychology teacher you know!  Visit the TOPSS website at http://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/topss/index.aspx to read about the TOPSS mission and programs.

STUDENT RESEARCH: The APA Education Directorate sponsors annual awards for students at the Intel ISEF competition, and at all ISEF-affiliated fairs. Please visit http://apps.societyforscience.org/find_a_fair/ to find a local research fair!  Please be sure to read the TOPSS manual on conducting research with high school students: http://www.apa.org/education/k12/science-fairs.aspx,

PSYCHOLOGY TEACHER NETWORK (PTN): The Summer PTN 2010 issue is posted online at http://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/ptn/2010/07/issue.pdf.  We are always looking for submissions! The PTN is sent four times a year to TOPSS members.

UNIT LESSON PLANS:  Two new unit plans on Motivation and Emotion were published earlier this year; all units are posted to http://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/topss/lessons/index.aspx.  There are currently 19 units available free of cost to TOPSS members, including four teaching modules on topics like the Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Positive Psychology!

NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR HIGH SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY CURRICULA: The National Standards are available online at http://www.apa.org/education/k12/national-standards.aspx and are currently being revised!  We expect the new revision to be released in August 2011.

APA MONITOR: TOPSS members receive the monthly APA Monitor in the mail, with up-to-date news from the field of psychology:

http://www.apa.org/monitor.

POWERPOINTS: Visit http://www.apa.org/education/k12/powerpoint.aspx for newly developed PowerPoints for high school teachers!  TOPSS has invited every APA division to develop a PowerPoint for teachers!

NEW TOOLBAR:  Be sure to read about the new TOPSS toolbar for teachers! http://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/topss/topss-web-toolbar.aspx

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:  The 2011 APA/Clark University Workshop dates will be announced this fall!  The 2011 APA Convention will be held in Washington, DC, August 4-7, 2011.  Visit http://www.apa.org/convention/ for information, videos, and more from the 2010 convention.

UPCOMING AWARDS AND COMPETITIONS: Stay tuned for announcements for the call for nominations for the 2011 TOPSS Excellence in Teaching Award and the 2011 student competition.

AND MORE …  New initiatives include funding for professional development, the development of classroom posters, the ongoing revision of unit lesson plans, and more.  Please be sure you join TOPSS to stay on top of ongoing projects and initiatives.  Please contact TOPSS Chair Kay Minter      (kay_minter@roundrockisd.org) or Emily Leary (eleary@apa.org) with questions or recommendations.